HN Explorer

Ask HN: Am I qualified to work in US / Europe?

1 points by philipyoungg ↗ HN
Hello, HN!

I just recently graduated as Marketing Major (September 2015). I'm from Indonesia but am interested to work overseas. Below, I'll give listical information about me, so it's easier to read.

- I'm graduated as marketing major student from one of the best business school in Indonesia.

- While in college, I learned how to design brand identity online, and have served local clients. (I'm very comfortable with Photoshop & Illustrator).

- After graduated I was asked by my current client to work for his startup, Bukapintu. More on them in http://www.philipyoungg.com/projects/bukapintu

- I started learn how to code beginning of 2016.

- Now I'm comfortable building API, good enough to design simple database schema (I made authentication app), and comfortable with modern front end technology (React, Redux, Node, etc).

- 3 months ago, I tried to reach a client online and tells that his website is ugly and I can redesign them. Soon, I closed the deal.

- I can't sleep for the next 2 days because of the excitement.

- Then another one came from Behance and ever since then, we've done 2 projects together.

- To get client and new friends, I started to network in Twitter by following designer & developer overseas these past week.

Problem is, I didn't really enjoy client works. It is short lived. My dream is to make SaaS product, but currently I didn't know what to build. Besides, I want to get more experience first, hence working overseas.

I believe there are a lot more people talented than me. Visa sponsorship is expensive. What makes it worse: only big company issues it, therefore the candidate quality must be paramount. Even if I do, I'm still competing with locals. Company would pick them first instead of me.

Appreciate any feedback. It's on http://www.philipyoungg.com . Also, could you advise what should I do to improve myself?

I’m interested in Product Design, UX/UI, or Front-end development.

Thank you beforehand!

6 comments

[ 4.6 ms ] story [ 22.6 ms ] thread
brudgers
Whether or not a person can work in the US or Europe will require research and the only person who is likely to go through that effort is the person who wants to work in one of those places. I might read something about the emigration options of Indonesia's residents, but I'm unlikely to research it.

Following people on Twitter and posting to Hacker News is probably easier than doing the research and paperwork that is required to emigrate from Indonesia. It's probably easier than working with clients or building a SaaS. Partly this is because posting online and using Twitter successfully is the normal case and building a business and relocating around the world successfully is the exceptional case.

Doing the hard things means risking failure in addition to doing a lot of hard work.

Good luck.

philipyoungg
Hello Brudgers! I think I'm giving the wrong impression. Sorry if this was unclear. . What I mean by "qualify" is: are my current skill qualified enough to work on this industry? That's why I'm appending my portfolio for review.

Sorry for the lack of clarity!

brudgers
My apologies for misunderstanding. Which industry are you thinking of exactly?
philipyoungg
Tech industry. Specifically Product Design, UX/UI, or Front-end development. :)
brudgers
It looks like you're already doing those things. I did notice that a lot of the projects on your landing page are not linked from the grid but are linked from other places on the site. I'm not sure that shines the best light on your design.

While some people fly to the top of the design business. Most people work their way towards it over a number of years. I think that enjoying dealing with clients and a willingness to let other people make changes to one's designs is typically an important skill.

Good luck.

[deleted]
(comment deleted)