Ask HN: How do I get in touch with US/EU developers? (attempting to network)

Maybe I am naive, but why not try to answer a remote job ad?

If you know only English, you should search jobs in countries where it's not a problem to speak English at work. I know this is possible in Germany and Scandinavian countries. Madagascar is nearly on the same longitude as Finland...

> "freelance companies"

I am curious about that, why not finding customers by yourself? What is the main roadblock that makes it difficult?

- Backend developers are pretty active on Slack [1] - Frontend developers on the other hand are active in Facebook group [2]

Most of the discussion is held in czech and slovak languages, but if you start conversation in english, everybody will happily write you back.

There is also another, not that easy to get into, but more global hub - Toptal’s Slack. To get into Slack, you must be part of Toptal platform, which is itself a remote job platform (you find jobs there). There is channel for every country in Toptal’s Slack. I share my referal link to Toptal onboarding [3]

    [1] https://pehapkari.cz/
    [2] https://www.facebook.com/groups/frontendisti/
    [3] https://www.toptal.com/Xwxv7N/worlds-top-talent

A few to check out:

- Georgia Tech, commonly referred to as OMSCS https://omscs.gatech.edu/

- University of Texas https://www.cs.utexas.edu/graduate-program/masters-program/m...

- UIUC https://cs.illinois.edu/academics/graduate/professional-mcs/...

I guess you're looking at it :)

I don't really have much advice to give, but feel free to add me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/till-schroeder

Since you're learning programming, I'd recommend doing some little projects, and try to find some fun in it. That will make it easier. Best of luck!

Asking this question here is probably the best thing to do.

Though it sounds like you're still learning. Don't expect to make great money until you've proven yourself. In any country. Of course other countries you'll be paid according to local standards but still crap. And consultancy companies always exploit their employees. When I consulted the company charged 10x as much for my services as they paid me. And still managed to make a loss due to all the useless management layers and overpaying the sales suits that were so stupid they sold stuff we couldn't possibly make.

But be aware a company looking for remote developers from Madagascar is probably doing this so they can pay you a pittance as well and think you'll be happy with it. If they're going to pay you their country's local wages for a starter job, they'll rather get someone actually local I guess. Makes the whole tax thing a lot easier too, they can keep an eye on you (like sick leave etc) and for moving you over the immigration process will be prohibitive for them. The problem is they're not going to go to this kind of effort for a starter position unless they have no choice.

I think the best thing you can do is become a known expert in your specific niche. Make sure you're on all the fora and slack/discords whatever for the stacks and frameworks you use. Help people there when they have questions. Soon you'll become a known and this may lead to things.

PS I have lived and worked in 4 countries. Though all Western well off ones.

https://libera.chat/

> If someone is looking for a mentee also, I would love to have someone more experienced guide me through this journey

You maybe want to network with devs from your country first, as they would be the ones to know who’s hiring and what are the local businesses in the tech scene. And they would know how to get visas to the countries you are interested in (some of them might have immigrated there as well).

Hope to chat soon!