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Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

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Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#31

Post by bluescrn »

qeternity wrote: post #4
klipt wrote: post #3

If you can qualify for that, you might also qualify for O1/EB1 visas in the US which gives a fast track to green card. From what I've heard London has similar high cost of living to Silicon Valley but much lower software engineering compensation, so seems a less desirable place for engineers to work.

London cost of living is nowhere near Silicon Valley. London can be expensive, but it can also be quite affordable.

Affordable if you're earning 6 figures, or if you're prepared to live like a student, perhaps...

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#32

Post by bluescrn »

shankysingh wrote: post #7
qeternity wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

London cost of living is nowhere near Silicon Valley. London can be expensive, but it can also be quite affordable.

Specailly because public transport is amazing, living outside city is doable, while drawing comparable salary.

Public transport is vastly more effective than anywhere else in the UK. But it's still pretty grim, hugely overcrowded at peak times, very unpleasant in warm weather, and that was before there was a deadly virus in the air.

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#33

Post by exdsq »

itsbits wrote: post #8
klipt wrote: post #3

If you can qualify for that, you might also qualify for O1/EB1 visas in the US which gives a fast track to green card. From what I've heard London has similar high cost of living to Silicon Valley but much lower software engineering compensation, so seems a less desirable place for engineers to work.

I don't understand as well..why are compensations so low in London compared to other places? I mean even if you consider cost of living..not good at all

First job was £21k in tech support and I lived in a studio appartment in central London (zone 1) with my partner who was an undergrad at the time. Still had as fun a time then as I do now on a fair bit more than that.

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#34

Post by isatty »

vultour wrote: post #23
klipt wrote: post #3

If you can qualify for that, you might also qualify for O1/EB1 visas in the US which gives a fast track to green card. From what I've heard London has similar high cost of living to Silicon Valley but much lower software engineering compensation, so seems a less desirable place for engineers to work.

COL is ~1k per bedroom in zone 2/3. I'd say average compensation for "serious" IT positions is 50-70k, you can get to about 150k if you work for a hedge fund or in senior positions at large corporations, after that it's very difficult. So yes, obviously less desirable than making 400k in SF, but as far as Europe goes it doesn't get much better anywhere else.

Not exactly EU, but it does. Switzerland.

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#35

Post by ptr »

vultour wrote: post #23
klipt wrote: post #3

If you can qualify for that, you might also qualify for O1/EB1 visas in the US which gives a fast track to green card. From what I've heard London has similar high cost of living to Silicon Valley but much lower software engineering compensation, so seems a less desirable place for engineers to work.

COL is ~1k per bedroom in zone 2/3. I'd say average compensation for "serious" IT positions is 50-70k, you can get to about 150k if you work for a hedge fund or in senior positions at large corporations, after that it's very difficult. So yes, obviously less desirable than making 400k in SF, but as far as Europe goes it doesn't get much better anywhere else.

That compensation is on par with Stockholm, and that's in Europe. With a lower COL.

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#36

Post by yaseer »

user5994461 wrote: post #18
itsbits wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand as well..why are compensations so low in London compared to other places? I mean even if you consider cost of living..not good at all

The exchange rate. London was relatively competitive when the exchange rate was above $1.5 for a pound. Note that it was approaching $2 for most of the 2000s until the financial crisis. You could make bank easily in London as a contractor (very low taxes), maybe more than in the Silicon Valley. Then over the last decade the exchange rate plumetted and the cost of rent/home doubled, while salaries and daily rates didn…

Agree with this.

Back in ~2007 when the exchange rate was ~$2 London salaries seemed competitive. I remember travelling to the US and everything seemed cheap.

In a post-Brexit ~$1.3 exchange rate, travelling to NY was painful.

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#37

Post by thawayuk »

user5994461 wrote: post #27
twic wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something like this, but not quite this. The going rate for a good senior developer at a decent company is on the order of 80 - 90 k (maybe more). Where by "good" i mean "Pivotal Labs alumnus", and "senior" i mean 5+ years experience, and "decent company" i mean successful FTSE100 company or funded startup, since those are most of the data points i have. That's base salary, and there will be pension contributions, be…

>>> Day rates for contractors seem to vary a lot, but 400 - 600 a day, maybe? The contracting scene is still adapting to recent tax law changes, though. Contracting has taken a massive hit with COVID and with the change in tax rate, that both happened almost at the same time. Contracting was definitely the way to make it in London. You could charge £500-1000 easily a decade ago with very little taxes. Depends on the…

L6 at FAANG, never went to college and numerous other engineers at my level and across the company haven’t either. Also never spent a penny on health care in the US. Fully covered with Kaiser and company plan I am in 30’s, so maybe due to few issues, but health coverage is good.

Also, worked in London and TC of £500k+ was possible for an L6 after 4 years of refreshers and performance multiplier. Knew a few peers on packages closer to $1MM. Definitely possible, but maybe this is a small select group. FAANG are generally growing in London though. Easier to find talent than in the US right now.

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#38

Post by robk »

I'm in the UK and know this team. Happy to talk over email if any questions. It's undoubtedly a fantastic visa and arguably the best in Europe if a passport asap is your goal. I'd venture nearly any regular reader here can probably meet the criteria and it's definitely meant to not need a lawyer to apply!

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#39

Post by illirik »

RugnirViking wrote: post #30
voisin wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone from any reasonably sized city in any reasonably developed country seems to be saying the same thing at the moment!

hah - although that is true, there do exist cheaper cities and more expensive cities. It's why many folks interested in startups are choosing places like Austin, Boulder, Detriot etc over NY or san fransisco. A reccomendation from me would be sheffield - great university and good startup culture as well as relatively affordable leases

A house in Boulder costs a million dollars nowadays! Maybe cheaper than San Francisco, but Boulder is up to Seattle prices

Re: Ask HN: Did anybody apply for UK Global Talent visa? How did it go?

#40

Post by wreath »

ghaff wrote: post #16
wreath wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People will tell you that universal health care and other such programs make up for the low salary (same as the "rest of Europe" - quoting since it varies wildly in quality across Europe).

People will say that. But I'd point out that if you're working for a typical tech company--or, indeed, most companies employing professionals--you're probably covered by health insurance through your employer. You're often paying for some of it and you'll have some out of pocket up to a max, but the amounts involved are likely modest compared to salaries.

Yep exactly. it's important to remember that most of SWE are spared from the ugliness of the healthcare problems in the US yet enjoy higher salaries and lower taxes than most of Europe. So it's almost a net win in this regard.
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