stephenry

Hi,

I am looking to immigrate to the US over the following months. I am lucky enough to have full US citizenship so I have no problem living or working over there.

I have recently graduated (after returning to university) with an MSc. in Computer Science at a very good university here in the UK (Edinburgh - actually, the top rated university for Comp. Sci). At present, I am looking at either finding a job here in the UK, or moving to work in the US. To me, this decision is a no brainer and I intend to move to the San Francisco/San Jose area.

Since I suspect the chances that a company would be willing to fly me from Scotland to the US for an interview would be very small, I am looking to move over there, get a stupid part time job (perhaps in a bar) and look for a real job when I'm over there.

Has anybody out there done this before and would it be a recommended choice of action? Are there other possibilities that I'm not considering?

Kind regards,

Steve

rpjs

Have you considered trying a multinational with a presence in the US and UK? Microsoft for instance have a big presence in the Bay Area (Hotmail) and offices in London and Reading. If you applied to them in the US they might let you do an initial interview at least in the UK.

stephenry

I actually work principally in Electronics (Computer Hardware Design - particularly microprocessor design). In the UK in general, certainly around Scotland, there are very few company (US or otherwise) that do this. Ideally, I could get a job in a US company and then transfer to an office there, although this would not be ideal.

rpjs

I guess another consideration is Ireland - doesn't Intel among others have a presence there? That might be a possibility for an initial interview if they're unwilling to bring you over to the US for one.

traceym

Cisco are hiring might be worth a look on their website?

stephenry

You know the weird thing? I was in downtown Mountain View on Saturday night and was talking to some guy that worked for Cisco that told me the same thing! Perhaps it was you! Irish bar on the main st? Hanging with another guy and two asian woman? (I'm not kidding on)

Apparently, they do a lot of ASIC design and have a campus 2 miles long! Try finding that in the Europe let alone the UK! I still doubt however that I would be able to get an interview whilst I'm still here in the UK.

md95065

Well, if the OP really wants to live in the Bay Area then Ireland really isn't going to cut it ...

To the OP - you said that you had returned to university to get your MSc and your other comments suggest that you have at least some real work experience although you don't say how much. The good news is that while the US economy still isn't doing particularly well, there are companies here in the Bay Area that are growing and actively hiring new people. The not so good news is that there is a large pool of available talent for them to choose from.

Your best bet is to network like crazy, get on sites like linkedin and get in touch with anyone any everyone you ever knew either in industry or academia that now works anywhere in the US (not just the Bay Area) and try to get some leads and referrals from them.

You are correct that actually being in the area and immediately available for interviews is going to be important, but remember that accommodation out here isn't cheap and part time jobs like bar tending are also very hard to come by. Do you have friends or relatives out here that you could stay with for a few months?

md95065

Google as well - we are hiring quite aggressively right now.

Bluegrass Lass

Wish I could offer some advice. My husband is facing the reverse of yours - he's trying to find a job in Scotland from here in the US.

I know that Intel also has a location in Portland, Oregon that is expanding. So if you're willing to reconsider location, that could be an option too. There are quite a few Brits up in that area that love it. And it would likely be a LOT less expensive to live there compared to San Fran.

traceym

I'm female and I was out in Sunnyvale not Mountain View on saturday night

traceym

Giz a job

rpjs

Uh, OP was concerned that prospective employers in the US wouldn't want/be able to interview him in the UK - I was just trying to suggest a couple of routes where he might be able to get an initial interview on his side of the Pond is all.

stephenry

That's funny... I was in a bar in Sunnyvale on Friday night. I went to the brewery then the "irish" bar across the street with the pool tables. Certainly, an interesting place! Looks like I just missed you! Hahah

stephenry

To be honest, electronics in Scotland is nothing like that in the US. I'd recommend the Edinburgh area, there are many analog design companies but not so many digital. Over here, the idea of a "big" electronics company is one with, perhaps 20-30 engineers!

stephenry

I'm not really a software engineer. Although I have a couple of colleagues that work for you (in Cambridge). The old "how can you derive a integer random number in the range [1,7] using a generator producing an integer between [1,5]?" interview question strikes me that obtaining a job there is not too easy, to say the least. (having said that I was able to come up with the answer).