But SF is already overfull with techies talking about how to make the world better why swerving away homeless people lying on streets. Why do you think joining the crowd and making real estate prices even higher is the best application of your abilities?
Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
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Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#12Sorry to be negative, but it will be almost impossible for you to get a job here this way, unless you are from a country that has a flexible work visa arrangement (Canada, Australia, etc). In fact, you could get banned from entering the country for 10+ years if you lie as to your intent for entering the US and you get found out. And if you tell them your intent is to find a job, you will also be denied. It's a no-win…
To add to that, even if a company is willing to sponsor a H1B visa there's no guarantee that would actually get one. It's lottery because there are too many applications. Without an advanced degree the chances are 40-50% I believe.
I agree that going to university in the US is easiest way, but it's also quite expensive. And there's no guarantee that you would get a visa after that. In fact, many of my friends were forced to go back to their country after finishing their full degree in the US because they couldn't get an H1B, and that includes those who went to highly-ranked universities.
IMO your best chance (besides marriage) may be to 1. Get an advanced degree and 2. Build a highly valuable skillset that US companies are looking for. App/Web development is great, but there are many people who can do that and you'd need to be extraordinary for any startup to go through the trouble of sponsoring an H1B. On the other side of this are PhDs who solve hard problems at big companies. These are more likely to get a visa (in fact, the US is very good at taking away all the best researchers from other countries ;))
Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#13A little word of caution. You haven't mentioned your visa situation, but given that you said you can stay for 6 months I'm going to assume you are on a B2 visa. When you arrive in the US, be ready to explain why you are NOT planning on moving here or finding a job. You aren't coming to SF to look for work, you're coming as a TOURIST and are going to see some sights, and then head home. Also, the longer you say you ar…
Sorry, but this is terrible advice. You should not be counseling someone to lie when they enter into the US. You literally could get them banned from entering the US for many years, or even permanently, if their lie is caught by the agents. And these agents are trained to catch liars, so if the OP uses your advice and gets caught up in his lies, he could be turned away without any hesitation.
Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#14So you get a job at a decent startup that actually has viable potential (likely not), get 1% equity (likely half that, since you said you're not an expert), work super hard effectively two full time jobs hardly making ends meet, and then your startup beats all odds (likely doesn't), and gets acquired for 20 million dollars (likely less). You've just made $200,000 before taxes. Was it worth the risk and the effort? Co…
Err. Keep in mind the OP is from Colombia, is interested in entrepreneurship, and has big dreams. And s/he is probably young. Can we all leave the cynicism for later in life? If you think someone's dreams are a mistake, let them try and fail.
Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#15Does it have to be the US? What about Berlin or Paris?
http://www.bamf.de/EN/Infothek/FragenAntworten/BlaueKarteEU/...
In a nutshell, if you find an employer willing to hire you for a regular paid high-tech job, you will get a work visa, aka "Blue Card".
Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#16Even if you cannot easily get a visa to work here (as some of the comments mention), you could still write apps for the US market, I guess.
Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#17Sorry to be negative, but it will be almost impossible for you to get a job here this way, unless you are from a country that has a flexible work visa arrangement (Canada, Australia, etc). In fact, you could get banned from entering the country for 10+ years if you lie as to your intent for entering the US and you get found out. And if you tell them your intent is to find a job, you will also be denied. It's a no-win…
The American wake up.
Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#18So you get a job at a decent startup that actually has viable potential (likely not), get 1% equity (likely half that, since you said you're not an expert), work super hard effectively two full time jobs hardly making ends meet, and then your startup beats all odds (likely doesn't), and gets acquired for 20 million dollars (likely less). You've just made $200,000 before taxes. Was it worth the risk and the effort? Co…
Yep that ain't likely to work. For every success story there are 99 failures. Get a popular cert. Work premium contract jobs (£600/day here). Screw the market hard and retire after 20 years with some reasonable cash. Sure you're not going to be Musk or Zuck rich but how much money do you really need? Take equity if someone offers it but not in lieu of hard cash. I've made about £20k in equity pay outs which isn't a w…
It's practical and you'll be right 8 times out of 10. But it also assumes that the only motivation for starting a company is money.
I'm running a startup that solves a very real problem lots of people have. The money is a nice bonus, but the real thrill is being able to solve a problem.
If you have an engineering brain, you know this as well: solving a problem just feels good. Doesn't matter whether the problem is fixing a broken faucet or helping people manage car repairs better (what I'm trying to do).
So for me, the real benefit of running a startup is that you get to solve a problem you care passionately about. If you can do that at someone else's company (and get paid handsomely for it), then by all means, go ahead and do it. But if you can't find companies solving the problems you care about, then you have no option but to roll up the sleeves and solve it yourself
Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#19I have similar story. Cheers.
Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep that ain't likely to work. For every success story there are 99 failures. Get a popular cert. Work premium contract jobs (£600/day here). Screw the market hard and retire after 20 years with some reasonable cash. Sure you're not going to be Musk or Zuck rich but how much money do you really need? Take equity if someone offers it but not in lieu of hard cash. I've made about £20k in equity pay outs which isn't a w…
It's practical and you'll be right 8 times out of 10. But it also assumes that the only motivation for starting a company is money. I'm running a startup that solves a very real problem lots of people have. The money is a nice bonus, but the real thrill is being able to solve a problem. If you have an engineering brain, you know this as well: solving a problem just feels good. Doesn't matter whether the problem is fi…
You're right. That's the thing though; don't expect to make any money out of doing anything you love. The phrase "labour of love" is very appropriate.
Currently I'm digging a large financial company out of a big hole full of poo that they dug and then tried to swim in and decided that they didn't like it. If I'm honest, I really don't care about that but it pays the bills. I prefer fixing and replacing bits of my friend's Macs for nothing and playing BOFH on all the kit in my house.