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Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

takemetosiliconvalley.com

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Re: Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

#11

Post by untog »

bri3d wrote: post #9
kloncks wrote: post #6

As someone who's dropped out of college (three months ago) to start a company in Silicon Valley, I would urge you to think a lot about this decision. I know I have. It's a very serious decision and one that a lot of people take hastily, not knowing what it will really entail until much later. College is important. I plan on going back before I die. You can get involved with startups, work with them and learn from the…

I'd urge him to consider carefully not only because dropping out of university might not be wise, but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa. An H-1B visa isn't a big deal, but it prevents you from working for a few weeks on contract to try things out, and it makes it quite a bit harder to change companies or quit. Valley companies tend to overwork and under-compensate, and an H-1B makes it -that muc…

but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa.

Actually, getting an H1B visa without a college education is near-to-impossible. I have a college education that isn't in computing, and I've had to provide evidence of six years of work experience as an alternative. I doubt our 19 year old friend will be able to do that.

Plus he can't "work for food for two months"- in fact, just that being on his site would probably be a giant red flag for immigration. You have to be paid a prevailing wage.

The easy answer here is to do internships. I'm not sure what the visa situation around them is exactly, but I'm sure it's easier than getting an H1B.

Re: Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

#13

Post by mattblalock »

phatlovesyou wrote: post #10

you seem like kind of a nice guy, and I'm sure you're a great designer. that said, try to not start your resume off with a picture of some boobs.

Hrm. Didn't notice boobs, wondering if Filip is really smart and knows it will lure men in... very good sales pitch, IMHO.

Re: Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

#14

Post by devs1010 »

moocow01 wrote: post #12

"I would love to join to your team in Palo Alto, California" You may want to broaden that statement - Palo Alto is a very small piece of the Silicon Valley pie

Yep, I was just thinking the same thing. A lot of the "hot" startups are actually in San Francisco itself so may want to take that into account. Beyond Silicon Valley proper there are companies scattered throughout the Bay Area region also.

Re: Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

#16

Post by alexholehouse »

untog wrote: post #11
bri3d wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd urge him to consider carefully not only because dropping out of university might not be wise, but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa. An H-1B visa isn't a big deal, but it prevents you from working for a few weeks on contract to try things out, and it makes it quite a bit harder to change companies or quit. Valley companies tend to overwork and under-compensate, and an H-1B makes it -that muc…

but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa. Actually, getting an H1B visa without a college education is near-to-impossible. I have a college education that isn't in computing, and I've had to provide evidence of six years of work experience as an alternative. I doubt our 19 year old friend will be able to do that. Plus he can't "work for food for two months"- in fact, just that being on his site wou…

H1Bs, without a significant body of work to prove yourself with, are VERY hard to come by. Believe me.

Re: Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

#17

Post by bri3d »

untog wrote: post #11
bri3d wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd urge him to consider carefully not only because dropping out of university might not be wise, but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa. An H-1B visa isn't a big deal, but it prevents you from working for a few weeks on contract to try things out, and it makes it quite a bit harder to change companies or quit. Valley companies tend to overwork and under-compensate, and an H-1B makes it -that muc…

but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa. Actually, getting an H1B visa without a college education is near-to-impossible. I have a college education that isn't in computing, and I've had to provide evidence of six years of work experience as an alternative. I doubt our 19 year old friend will be able to do that. Plus he can't "work for food for two months"- in fact, just that being on his site wou…

I agree that an internship would probably be easier overall, but the organization would need to be approved as an "Internship Program" first. I think there's a limited incentive to do all the lawyering necessary to get only one person in for less than 12 months, which is why we don't see many J1 interns in the valley.

Plus, my word of warning about painful working conditions applies doubly to a J1 internship visa, which as far as I know doesn't allow a transfer between companies (or quitting) at all.

Re: Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

#18

Post by xarien »

aaront wrote: post #7

Looks great, just a few little things: * "I am Filip Santa, 19 years old designer from Slovakia" sounds a little strange. Maybe something like "I am Filip Santa, a 19 year old designer from Slovakia" * In your timeline, instead of "Learning what is layer", maybe "Learning about layers" * Also in the timeline: "Trying first webs & posters", maybe "Designing first web sites & posters" And, here's my OCD peeking through…

When I read that first bullet, my first thought was of Borat. Pop culture wins again...!!!

Re: Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

#19

Post by MetalMASK »

untog wrote: post #11
bri3d wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd urge him to consider carefully not only because dropping out of university might not be wise, but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa. An H-1B visa isn't a big deal, but it prevents you from working for a few weeks on contract to try things out, and it makes it quite a bit harder to change companies or quit. Valley companies tend to overwork and under-compensate, and an H-1B makes it -that muc…

but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa. Actually, getting an H1B visa without a college education is near-to-impossible. I have a college education that isn't in computing, and I've had to provide evidence of six years of work experience as an alternative. I doubt our 19 year old friend will be able to do that. Plus he can't "work for food for two months"- in fact, just that being on his site wou…

The VISA situation for internship would be F1, specifically F1-CPT. It would be much easier if Filip is studying in the US, but it is still easier compared to getting H1B.

Getting a silicon valley company to give him an offer would be a per-requisite.

Re: Take me to Silicon Valley: 19 year old designer seeking opportunity

#20

Post by alexholehouse »

For what it's worth, and there's a lot of feedback here relating to technical issues/lifestyle choices etc, but considering you're applying to be a designer I thought the site looked and felt awesome. Totally engaging, easy to read and follow, and I read right to the end.

Great pitch.

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