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Ask HN: What are your advices for an european wishing to work in North America?

8 points by Mimu ↗ HN
Hi,

I tried to ask the question as neutral as possible, because I think it might interest other people. I'll also not show any portfolio or links about myself (at first at least) so this topic stays "for everyone".

I personnally am french, 25, soon (in 1 month) owner of a Master's degree in Computer Science (I believe that's the equivalent) and fully willing to relocate overseas to work and live. I would prefer the United States but I heard (and see) that Canada is way easier to get into. Only requirements is: people are talking english.

What could you advice a guy like me to do? Why an US company would hire me over the dozens (or more) of young US citizens applying for the job? Do you know someone who had been there and succeed / fail?

Thanks.

9 comments

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eswat
Canada might actually be harder for you to get into thanks to this scandal[1] made by one of our larger banks. We tried to get a recent-grad from France to stay here - he interned for the startup I work at - and the government denied his LMO. Not saying the scandal was directly related, but the reasons they gave us for their refusal to let him stay reeked of bullshit.

[1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/rbc-replaces-...

untog
My route to the US from Europe wasn't typical - I had put my resume up on monster.com of all places and had no thoughts of moving to the US (because I didn't think it would be possible anyway). I got a call about a job in the US, interviewed, they sorted my visa and before I knew it I had moved. It wasn't a fascinating company though (and certainly not within the HN world) - I transferred my visa to a startup a year later.

First things first - you can't get a visa without a job. But you can take a vacation to Silicon Valley/New York and meet people/interview, then return home to start the visa application process. That might be your best first step.

As someone who (according to what you say) doesn't have any work experience, don't immediately reject anything that isn't a startup. I don't regret the year I spent working for a larger organization before going to startup-land because I learnt a lot about the professional world, and it boosted my resume. And larger companies tend to be very open to hiring new grads and are able to deal with the visa process a lot better than some startups.

(I also used to live in Canada and miss it. HN/tech is very Silicon Valley centric but it isn't the only answer. Canada is a fine, fine country to live in and I wouldn't reject it out of hand)

Mimu
I do have some experience through several internships, I would say like 15 months, give or take. And I learned a lot like you said, especially on every non-technical aspects.

I don't really focus on startup. I'm not looking for my dream job right away (I mean I am but I don't expect to find it), I'm basically looking for a job overseas so I can get better in technical skills, get good at english and discover new cultures, and go from there.

I also heard for everyone who'd been there that Canada is a fine country. :D

mchannon
Why not just start off with Quebec? While it may not present every job opportunity available throughout the rest of North America, it certainly qualifies as North American, and should make a great jumping-off point as you practice your English in the comfort of a Francophone community.
zkar
One option is to enter the US for graduate studies. Noticed that you have a Masters Equivalent. However there is no harm in doing another Masters in US university. Barriers like work permit to job entry is much less on finishing up the masters in US.
27182818284
Is there an exchange type program, but not for students? I know a few people (and even myself in the past) would have loved to go work in Europe for, say, a couple of years. I'm sure others in Europe would love to try the same for a bit.
eshvk
Your best bet is to work for a trans-national organization. I know EU people at Mozilla who used to do stints in the MV office. My current employer, a Swedish based company that has a NYC office also has quite a few people who spend extensive chunks of time in both continents.
soboleiv
I'm 25 years old and Ukrainian. Had like 2 'natural' opportunities to stay there(but I'm still in Ukraine). My model is the following: * Start with something * Remote worker for a while * Good feedback on the stuff done * Personal connection - we tend to get along

Starting in my case was based on the following factors: * Cost * Some not rather common knowledge/experience needed