💻 IT in the land of fjords: where to look, what language to speak, and where to live for a month

If your plan is to enter the local IT market or come for a month or two to attend interviews, three things are important: where to look, what language you can actually work in, and which areas are convenient to live in. Below is a short but comprehensive guide: the best sites (from NAV and FINN to The Hub and StartupLab), an honest discussion about English in the office, and the roles that are most often open to foreigners. Finally, there are practical guidelines on areas and transport in Oslo, Trondheim, and the ‘city of seven hills.’

🔎 Where to look for IT jobs in Oslo and Trondheim?

Start with the official sources and large aggregators:

• NAV/Arbeidsplassen — a government portal with filters by region and industry (including IT).
• FINN Jobb — the largest commercial platform; conveniently filter ‘IT’ by city (e.g., Trondheim) and see the number of open positions in real time.
• Oslo kommune — ‘Find a job’: an official job search guide with tips on how to enable the working language (Engelsk/English) filter on FINN/NAV — useful if you don't speak Norwegian yet.
• The Hub — a showcase of start-up vacancies across the country (many listings are in English; there is a separate feed for Trondheim).
• StartupLab Job Board — vacancies from portfolio companies in Oslo Science Park and beyond (often product and deep-tech roles).

For media and tech in Bergen, check out Media Cluster / Media City Bergen and Fintech Hub, which publish relevant positions when they are available.

🗣 Is English sufficient for working in IT in Oslo/Bergen?

In general, yes, especially in product teams, start-ups and international companies. The country consistently ranks among the top two in the world for English proficiency (EF EPI 2024), with Oslo and the western region showing a ‘very high’ level. This is directly reflected in job vacancies and work processes.

Nuances:

• On FINN/NAV, you can filter by working language Engelsk to avoid wasting time on ads that require norsk.
• Clusters such as StartupLab/Oslo Science Park and the media cluster in Bergen often work in English — check the wording in the role descriptions on their boards.
• In the public sector and client consulting, Norwegian is needed more often, but even there you can find English-speaking teams.

👨‍💻 What roles are most often open to foreigners (junior/mid)?

Based on the ‘market temperature,’ the following are consistently in demand: backend/full-stack, DevOps/Cloud, Data/ML, QA/Automation, Mobile, and in Bergen — also media-tech/fintech. This can be seen in the snapshots on The Hub and open recruitment in clusters.

By level:

• Mid (2–4 years) are more readily invited — there is less onboarding and you can start working on tasks right away; take a look, for example, at the vacancies in Fornebu/Oslo at large vendors and teams.
• Junior/graduate positions are also available, but more often in programmes at large companies or R&D centres; In Bergen, ‘graduate pools’ regularly open in technical fields.

Plus: NAV has identified a shortage of personnel in the ‘information and communications’ sector, which indirectly confirms the demand for engineers and related roles.

🏙 Which areas are convenient for an IT specialist to commute and live in for a month?

Oslo.

• If your office is in Bjørvika/Barcode, Nydalen/Storo, Skøyen/Lysaker or Fornebu, choose accommodation along good rail/train links: the T-bane, VY trains and buses to Fornebu. 30-day travel pass (zone 1) — 985 kr, tickets are more convenient to purchase via the Ruter app.
• For a ‘car-free month’, Grünerløkka–Bjølsen–Nydalen (close to Akerselva and hubs), Frogner–Majorstuen (metro/tram hub) and Bjørvika (walking distance to the city centre) are comfortable options.

Trondheim.

• Live within walking distance of NTNU Gløshaugen/Kalvskinnet: Singsaker, Bakklandet, Midtbyen/Solsiden — short distances, cafés and AtB buses. Route planner and maps are available in the AtB app/website.

Bergen.

• If you work at a Media/Fintech hub, it is convenient to stay along Bybanen: Nygårdshøyden — Danmarks plass — Kronstad — Fyllingsdalen, as well as the line to the airport (Line 1) — fast and predictable. All maps/timetables are available at Skyss.

The formula is simple: NAV/FINN + filter ‘English’ for the database, The Hub/StartupLab to get into the ‘product’, and cluster pages in Bergen. English is a working tool in IT here (especially in Oslo and around the media/fintech ecosystem), but norsk will increase your chances and expand the pool of vacancies. For the ‘month,’ choose areas that suit your hub and transport links: in the capital — T-bane/train + zone 1, in Trondheim — 15–25 minutes' walk to NTNU, in the ‘city of seven hills’ — Bybanen. The rest is a matter of technique: a short CV, GitHub/portfolio, and 3–5 meaningful responses per week.

Good luck with your interviews!