As some of you might know I've met a remarkable girl in Ukraine and as our relationship progresses we talk about many things. We're well on the way through our discussions about the future but something has come up a few times that I haven't found an answer for.
My Girl has a good job in Ukraine and has degrees in Law and Economics. She speaks fluent German and good English though she is adamant she NEEDS to speak "perrrfec-t Eeenglesh" before arriving in Oz. She acts as a translator in business transactions for her company (in both of her foreign languages) and in the past has lived in Germany for a little more than 2 years.
We've talked about life priorities etc and she has expressed a desire to work once here (which doesn't worry me either way) but she wants a different career to that she has at home.
She doesn't want to "work with documents" anymore and doesn't want to "work like now" once in Australia. I think she's just saying she doesn't want to work 10 hours a day after struggling to get to and from the office on bitterly cold winter days.
When your wife arrived were her preconceptions of work opportunities vastly different to reality?
What did she do to "find" her new niche and at what point did she restart her education to do the career swap (if she did)?
I've encouraged My Girl to try to forget about work and education for the moment and just think about what she enjoys and what would be a perfect day for her. Once she can uncover that "thing" that she LOVES doing she can consider work, career or business opportunities around that.
Is it just a waiting game? Did you wife have a few "false starts"?
She also wants to have children sooner rather than later because she's "very old" (She 28) 
Comments, observations and lessons are very welcome. 
Kuna
Sounds familiar.
Olya wanted:
* to work
* to get an American education
* to have a baby
The education and work part are inter-related, and the most difficult part was explaining, and her grasping, the MANY possibilities available to her in the US (I suspect Australia is very similar).
She began work just as soon as her English was at a level where she felt confident. It sounds like your lady is ahead of where Olya was upon entry. From there, she began the process of getting admitted to US university - which meant she had to pass some preparatory courses in English and Math. So far, some years later, she has a 4.0 and is making some final adjustments to her degree choice.
In the meantime, she has established a thriving business providing childcare out of the house. This tied-in with her desire to have a child - which we did a little more than 3 years back. The licensed childcare provided an opportunity to be with Katya constantly - and earn an income providing similar care to other small children. Now she has earned a reputation and soon will expand the business pretty substantially.
This career choice wasn't her initial plan - but she has discovered that she loves being with children - and she has a talent for business and interaction with the parents (customers) - so it is the best of both worlds.
Anyway - that was out path. The main lessons were:
* I am still not sure she fully appreciates the huge number of choices which were, and still are, available to her for education and career.
* The drive to have children will ultimately win out over career/job - particularly if she wants to do that soon.
* Trying to combine priorities wherever possible really worked well for us.
I hope this helps.
- Dan
