sandhut

Hi All

I have tried for the past 2 years now to try and find a job in the USA preferably in California, with not much luck…

I see there are a few folks here who have been successful, and would be very grateful. if you guys could give me some advice from your experiences of the best path for me to follow.

I am currently working in a QA role and enjoy this role, if there is anyone with information please let me know

Thanks in advance

Duncan Roberts

Get to the top of your field so people will want to sponsor you or specialize in a niche area of QA. It costs a lot of time and money to sponsor somebody so it has to be worth their while. Ask yourself, do you honestly think you are outstanding enough that you could beat out hundreds of thousands of candidates for jobs who could start at the drop of a hat and with no cost to the employer?

sandhut

Thanks for your reply Duncan

I feel that in the Area of QA that I currently specialize in is in testing hardware Mobile Data applications used on the private network which is used by all the emergency services in the UK, and is currently the only nation wide network of it kind in the world. I know that there are plans for a similar network to be set up in the LA, know as LA-RICS.

Any more advice would be grateful from anyone

Orangepants

Networking, being headhunted, great qualifications and ...networking....and a big dollop of luck!!
I work for a US bank in London and am transferring on a L1 - probably one of the more straightforward ways but still not without its issues. Not the best time to be looking for a job with the unemployment rate shooting past 8.5% and lots of great talent out there on the streets.
I had some great contacts in banking in Charlotte which took 2/3 years to cultivate through boyfriend, friends, many visits etc. (I was living in the Caribbean) and its now been 3 years since I was offered a job through those contacts so it's been an almost 6 year process.
Getting married would be the far easier option - wish my boyfriend was a USC!!

sandhut

Getting married would be best option but already married so bang goes that idea

Duncan Roberts

Do you have any certifications or professional memberships? If LA-RICS is like most government projects it will be planned, then RFPs will be sent out, those will be evaluated and then contracts given to individual companies for various aspects of it that they hope will all gel together. Some of those contracts may be outsourced themselves. If that's the case, the companies that answer the RFPs will usually have their own staff and will either not need people or need a small number of people who can start quickly and don't mind being on limited contracts. It would be unlikely that somebody such as yourself would be able to get a piece of the action.

caleyjag

I have a PhD in applied optics, specifically applying lasers to microscopy and cancer studies, and am an expert in the related areas of scientific computer programming (image analysis and machine vision).

Firstly, I came over as an academic, which is a comparatively easy way to do it, since universities have an easier time getting visas. This approach is best suited to scientists and engineers. While working for a uni out here a big US company found my thesis online, due to the fact that my research was what they needed. They are now sponsoring me for the H1.

So, a lot of advanced study throughout the past decade, followed by a good bit of luck. It's been a long journey but worth it.

I should make the point that a move to California, where I had studied as an undergraduate ten years ago, was always a motivating factor for sticking with all the advanced study. I'm pleased that my loose plans are kinda working out.

Bob

Good luck...but there's plenty of people who QA already here, so you'd need to have niche skills to make it worth while...your best bet would be a company transfer or a Brit company that's E set up to get that for you...look at Nokia and most of the other telecoms companies for a chance.

It's a shit time to be looking for a job though and that's for people who are already here and able to work.

tonrob

Had you considered Utah?

sandhut

All thanks for your replies so far

Tonrob why is there some possibilities that you know of in Utah

Duncan Roberts

Mormons