In 2009 I decided to abandon the career path I was on at the time (I was in the hospitality industry). I never had much passion for it. It was my “safe career”. Instead I decided to pursue my natural curiosity and joy and to try and build a creative career instead. I moved to Aalborg to study graphic design, but did not intend to build a creative career as a foreigner in Denmark. However 15 years later, I have a small business illustrating postcards.
Since I started sharing my story more online I’ve often been asked what it’s like to be an illustrator in Denmark and how one can become an artist here. While I believe that everybody’s path is different and there is no formula about how to achieve any life path (there are way too many variables out of control), I’d like to share my experience building a career as a foreigner in Denmark and some of the things I’ve learned so far in case they may be helpful or beneficial to anyone else.
“Business gurus” online would have you believe that success in life and business is all about hard work and positive mindset and then they will sell you courses about it. I’m not a business gurus and have no courses to sell you (only postcards), neither am I claiming that what I’m sharing is going to mirror anybody else’s experience. I myself am still far from where I’d like to be, so I’m by no means a “success story”, more of a “work in progress”.
Much of what I’m going to share isn’t going to be “positive” or inspirational, but personally I’d rather be prepared for a storm and encounter mild weather than the opposite. I’d much rather give you the boring, maybe not that exciting reality as it has been for me than all hype and no substance. To me that’s just being responsible.
Anything I share will of course be highly subjective and I’m sure others may have had a completely different experience. I’d recommend you take anything you see online (or hear in person) with a hefty bag of salt and never base your research on just one source.
With all that out of the way, if you are still interested in what I have to share, welcome, grab yourself a beverage, get cosy, because building a career as a foreigner in Denmark is going to be a long ride!
Before we dive into what it’s like to build a creative career as a foreigner in Denmark, I’d like to paint a general picture of the emigrant life in Denmark. You can’t build a career in any area isolated from the general society. This is why I believe it’s important to put the topic into the larger context of life in Denmark as a foreigner.
If you want to build a career as a foreigner in Denmark, the first thing you need to do is … well, come to Denmark. If you are an EU citizen you have quite a few options on how to move here legally.
In recent years I feel like Denmark has become somewhat of a trendy destination. That wasn’t the case when I first came. For me the only reason I chose Denmark was, because I found the education I wanted in English, for free, within the EU and for a shorter period (2 years vs. a full 4 years Bachelor).
However, the easiest way to get a work visa would be to get a really high paying job before you move. Unfortunately I haven’t heard of any of those in the creative industries. The other option is to be married to someone with a high paying job.
Emigration looks very different for non- EU citizens and it can be extremely hard to do. Over the years regulations have become more and more harsh and society has grown increasingly hostile towards foreigners (EU or otherwise). The average Dane wasn’t all that excited about foreigners 15 years ago, so I’m not sure there was ever a time when you’d have been truly welcome. There are of course plenty of warm and friendly Danes, who would be happy to have you around, I just don’t think they are the majority.
There are many cases of Danes married to non- EU citizens, who lived with their families outside the EU and had an extremely difficult time bringing their families back to Denmark, even as natives.
If you are in your 20s with no family to worry about, studying is probably the best way to get your “foot in the door”. If you want a safe and comfortable “test period” and you are already a student at an EU university I’d recommend looking into the Erasmus exchange programme. This is what I did back in 2007, my exchange was in the Netherlands. The Erasmus experience is not entirely realistic and did tint my glasses slightly rosy. It still gave me a general idea about whether living abroad was for me at all.
If you are serious about exploring options to move to Denmark, I’d recommend you browse the New to Denmark page where you can find the most up-to-date official information.
As a student I initially got a study residence permit. After graduation I changed my status to “ job seeker”, then went back to studying and then job seeker again. Eventually I got a permanent residence permit after residing here legally for 5 years. Something to keep in mind is that since I came, the government cut many of the English taught educations an attempt to limit emigration.
Finances are a boring and often overlooked aspect of moving abroad, but they can make or break your move.
When I first moved the cost was a lot lower. It was 2009 and I was living in Aalborg, a much smaller town. I came with really big savings, for my standards anyway and I still wonder how I managed to make it through. How I did make it is restricting myself extremely and following the thrifty habits I already had.
