jamie850

Hi All, I'm weighing up the advantages of moving over to the states to the area north of Houston around Tomball/the woodlands/magnolia ( I have relatives in that area). So I think I've got a handle on where to live, culture, houses, pools, health insurance, cars, but been reading through some of the posts here about the work culture in the US worries me.
I work in IT infrastructure support, have a decent well paid job and am used to a decent UK holiday allowance.
The money looks to be about the same but I'm not sure I could survive on 2 weeks off a year.....

I've looked at suitable jobs online and the holiday allowance is noted as "generous" but never actually specified.
Can anyone give me any pointers on which industries (e.g oil, insurance, banking, hospitals, IT outsourcing, academic) to target for sponsoring my visa that on average give more holiday time to new starters?

Duncan Roberts

To be honest, I would think you'll be hard pressed to find any that would sponsor a visa for IT infrastructure support. Those jobs can usually be filled 10 times over with talented people in the local area.

Hotscot

It's all over the place. I don't know if there's a particular industry.
Academic maybe ...but it's not so much holiday allowance as unpaid leave during the summer.
Adobe gave me 4 or 5 weeks, and an extra month after 5 years.
More commonly two weeks, 10 days, a year was the norm for a new recruit in high tech.
Lot of three day weekends though, that sometimes makes up for it, especially as you can take a long weekend in another State.

You mention requiring a visa? Do you have some skill that is difficult to find in the US? If not a company would hesitate going through the hassle and cost to get a visa for you, especially when they're getting a thousand resumes a week from qualified Americans.
In addition...why are you so specific as location? That severely limits any potential opportunity to companies in that location.

(Are you working for a multinational right now? A company transfer is often a better bet.)

Others will be along to reinforce the difficulty of getting sponsored...be prepared, and thick skinned, they're known to roar but only bite as a last resort.

(In the meantime check out some sites to see if your skills are desirable, for example Dice.com or indeed.com)

jamie850

Thanks for the info, I'll just give it a go and see if I can get a visa sponsor. I'm sure I'm better than at least 10 Americans he who dares rodney.

Hotscot

If you stick around and discuss it you'll get good info.

I'm sure you're better than many Americans but there are hundreds of qualified citizens chasing general positions therefore they, the employers, usually don't need to look elsewhere.

Pulaski

To summarize: visa first, until you have that sorted all the other planning you do is going to be a waste of time.

I suggest that you go take a look at the two "Pulaski" wikis in the USA section of the wikis tab above.

Casual Observer

Be sure to tell them that on your application and remember to throw in Dels other famous phrase "Plonker"

cluedweasel

As an example, have a look at my situation. I took a job at a place in November where the benefits were said to be "excellent". In fact that's all I heard from everyone over the course of 3 interviews. Well, the health insurance sucks, but that's not what you were asking about. The vacation allowance is a whole 15 days a year. doesn't sound bad until you realize that you don't start accruing for 90 days and once you do start, you can't book a holiday for a year. Then when you do want time off, they insist you keep 5 days of it to cover for illness. In actuality, it's not 15 days at all, but 5 days for illness and 10 for vacations. Also, for public holidays or whatever they're called, it's the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas day and New Years day. Take any description of "excellent" with a big dose of salt.

jamie850

Thanks Guys, I think I have a fundamental issue with 10 days off per year as I enjoy travelling and hobbies. From the reading dozens of threads on here I think I'm not alone.
I like contracting in the UK, I take it that is impossible under the H1B as once I leave a job, I'd have to leave the US rather than travel for a month then get another job off the same H1B?

civilservant

The H1B is tied to the sponsoring employer, you can't chop and change the way a contractor does.

Sounds like the US isn't for you, and since you're unlikely to get a visa anyway, time to think again!

jamie850

Well I wouldn't go as far as to say it wasn't for me but I do see the big gap in working conditions and the massive PITA that getting a working VISA entails. Maybe I'm just spoiled
I think I'll come out next winter for 3 months on WVP, stay with family, travel abit and interviewing for jobs and sweet talking them into sponsoring me.
Hell, I might even get married as there are loads of smoking hot girls in Texas that I'd love to be married to!
Thanks for the realistic advice, hope you all are enjoying your time in the states.

steveq

You're only allowed one at a time, unless you live in Utah....

Casual Observer

Vacation and benefits is almost an impossible comparison to try and make. There are way too many variables - industry, job, pay grade etc. With the huge number of members here I suspect we would get into 3 figures for the various permutations that people have. I have 25 days vacation 10 days bank holidays and 10 days sick/personal time. If vacation is the main driver in your life perhaps the travel industry would suit you better. Are club 18 - 30 still around? Ibiza is almost the USA

Duncan Roberts

Keep in mind that companies don't need to offer time off and they aren't required to let you take any you ask for. They also aren't required to pay you for unused time off or let you roll it over. I know a guy who had 3 days vacation allowance initially. You may find a job with a decent amount of time off but work requirements may mean you are only able or allowed to take 3 or 4 days. If by some miracle you get a visa it will be tied to that company so it's more or less a case of do what they say or leave the country. Aside from time off you also have thongs like coverage for long term illness or injury. You may have 0 cover provided so you'll have to decide about long term (over 90 days) or short term (under 90 days) disability insurance. If you are looking to get a decent amount of free time to do things like travel or just do general hobbies, USA is not going to be a good fit for most.

steveq

Those are the kind of terms I've been offered for the job I've got in Pa. too - poor holidays are not standard in the USA, it depends on the employer.

I agree, if maximising vacations is your thing, the US may not be the place to seek employment. I happen to love what I do for a living, and spend a fair amount of "free" time doing what I get paid for anyway....