chawkins99

I came to the US in 2003 on an H1B visa without a degree which is normally required for the H1. What I did have was 20+ years of experience in IT and in a very niche field. Since then, I have had 4 jobs with 4 different companies. The best vacation deal I got was 20 days including sick (after 7 years' service). The next employer offered 15 days excluding sick but subsequently changed to 20 days including sick. In my current position I negotiated 15 days including sick but that is the max anyone gets even after 30 years.

My thought is that you may struggle due to a lack of experience. 4 years is not a lot, particularly as you started as an apprentice.

Degrees don't count for much when you have 15-20 years or more of 'relevant' experience but at your age, it may hurt you.

Good luck in your search.

TexanScot

Holiday entitlement in the UK is already higher than the minimum mandated by the EU, and successive UK governments (of various colors) have always been free to reduce this down to the EU minimum if they wanted to.

The fact that none of them have availed themselves of this opportunity suggests that it's not such a high priority as some of the wilder sections of the media would have people believe...

tom169

Some folks just want any opportunity to complain.

Pulaski

And there are some BEers who complain regardless of whether there is really anything to complain about at all.

TexanScot

Is there anything more British than complaining? 😁

tom169

Or complaining about complaints?

snowscreamer

Hi Craig,

I have had absolutely no trouble finding a great job as a Lead Software Developer in a small company in central Florida. And am constantly bombarded by recruiters via LinkedIn, much like my experience in the UK. It's a thriving field.

When I started job hunting, I did have 9 years of software development experience in the UK, and a Mathematics degree. Hard to tell to what extent that has worked in my favour.

Salaries are very good here for suburban jobs compared to the UK. I am paid more than I would be for the same job in central London, in suburban Orlando. Without the commuting costs and increased cost of living. We do plan to come back to the UK sometime in the next 4 years but in the meantime we are considerably better off financially here...! I do have very good benefits and vacation allowance plus flexible working and an understanding boss but that really is going to vary between companies. My company has an Australian boss and he purposely has set the bar high as he believes the standard US employment rights are poor.

Steerpike

My UK / US experience - for what it's worth (I haven't worked personally in the UK for decades, though I know people still working there) - is that the US has a more flexible approach to the workplace in general. Arrival time, hours in the office, etc seemed important back in the UK while in the US, all anyone cared about was getting the job done. I've always been a 'late riser' and always hated getting to work early. In the US, I quickly settled into a routine of late arrival, late departure, and no one cared. Equipment costs are generally cheaper in the US and as a result, workplaces tend to be better equipped - better workstations, bigger monitors, etc.

I also found that salaries are extremely negotiable in the US, at least in smaller companies. I worked my ass off and got big raises/bonuses every year for decades; there was really no 'standard' that seemed to be applied.

And of course, in the US, your employment status is way less secure. You can be fired virtually on the spot (especially if you aren't a minority). But - you can also be HIRED on the spot - no wait times. I've experienced several 'downturns' in the industry over the past 35 years and seen a lot of layoffs. In every single case, everyone that got laid off was re-hired pretty quickly and most got more money thrown into the bargain (this was in Palo Alto and San Francisco; can't speak for other regions of the country). I firmly believe the US software industry is in far better shape than the UK industry precisely because you can hire and fire relatively easily. We used to get rid of non-performers and bring in new people very quickly. And everyone we got rid of ... found better paying jobs within weeks. The US system is harsh and uncaring when you are dealing with low-paying, low-skilled jobs but the system is very much to the advantage of those in high-skilled, high-paying software jobs - IF you are willing to work hard.

I did have a degree and it was valuable, but only because I was applying for a green card and a degree is very helpful in that process.Otherwise, degrees (just like engineering certifications, etc) are not a factor - at least, not once you have a few years of experience. I hired countless software engineers in my career and several of the best had no degrees. The best guy I ever worked with, bar none, was a self-taught guy with only a high-school degree.


The more 'must haves' you put in your job ad, the more you can easily justify turning a candidate down, so I'm not surprised you were able to get these jobs despite the stated requirements. Moral of the story (to the OP) - don't be put off by stated requirements you don't necessarily meet!

Pulaski

You've spent too long living in America!

Lion in Winter

I'm going to complain about you complaining

LouisB

My experience is it is similar but like all things there’s a lot of variability between jobs, no two jobs are the same even if they seem to be on paper, UK and US alike. If you find a good employer and role, hold onto it. Naturally your family’s healthcare depends on it too.
I get similar hols to U.K.
I would say I agree with above comments on flexibility, if you’re good at your job and get things done a great deal of flexibility is available, assuming the employer is decent. This is great, basically be professional and it goes a long way.
coming from private trading houses in the U.K. that used to clock your in-out times, this flexibility/trust is a nice surprise.
my only other thing is watch out, cost of living can by higher, especially in expensive cities like NYC, outside of those where you can live much more cheaply, should find a decent situation. There are lots of big business HQs in the burbs...
good luck!