The cost of living was probably my first major culture shock, even though I expected it moving from the poorest EU country to the wealthiest. The prices in supermarkets brought me to tears many times, I wondered how am I going to afford food. I walked for 2 hours to my school to save from bus tickets. Spending on anything, but rent and food and sometimes transport, was out of the question. Even school books or the software I needed was too big a luxury.
I somehow managed to live with around 3000 – 3500 DKK (500-ish USD / 400-ish EURO) a month, but I doubt that’s possible anymore. To be fair I didn’t have to change that much from my life before. My family has always been very frugal and I’ve never been much of a shopaholic anyway… if anything I’m a shopaphobic 😅
I highly recommend taking the financial side of this adventure very very seriously. About half the international students I met in the first weeks of arriving moved back to their countries within the first month. Many believed they’ll find a job and “figure it out”, but that takes time, you need the first couple of months figured out upfront. Finding a student job in a small town that isn’t very foreigner friendly is it’s own challenge.
To give you a more current and accurate information I’d recommend checking out Copenhagen’s commune website as well as the International house.
A lot of people are enamoured with Denmark’s image: the happiest country on earth, the hygge, the work- life balance, free healthcare, the high salaries (yes even with the high taxes), great for families, super safe, great food, free education, clean and environmentally conscious, etc, etc. The thing is, all of this is more or less true, but mostly for the Danes. For foreigners it’s a bit more complicated. While in theory all these things are available to all, there are a lot of invisible barriers for foreigners and especially non-EU citizens.
For example, studying in Danish universities is free for Danes and EU citizens. Danes even receive money for studying at a university. They don’t have to fulfil any requirements, the help is universal for all. It’s called SU – Statens Uddannelsesstøtte or “the state’s education grant”. If you still live with your parents you get a smaller amount and if you earn over a certain amount you may lose it. aside from that these payments do not depend on who you are, everyone just gets it. The amount is quite nice, right now it is around 900 USD or 990 Euro. It’s not a lot for Copenhagen, but not too bad for smaller cities.
When I came to Denmark only Danes were eligible for SU, but now it is possible for EU citizens to get it too if they work at least 10 or 15 hours a week.
So as you see factors like this, which certainly influence a Dane’s level of happiness, just don’t apply to foreigners or when they do, there are conditions for foreigners where there are none for Danes. I understand that the state only has obligations to its own citizens, so I’m not trying to criticise (not in this post anyway), I’m just trying to explain why Denmark may be wonderful for Danes and really challenging for non- Danes.
It is important to keep in mind that, trying to live like the locals in an environment built to be liveable under the local’s privileges, when you don’t have those privileges, can be quite exhausting.
If you’ve been here long enough, the time varies depending on whether you are from an EU country or not, some of these privileges do become available to you, but you have to survive that long first. For example: if I studied now, I can get the same grant as Danes, no questions asked, but I’m not really planning to study again.
It would be unfair not to mention the importance of the social safety nets in Denmark. While some may not be accessible to some foreigners (for example I had to sign a statement that I will not seek social help when I got my initial residence permit) at least we all, regardless of employment status, have access to health care (dental work not included). Many complain of the Danish health system. Thankfully my experience on the matter is very limited so far. I think however that it is still a huge peace of mind that there is free help available if there’s an emergency and even if there isn’t.
In case of unemployment there are social benefits and unemployment insurance (A-kasse). This is not a happy place to be and the job search assistance you receive is, in my experience, not all that useful. But at least you are not left out on the streets and can get your most basic needs covered and that is no small thing!
The questions that sparked this whole post are usually something along the lines of “How can I be a graphic designer and/ or illustrator in Denmark” or “Is Denmark a good place to be a graphic designer and/ or illustrator?”
Personally I don’t think so.
I know you might have heard about “Danish design” and Copenhagen being a great architecture hub and how amazing the Scandinavian style is… While there is truth to those statements, I see them as more of a marketing scheme for tourists and as a tool to sell Danish products than an indication that Denmark is a real Mecca for creatives.
Let’s look closer!
“Danish design” is a Mid-century style of mostly furniture design, characterised by minimalism, clean and simple lines. It is a kind of a brand in itself. Maybe even more than that. To me, it’s a very narrow frame that is frozen in time and allows for very limited creativity. It is hard to appeal to Danes if you step outside of the confines of that style. Furthermore just because Danes are still in love with the “classics” and almost every household must have a PH lamp doesn’t mean that they have space for whatever you have to offer. Unless maybe your style blends in really well and maybe you work under a Danish name.
