traceym

DH the geek just read that he's grinning from ear to ear and nodding!

chartreuse

I just saw what you did with your location, in your user profile.

traceym

Yea, it's because when I first heard it called that I asked if it was because blow up dolls were made there!

Bob

Why do you think that anyway? If you just want out of the UK, the rest of the EU would be easiest.

And how many years of actual experience do you have? Any niche skills to make you stand out?

Read the wiki for ways into the US to understand the process and read up on H1B and L1 visas as they're the most likely bets.

LinkedIn really is your best bet, tap up any contacts you have, search out companies that are posting jobs to find who might be doing the hiring rather than the standard HR and search out other people who might give you the way the company does their email such as HR person, first.surname@ company etc and just email who you want directly.

penguinsix

Linked in and the general process of networking is a major part of a job hunt in Silicon Valley, especially in IT. If you are not actively engaged in some forms of social media, you'll be looked at as "one of those enterprise-level old boys" rather than fast, nimble and in touch with the current trends. LinkedIn, Facebook, but also things like Twitter and Foursquare are very common out there.

I'd also recommend dice.com as they have a number of job leads in IT.

Note: You should also read this article in the NY Times about the problems facing the Tech Sector and employment. Not a good time to be job hunting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/bu...s.html?_r=1&hp

Hovik

Hi, I can only offer my own experience, but it might give some insight on how to move to the states. Btw, I never intended on going to the states, but often things just happen.

About two+ years ago I accepted a position at a smaller company. Before I was able to start, the company was acquired by a large US company. About 5 months ago I saw an internal listing for a position in the US I found very interesting, and got an offer shortly after. Work visa took a lot longer than expected, but got my L-1 a short while ago.

I would not recommend trying to figure out what will be the next hot thing in tech. Learn what you do well, talk at conferences when possible, and the linkedin requiters will find you. I'd recommend targeting companies/people directly if you lack experience, or work in a very narrow field.

If you want high standard of living, and balanced work/spare time, I'd recommend Norway ( not Oslo ). Unemployment is low, and not knowing Norwegian is not an issue in high-tech/research sector.

oicur0t

I am about to move (interview tomorrow at the US Embassy) with a company in the UK which has an office in the US (Foster City.) If you can I would suggest that would be the easiest (although not necessarily quick.)

S Folinsky

An article from the New York Times.

TimNiceBut

Errr....

You know that all those TV shows don't necessarily show the 'real' standard of living, right?

Nobody's going to care about GCSEs or A-levels. Usually it's the experience that counts and your ability to provide good references. I have no degree and didn't have that much of a problem finding a rather decent job, but I have a fairly decent track record when it comes to software engineering and delivering, plus I've got "some" commercial experience (has it really been a good 20 years?).

Yes, but there are (comparatively) a lot of IT jobs there. But if your goal is to improve your standard of living, you're looking in the wrong place IMHO - the cost of living there is high with a capital 'H' and there are enough unemployed IT people there to insure that salaries aren't going through the roof.

The cost of living down there is very high (think London prices or higher).

As mentioned before, your best bet is likely to find a company that has a presence in both the UK and the US. Don't forget that if you're talking about visa sponsorship you are competing with (cheaper) IT people from 'other' countries.

Jscl

Although hiring has slowed down in Silicon Valley I think as a software or hardware engineer it would still be your best bet. My dh works for a big company and they have a general hiring freeze but are still hiring to key positions where they simply haven't been able to find qualified engineers to fill the role.

Your PhD is the key to this, seeing as (I presume?) you haven't worked outside of academia. You would have to be red hot in terms of having direct and specialised experience in the most cutting edge tech out there. But those *very specialised* jobs are still out there, and they are still sponsoring H1-Bs IF you are one of those red hot people. $30K in visa costs is nothing to a big company looking for a key person to get a multi-million dollar product out on time.

So don't be dissuaded, but do be realistic. You have to be capital G good. And what they will pay you, if you're one of those, will give you a better standard of living than in the UK in my experience. Of course, you'll get 10 days' holiday a year and never see your family, but you would have a big house .

traceym

A big house in this area, erm yep, if your names Steve Jobs! A VERY experienced Software Engineer gets a fantastic salary and a lot more holiday than 10 days, but its all relative, you still have to live here and a big house, I wish!

Jscl

Guess it depends on your definition of "big" is. For our needs, ours is big, and affordable on an engineer's salary.

snowbunny

How does one get the "hot" skills if one's been in the industry a while?

I'm at the stage of life where I've got two kids to raise and disabled parents to look after. Taxes and bills consume a lot of money, so I have to work a LOT. For me to do a garage project in order to gain experience in a "hot" new area is not in the picture. I can't afford to take time out to do more formal study, so now what?

I *can* learn new technology; I do it all the time in my work, but it's incrementally new to what I already know. It's a lot easier to hire a 20-something in a developing country who'll do nothing but code and sleep. But that is destroying the ability of middle-aged workers who are the foundation of this country to earn a living, take care of children and parents, and pay taxes.

Jscl

If you mean hot as in the latest "java," or whatever it is they're programming these days, then personally, I think it's more or less impossible, sadly. You could take the same courses and they'd probably still hire someone cheap, right out of university.

By red hot I actually meant those skills which come through experience (or very deep study, like a PhD), and frankly it helps being old enough that when you were educated you did something fundamental that the courses these days simply skip over because they can't fit it in between all the new apps and platforms they have to learn. But you've still got to have a specific area that you can wow them in to get the job, and I guess from there just hope you become invaluable and they see your greater potential.

nettlebed

Don't knock fresh grads, especially if you take time to evaluate the quality of the school as well as the grads. We give lots of internships (probably more than 50 each year) to CS students from Waterloo, ON, since we've had so much good experience, and have built a good relationship and understanding with them. My department, with around 170 full-time employees, is hosting three Waterloo students for their second internships (paid, and paid well) this year. And students who complete an internship have a very good chance of employment. If you're a double-intern, a job pretty much your for the asking: after all, we have something line 2000 open positions right now (yes, thousand, not hundred).

For us, as I said above, building relationships with colleges is important, and pays dividends for us and students, and the school. Experience is important, yes, but we seem to have above average luck when hiring fresh grads as well. And that goes not just for Waterloo, but also for Iasi in Romania...