When I was in college, my study abroad program took me to Milan. I loved the way art and aesthetics were more important than money. I liked the pace of life, which was in some ways more consuming but in other ways much slower than here in New York. I loved Italian men (once I got used to them). I liked how you could drink a glass of wine at lunch without someone hassling you. Looking back, it was the happiest time of my life.

Now I’m clawing my way up the junior levels of the corporate scramble, working crazy hours, staying out all night every weekend with people who hardly fascinate me. I guess I’m going through some sort of quarter-life crisis. I need a change before I become one of those frenetic American tourists I used to see in Italy, trying to stuff a year’s worth of pleasure into a four-day getaway.

I’m seriously considering working abroad, and Italy would be great. I’m looking at all of Europe, but I’m open to anything more exotic than Long Island. I speak a little Italian, a little French, and some Spanish, but I’m not really fluent in any of them. I’m looking at something fun to do for five or ten years, and after that, who knows? How can I make this dream into a reality? Any advice?

— Life Is Too Short

Dear Life Is Too Short,
You’re not alone. Study abroad is more popular than ever among American students, and, like you, many of those students discover there’s an attractive quality of life in other parts of the world. However, shocking as this might seem, foreign employers are not always as enamored of hiring Americans for offshore appointments. Why? Because of language and cultural differences.

The junior year abroad has been replaced by the semester abroad, or even by shorter tours and “experiences.” Total language immersion has been replaced by studying English in an exotic locale, often taught by professors who are themselves from the States. So the abroad experience may not be quite as broadening as it used to be.

The truth is that the world is full of people who are fluent in French, Spanish, and Italian, and who know the difference between ordering dinner in Switzerland and ordering dinner in Greece, and who have routinely heard this question all their lives: “And what shall be our language for the evening?”

But the tide seems to be turning in your favor. English has become the lingua franca of the world. A friend of mine works in Germany for a German multinational — and the company language is English. They speak English in her office, even though nearly everyone except her is German. Another friend works for a Chinese company based in Vietnam; they conduct most of their daily business in English. Yet another works for a multinational where all offshore assignments require fluency in English, no matter the employee’s country of origin.

Your best shot is to find a company with offices in another country and offices or key customers in the U.S., where your English skills would be an asset that might overcome your deficiencies in the local language. Here are a few excellent resources to learn about these types of companies:

• Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States
• Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries (3 vol. set)
• Going Global Country Career Guide (2 vol. set) goinglobal.com
• The International Directory of Executive Recruiters

The Going Global books and online subscription can be expensive, but you might be able to find the books in your local library. In them you can learn about resume and C.V. formats and hiring practices for countries all over the world. You should also look for the nearest embassies for the countries of interest to you and see if they publish lists of exporters to the U.S. And check for chambers of commerce that specialize in transnational business, such as the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce located near you in New York City.

Finally, be sure to look for any foreign locations under the auspices of your current employer. Large companies have satellite offices virtually everywhere, so look long and hard before you decide you have to switch companies to launch your dream of working overseas.

It’s probably a good idea to pick a country and a language to specialize in rather than just looking all over the globe. So in your case it sounds like Italy, and learning the Italian language would be a great place to start. You need to plan vacations to Italy and take Italian language classes to improve your skills beyond those of a tourist ordering dinner or finding the restroom. If you can’t take classes, buy any of the high-quality language programs now available on CD and DVD.

Spend your vacations on language intensives rather than tours of historical sites. In my travels I constantly run into Europeans and Asians in language schools, but not so many Americans.

Finally, start talking to everybody you know about who they might know in Italy. Find some people who work in Italy or use the Italian language for their work in the U.S. Get invited to dinner in New York with friends hosting Italian visitors. Most foreign companies hire only people they’ve met before or people who are referred from a trusted source. They tend not to hire someone they know only from a resume.

So I suggest you work on getting as many Italian connections as you can. (If you stop going out on weekends with people you don’t even like, you’ll have plenty of time and energy to devote to this.)

My best wishes for your continued success.