I noticed very early on when I moved here how uniform and same-y everything is in Denmark. Everyone wears more or less the same style clothing, the same hair styles, homes look very much the same: everything is very minimal, very black and white and beige, straight lines. It is noticeable also in advertisements, catalogues, brand identities and so on.
I’m not pointing that out, because I hate this style or think there’s anything wrong with it, I quite enjoy it in fact and it suits my personal aesthetic rather well. It does however stand out to me, because I’ve never before experienced such a huge uniformity of style. It almost feels “illegal” to break away from the mould. Denmark is extremely monocultural, “stiff” and conservative in many ways. Most Danes in my experience are not very open to exploring styles and that narrows down a lot the “window” of acceptable art and design.
I have come to love Scandinavian minimalism (or maybe I’m brainwashed? 😅). My personal style is very much influenced by this aesthetic. At the same time I sometimes am a bit resentful of it. Sometimes I feel a little trapped, limited. Would my work get the same praise if I chose to go a different route? It is a tight rope to walk especially as a foreigner. I already stand out in so many ways, I’m not sure I can “afford” having a style that won’t fit in. Unlike cosmopolitan places like London, Berlin, New York, etc, in Copenhagen there isn’t really much space for anything but “Danish design”.
Studying design in Denmark has helped me understand how to appeal to Danes. I still have an urge to “rebel” against the sterile white aesthetic and even though my colour palettes may be “minimal” by a general standard, they are probably as wild and colourful as you can get away with around here. My style is somewhat Danish design- passing, yet that’s not always enough.
Even if my work is quite close to the “Danish aesthetic” I have noticed that it is still more popular with non- Danes. That’s probably at least partly because I intentionally lean into my “outsider’s point of view” as I feel that’s something unique I can offer. However I wish that after so many years years I felt a bit more accepted.
I’ve got rejections from partnerships with Danish businesses solely on the grounds of not being Danish and having a “background that doesn’t fit in with their story” of being “Danish produced only”. I’ve been here for 15 years, my work is about Denmark, I speak the language, I work with Danish printers and I keep my style quite “Danish”, but it is still not good enough. It’s a story I’ve heard over and over from other internationals. You’ll often hear politicians grumble about foreigners “refusing to integrate”, but they forget that acceptance is a two way street, it needs to happen on both sides.
I’m aware that I’ll never fully belong. Personally it doesn’t bother me, however I can’t hide from the reality of my “otherness” holding me back. I’ll never know just how many doors closed to me just based on my “complicated” foreign name and “exotic” looks. Unfortunately that’s just part of choosing life abroad. It hurts quite a lot sometimes, but thankfully there are still those who would appreciate you for who you are. And I try to remind myself of them as often as I can, because they are the ones truly worth my time and energy.
Denmark is a very very small and niche market and that is another limiting factor in building a creative career. Some years ago I was curious about illustrating books, so I did research on how one can establish connections with publishers here. I learned that there are very few book illustration jobs and they mostly go to already established and well connected professionals. Most published books are foreign translations and they keep the original artwork. Most illustrators, I’ve met, have storyboards for advertising as their most lucrative gig and personally that’s not work I’m interested in.
In general, most jobs are related to advertising or have some sort of corporate purpose, which is not surprising, but it’s disappointing for me. That’s partly why I moved away from graphic design work.
Not only is the market tiny, but the people looking for jobs in the creative fields, in this case graphic design and illustration are way too many. Way more than the market needs unfortunately. Graphic designers are among the professionals with the highest unemployment rates (close to 50% for educations within culture, philosophy and English , according to data from 2020). As for illustrators, it’s hard to say. Full time illustrator positions don’t really exist. Illustrators are usually independent contractors.
Furthermore Denmark based creatives don’t have great opportunities looking for remote or freelance work abroad either. The cost of living in Denmark is among the highest in the world, which means that in order to make a liveable wage one has to charge quite high by international standards. This is not what most companies looking to outsource are after. Competing on Fiverr, Upwork and similar marketplaces with fellow creatives from lower cost of living countries won’t get you far. It could be a nice practice and side hustle for a student, but not really a long term plan. At least in my experience.
