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Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

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Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#21

Post by NhanH »

dennybritz wrote: post #12
steven2012 wrote: post #10

Sorry 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 fo…

The chance without advanced degree is actually about 25% (it has been decreasing every year).

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#22

Post by brobinson »

buffoon wrote: post #5
sssilver wrote: post #4

So 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…

I'm about -$15,000 after three startup acquisitions (cost of buying stock options when I was laid off/quit).

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#23

Post by lucasnemeth »

Do you necessarily need to go to the US now? Since you don't have a Visa, that is really complicated. You cannot legally work with a b2 visa, if you do that, it can jeopardize future opportunities in the US. I would not recommend this path, not now at least.

I would recommend you to get more experience in the start-up environment first, get a good resume, and then apply for a H1B in the states, if that's your ultimate goal. If you can't find start-up jobs in Colombia, have you considered moving to São Paulo, Brazil? You're a Mercosul resident so it is easier for you to get a work visa in Brazil than in the US. Brazil is currently going through a crisis, so things aren't easy, but there's still a vibrant entrepreneur market. It's not hard to find technology jobs there. It is a good place to get experience in more modern technologies and in entrepreneurship.

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#24

Post by mabbo »

Everyone is telling you that basically America is a no go. Try Canada. Vancouver and Toronto have small but growing startup scenes, lots of big companies opening offices up north as well. Canada is pretty welcoming to immigrants, as long as you're earning enough to pay the fairly high taxes.

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#25

Post by jasonlbaptiste »

Hey, you should talk to Andres Barreto, I'll intro - j@jasonlbaptiste.com He runs a small seed fund and connects Colombian engineers with US startups. It's a great program and I've hired from it before.

Ps- ignore any discouraging comments. Fight hard and you can get what you want. Best of luck

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#26

Post by worldadventurer »

I think your best bet is to build a highly valuable skill-set that makes it worthwhile for companies in the US to go through the trouble of getting you a Visa. You need to differentiate yourself from talent they can find domestically without the visa hassle.

In the interim, look at joining startups in other countries where you can build that highly valuable skill-set. This is self-promotion, but check out our startup, engageSPARK, where we use highly valued skills (GoLang, Docker, Microservices, AWS, Thrift, Django, etc) and based in Philippines. And, at the same time, help build a startup with American founders that is working on poverty alleviation. :)

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#27

Post by yitchelle »

r3m6 wrote: post #15

Does 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".

I was about the make the same comment. There are plenty of other tech centers around the world, although SF is one of the better ones. Berlin and London are also pretty good and vibrant. You may also try to look at the 2nd tier tech cities in Spanish speaking countries such as Barcelona may be another option.

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#28

Post by VLM »

amelius wrote: post #16

Even 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.

Interesting strategy idea: Work remotely for a SFO company for months/years at a time, then visit SFO as a tourist between jobs. There are also other interesting places to visit in the USA while between jobs or contracts.

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#29

Post by dtech81 »

Hi Stephen,

Congratulations on your great aspirations and willingness to pursue them with hard work!

If it doesn't work out for you in California, I suggest moving to Buenos Aires. Although I am from California, I lived there for many years and it's a great city with tons of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial spirit as well as hacker and programmer culture. In some ways, it is much more of an entrepreneurial place than anywhere in the USA, in my opinion, due to the fact that people have necessarily developed more of a DIY attitude. Best of all: Colombian immigrants/expats are much more welcome there than most other places, especially the USA. In fact, I heard that Colombians can attend and graduate from the University of Buenos Aires (which has an excellent Computer Science dept.) so you may be able to get an education there also. FYI, University of Buenos Aires is more or less FREE. If you have skills and can show that you are developing them quickly, I think getting a good job as a software developer there should also be possible. I'd checkout Globant, OmbuLabs and Inaka first. They are software consultancies with good reputations.

Good luck and keep going!

Re: Tell HN: My own version of the American dream

#30

Post by wyclif »

buffoon wrote: post #5
sssilver wrote: post #4

So 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…

What do you use to find out which certs are popular?
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