Working in the US

Hi all,

I've been staying in Laguna Beach for the last couple of months, and loving it. I've now moved back to the UK, and despite the temperature right now being about 34C, I'm hating it.

Can anyone give me any advice or point me to further information on working in the IT industry in the US? I understand I need to get a business to sponsor me though a H1b, what I don't seem to be able to do is to find a way in. I can't find companies looking to recruit, but I know it's being done all the time.

Can any of you americanos help me at all? I asked this question about this time last year, having just returned from my annual trip, and didn't get far, but figure it's worth asking again with new blood on the forum....

Cheers all,

ZRP

I work for DuPont... a large global corporation... I'll see what I can dig up in the IT department. They're always posting jobs on the DuPont intranet... They like to hire within the company, however, they won'y hesitate to hire outside if someone meets specific qualifications. What kind of experience and credentials do you have???

I've PM'ed you some more info. but for the benefit of anyone else that might be able to assist:

I'm an established consultant here in the UK, I just don't want to be in the UK anymore. I've got a uni degree, 8 years experience with banks, councils, health authorities and consulting companies. I have an MCSE, which is the standard qualification people look for.

Apologies for the total non-rockness of this. If it helps, I did some session work while I was in Laguna, and would be looking to continue that as well...

I guess I'd be looking to work in the US for a year or two and see what happens.

Im a Brit living in the US.

Unless you are married to a US citizen you will need an H1B visa which the company employing you has to apply for. You can find more info at this address http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/ but don't expect this to be an easy ride !

You may want to consider that the US is currently outsourcing IT and support type positions to places like India.

The economy is also not good at the moment so hanging fire for the time being may be a good plan.

I'm fairly ignorant about this subject, being that I already live here, but I know they're having a really hard time finding people to work in Louisiana. I've heard that a newly reopened casino had to import people to work there from the Bahamas. I also heard a caller on the radio say that driving there he saw a "Now Hiring" sign at McDonalds...starting pay $12.50/hour. Usually an entry level job there is minimum wage ($5.15) or slightly above. I know you don't wanna work at McDonalds, but that's just to illustrate my point that they can't find people to work.

come work in the Netherlands? ;) the weather is just as hot, the countryside is mostly farmers and our cities are usually small :p

though I love it

[I also heard a caller on the radio say that driving there he saw a "Now Hiring" sign at McDonalds...starting pay $12.50/hour. Usually an entry level job there is minimum wage ($5.15) or slightly above. I know you don't wanna work at McDonalds, but that's just to illustrate my point that they can't find people to work.[/QUOTE]

Hm... Two hours of work with that pay, beats my 8 hour shift... :( :(
And I am considered well payed...

ouch dude. livin in london isn't much fun but i'm considered to be earnin a pretty low wage (i'm only 17 though) for an office job and i'm earnin about 9 pounds an hour, which is 17us$. Plenty of jobs in london, you just need office experience. not a great place for living though.

I think your biggest obstacle is not the US Job market but the INS.

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonI think your biggest obstacle is not the US Job market but the INS.

Amen.... I don't really understand it all. The UK has it's doors wide open, and all sorts of people from all sorts of places end up in all kinds of jobs here. Meanwhile, I'm very well qualified and can easily support myself, yet the US is borderline impossible. Frustrating, particularly as the whole sponsorship thing is drawn out and expensive. At the moment, the US IT agents seem to be down on importing skills - I got some abusive mails back yesterday from my enquiries. There are loads of jobs available, so the economic downturn and outsourcing stuff can't be too bad yet. Consultancy rates in the US work out about the same as here, and there are more jobs in Irvine CA than there are in London advertised at the moment.

So many rules and regs... I'm wondering if it might be a better idea to go back for a long holiday again, and then just 'forget' to fly home.

On the subject of pay - I'm working in London now as well, for more or less double what I'd get in the rest of the UK, but then everything in London costs more than the rest of the UK, and it's roughly twice as expensive to live in the UK as it is the US.... Everything seems to cost the same in pounds here as it would in dollars there, so with the exchange rate as it is, I could earn half what I do here and live comfortably in the US.

Any philanthropists on the site who want to sponsor my coming over out of the goodness of their hearts? Go on, you know you want to.... :D

Originally Posted by: suicidalmooseouch dude. livin in london isn't much fun but i'm considered to be earnin a pretty low wage (i'm only 17 though) for an office job and i'm earnin about 9 pounds an hour, which is 17us$. Plenty of jobs in london, you just need office experience. not a great place for living though.

What the heck!! $17 an hour is amazing here and you're only 17. My internship currently pays $14 an hour. Gawd maybe Britain isnt so bad after all :). Then again it is expensive to live in London, my uncle preferred to liv ein Gravesend.

Like Doc Simon said, your problem is the INS. Its almost impossible to get to stay in the US, especially after 9/11. There are all these rules and regs. The worst visa is the F-1 student. You can do NOTHING with that visa. I'm currently an F-1 and i have to pay my school $1350 just to get permission to do my internship :(. With graduation looming ahead i have to scramble to find a sponsor. The worst thing about the H1b visa is that its limited in number each fiscal year so even if your company wants to sponsor you and visas are finished then...

My cousins in England have it much easier. There are no work restrictions, they can get loans, buy cars, get credit cards ets. England just throws open its doors.

If i were you i would consider investment banks. From the college perspective they look at GPAs and stuff and dont usually discriminate. All they want is a smart person who can do the job.

Another thing to consider is the US labor laws and employers attitudes to vacation.

Have you compared the amount of holiday you get in the US and UK ?

it's not really that expensive to live in london if your a pretty domestic person. My accomodation is 350£ a month, trasnport is 81£ a month (that's unlimited transport between zone 2 and central) and food is maybe 60£ a month (cook food you lazy bastards!). so that's about 500£ a month on the bare basics, and if you're careful you're down about 6 or 700 a month having fun (closer to 700 if u have a gf). So i send quite a lot of cash back home to my savings, but then again i'm living quite cheap over here and i coudl just as easily spend that savings in london on food or anything else. I'm going back to aus with my savings, that'll be fun

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonAnother thing to consider is the US labor laws and employers attitudes to vacation.

Have you compared the amount of holiday you get in the US and UK ?

I'm a consultant - if I don't work, I don't get paid. Right now, I take 3 months off a year because I can. If I were to move to the US, the contract would stipulate leave entitlement, and it would be reflected in the pay. I'm not after a 'normal' job....