I used to believe that in Denmark, a country that fancies itself a connoisseur of art and design, creative professions would be more respected and better paid. If not because of higher appreciation then at least because of the high living standard. And if not because of that, then maybe due to the work of labour unions which are stronger here than in many other countries. I was quite wrong about all that.
Full time employed designers are still on the lower end for salaries, probably with the exception of UX/UI designers. Average salary for women is 43 742 kr. and for men 49 798 kr. a month before tax, the average salary for a graphic designer is somewhere between 27.759 – 43.800. Unfortunately I couldn’t find more precise information. Even so, it is still visible that the higher end salary is still below average. And remember, that is the case for designers in regular employment, where you can enjoy the protection of unions.
I couldn’t find statistics, but a large portion of designers work freelance. There simply aren’t that many employment options (in my experience from multiple years of job search). The freelance space is a lot less regulated. Negotiating good pay is hard and exhausting. I made a post about what unions recommends as a fair pay for freelancers. It’s not astronomical to begin with, but achieving even these numbers can be quite difficult.
The picture for illustrators looks even grimmer. According to an article in Journalisten.dk Danish illustrators suffer extremely low pay in the local publishing industry. According to an article in Politiken illustrator Signe Parkins received 15 000 kr. (before tax!) for full time work of 10 months illustrating a children’s book. She made 10 kr. an hour! For comparison I earned 145 kr. as a mediocre barista.
Let’s also bear in mind that as badly as publishing has treated these illustrators, they still have the benefit of being Danish and a connected member of the industry network. As an international, you’ll probably never even hear of these “opportunities”.
It is astonishing how many potential clients expect work for free or as they like to frame it “exposure”. Now the problem is even worse thanks to the rise of AI generated images.
I used to believe that the Danish society is “enlighten” and egalitarian, at least when it comes to gender discrimination. Once again I was wrong! Scandinavia truly is a better place for women than the rest of the world, they really really are, but they haven’t achieved some perfect utopian equality where everyone succeeds truly competing solely on their skills and merit.
If you are a woman, have a disability or mental illness, have a name that Danes can’t pronounce, look like you might not be “celebrating Christmas” (actually question I got at work), you will have another obstacle before you.
I can’t remember an interview where hiring staff didn’t ask about my “family status” and plans.
An interviewer once told me that even though they liked me and thought my work was really good, they still won’t hire me, because I was too “reserved” and they’d rather have someone “more fun”. This was a part time student job, partially remote! I also interviewed in Danish which certainly limited my social presentation and ability to show my “fun side”.
Inequality is on the rise here much like in the rest of the world and governments are targeting the generous safety nets of the past. This is an issue even among the locals.
While I can go on and on about this topic, discrimination is often hard to prove and people would argue to death how this or that incident wasn’t discrimination. I just wasn’t the “right fit” or didn’t have “the experience” or “the skills”… I used to believe that myself. It was comforting to blame failures on aspects of myself that I can actually work on and improve.
The dark side of that way of thinking however is falling into a deep hole of an infinite obsessive self improvement spiral, where the goal posts are forever shifting. Basing your self worth off of your ability to “get a job” and feeling never quite “good enough” to deserve even an ordinary average life can be so incredibly destructive. I would not recommend anyone going down that path.
One major reason why I wanted to work abroad instead of returning to my own country after graduation is that, I knew that back in Bulgaria people mostly tend to get jobs through what we call “connections” and “knowing the right people”. My family isn’t particularly well connected, especially in my areas of interest, so I knew I won’t be missing out on much. I grew up with the idea that my country is corrupt, but out there in the “West”, people are appreciated on their own merit. Well… reality is often disappointing.
What I’ve discovered is that nepotism exists pretty much everywhere. Of course people do sometimes get opportunities based on merit or luck, but being well connected is your best bet and always has been. Getting hired through “connections” is often seen as negative in Bulgaria, while in Denmark it’s just “utilising your network”.
Denmark feels like a village where everyone knows each other and as an outsider it can be very hard to get in. So far I’ve failed at that. Building social connections has never been my strong side, and doing it abroad requires some extraordinary skills, it seems. Maybe also a healthy dose of luck. Every time I’ve made a bit of progress in my network, some massive shift happened (I moved away, other people moved away, my ambitions changed, businesses went bankrupt…) and I was back at square one. I also exist in a mostly international environment, which is in itself disconnected from the “Danish core”.
To acknowledge my own shortcomings, I’m not strategic with networking. I never think of the benefits knowing someone may bring. Every connection I make is purely based on how much I enjoy spending time with a person. Most people I have fun with are in some way like me and a “healthy” network requires variety. I also prefer a diverse group, so I gravitate towards people from different countries and generally dislike “monocultural” environments. In Denmark, the most valuable network can be reached through Danes and they generally mostly tend to keep to themselves, so it is hard to break into that bubble, which is why most internationals struggle finding jobs and doing business.
In addition when you move abroad, in some cases even to a new city, you start from scratch and even the least connected local has more opportunities than you. At least at first. This may be the biggest drawback to living abroad: the social cost you pay.
According to Danish statistics more foreigners than Danes start businesses in Denmark. Unfortunately they also fail more often and end up making less money from their businesses than Danes.
According to some the reason is that foreigners are just more “entrepreneurial” and Danes are “too lazy and coddled by a cushy social system”. Personally, I believe only someone too privileged to fail can think this way.
In my view many foreigners turn to self employment, because it is so much harder for us to get a job. The stigma of unemployment is a lot higher for us too and there are many foreigners who can’t rely on any kind of unemployment help at all.
Starting a business is risky, it means giving up a lot of safety nets, which foreigners often don’t have anyway. So the risk seems smaller. And these businesses probably fail more often for the same reasons, foreigners have less support from both family and friends (because we have moved away from them) and institutions (because we either don’t qualify for help or just don’t get the default trust Danes do in case we apply for something like a bank loan for example). Many of the challenges we face as job seekers like discrimination and lack of network still apply as a business owner.
My personal journey into self employment started off pretty strong, but soon I started running into the same issues I had looking for a job. These are mostly the lack of network and being in an industry that is oversaturated with professionals who are undervalued. So much time goes into looking for clients, administrative work and negotiations that by the time you get to working on an actual creative assignment you are already burnt out.
Eventually I had to get a side job, because freelancing alone was too stressful. Having a part time job that was not creative (at a catering company) actually worked very well for me, because it gave me a lot of space for my mind to be free and wander, which is so valuable for creativity. It also helped with bills and reduced some stress, because not everything I was doing was high stakes.
In 2019 I started developing my own products: my postcards, which took me closer to my actual goal- to focus more on my own projects. This stage of self employment has come with its own set of challenges, that I’m still discovering and going through. I’d say that so far it’s been the most rewarding and satisfying work I’ve had and the only downside is that it just doesn’t pay a liveable wage just yet, so supplementary work is still necessary.
In conclusion, building a creative career as a foreigner in Denmark is very very hard. I think that’s probably the case everywhere around the world, but I’ve only ever tried to do it in Denmark and it’s been a struggle. There is however no other kind of work that I’m willing to put that much effort into, so as hard as it is, I see no other alternative for myself.
I have also learned that as important as hard work is, it guarantees nothing. My parents thought me that I’ll achieve great things if only I put the work in, but now I know there are so many more factors determining my success or failure.
I think it’s very easy to cling to the idea that we are in control and that we’ll get out exactly what we put in. It is empowering to believe that and it would be great if it were true, but I no longer believe that. Today I believe that life is much more random than we’d like. Things can happen for no reason. Yes, taking actions towards one’s goals help increase one’s chance of success and if you care about the goal, you should keep working towards it regardless. But there are no guarantees.
You can do everything right and still get nothing in return. At the same time, you can randomly mention an idea you have and the right person may happen to overhear it and help you in a way you never expected. In fact I’ve had more success come out of random actions then from serious meticulous efforts, believe it or not.
I’ve realised that as someone trying to build a creative career, I need to be creative in that too. There is no blueprint, no one can teach you how to do it, because everyone who has succeeded has done it in their own way and you can’t replicate someone else’s life. You can take inspiration, you can learn from what others have done, but we are all very different people with very different strengths and weaknesses operating in very different environments and we have very different points of view.
We have to find our own ways through the jungle of life. Some of us may inherit a way already paved, some will have to build bridges and stairs and pathways from scratch. And sometimes what ends up working may be the thing we were told to never do.
If you’ve read all the way through, congratulations, you deserve some sort of medal! Now I’d be curious to hear what you think. If you have experience with any of the topics discussed, please share! Whether you agree with me or not, I’d love to hear your perspective!
