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Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

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Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#51

Post by rockyj »

reacharavindh wrote: post #2

It comes down to preferences and priorities. The decision is personal. Here are some aids. US: + once you finish education, and if you start employment in tech sector, you get to make more money(I’d even dare to say more than 2x, considering taxes, geography etc). + for the tech sector, US is where the hotness is. More opportunities, fuel for ambition. + while single and young, US can get you a lot of disposable inco…

Great summary. One thing I would add is, tech salaries are much lower in EU, you cannot easily get multiple offers of 100K+ salary even with a decade of experience. But as mentioned in US you can get a much higher salary but you also will be tied down with medical insurance etc. and you need to build your own (and bigger) safety net.

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#52

Post by 698969 »

donohoe wrote: post #44

I would absolutely get the qualification - especially under the circumstances you describe. You can get by without it, but it will close off many great opportunities if you don’t have it. It positions you inside the US and may make it easier to work here initially. Salaries here are much higher than EU, and opportunities much better imho. You can always move to EU later, and be in a much stronger position. Background…

What was your path to moving to the US without a college degree, H1B with the 12 year experience substitution or something else?

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#53

Post by fishclimbingice »

As someone that went to college in the US and lives in Berlin:

How likely is it that you can secure a high earning job in the US after you graduate? There are plenty of developers in the US not getting FAANG money/benefits.

Unless you need to speak German for your job, you can very easily get by here without it (not saying you should). The only time you will notice uni degrees is when wondering why the working students are 10 years older than you. There are plenty of people here (and the US) that get jobs after completing coding bootcamps.

As others have said, it's going to be a matter of personal preference and what kind of trade-offs you want to make.

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#54

Post by tekla »

Denote6737 wrote: post #43
ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #24

The us is the greatest country in earth for risk taking, failing and then succeeding. If you see yourself having that in you, by all means us is the only way. If you want to just chill and not have high highs but just let the govt take care of you, go to Europe.

This is honest an American centric attitude. to flip it on it's head. If you get ill or injured in the us you could be more than the $20K in debt for hospital bills. Whereas Europe has healthcare that will not take away everything you have. Also there is the fact that America is extremely anti-immigration at the moment.

Many US states provides free health care if you are not able to afford it. Just go to one of those states.

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#55

Post by jlund-molfese »

bequanna wrote: post #36
glitchc wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's always funding available for exceptional students, regardless of where they come from.

For private schools, sure. They should be able to do whatever they want. But public universities take tax dollars and should be accountable to taxpayers. Given how high tuition has become, I doubt most taxpayers would support academic scholarships for non citizens.

American students like going to school with people from different countries, and many undergraduate applicants look for a geographically diverse student body when choosing a school. Exceptionally good students also provide benefits to everyone around them if they take up teaching assistant or club leadership positions on campus. Alumni might give more money to their alma mater if advertising shows that the university has a “global perspective.”

It’s kind of like universities spending hundreds of millions of dollars on fitness or sports centers. The funding doesn’t make sense on paper, but students and alumni who donate money want schools to have them anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#56

Post by throwup238 »

698969 wrote: post #50
throwup238 wrote: post #33

Go get your degree. Immigrating to anywhere else in the Western world basically requires an undergraduate degree and if you don’t get permanent residence and a path to citizenship in Germany you may be locked out completely due to a tough job market. US University scholarships for undergrad are also harder to get once you’ve aged out of the standard path so it may be now or never. What happens after the degree will n…

> I say this as someone who got a GC Were you on an F1 visa or something else?

Dependent of an H1b, so I'm not saying the "drop out to do a startup" option will be available to you, I would have stayed if my visa depended on it (I had already been in the US for over a decade as a dependent)

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#57

Post by shankr »

reacharavindh wrote: post #2

It comes down to preferences and priorities. The decision is personal. Here are some aids. US: + once you finish education, and if you start employment in tech sector, you get to make more money(I’d even dare to say more than 2x, considering taxes, geography etc). + for the tech sector, US is where the hotness is. More opportunities, fuel for ambition. + while single and young, US can get you a lot of disposable inco…

> + politics (left leaning compared to the US on average)

- Right wing is on rise in many European countries. Dutch recently elected one such government. Germany's right wing party has plans to deport all non white, non German immigrants irrespecrtive of whether they are legal/illegal. They are polling quite high.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/10/politicians-fr...

- Spain/Italy both have right wing governments in power.

Few other cons about most of European countries:

- No matter what you will always be treated like a foreigner. Hence feeling of higher isolation.

- European population is getting old. OP will be working for quite a long time for a very low pension. US employers provide things like 401K and has much robust pension system.

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#58

Post by FredPret »

Career aside - I’ve had the experience of being an immigrant in both North America and Europe. There’s no comparison: go to the USA.

This is about more than stats and numbers - it’s about finding a new home, being welcomed, being able to fit in, open minded locals. Even really conservative North Americans are super nice and welcoming if you stick to the rules.

Having said all that, actually getting the right to move there is easier said than done, but totally worth it.

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#59

Post by eptcyka »

sjhdjshdjskhds wrote: post #32
eptcyka wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ignore this *itpost. I had the chance to study at better universities, but chose a cheap option that got me work experience as soon as possible. I graduated it whilst also doing a full time job. If I were to do it again, I'd probably take on some debt and take more care whilst studying, but at the time the lack of a steady income (hence I worked 75% of my study time) really drove me anxious. I'd say, plan your life a…

Your ego tells a story that you had a choice. You never did.

I didn't have a choice at the time - I didn't have the information I do now. Maybe people can gain something from the regrets of my own experience. Maybe it won't apply. Spewing platitudes that might well be true will hardly affect the decision making process of the person in question.

Re: Ask HN: Help me solve a dilemma, study in the US or take a job in the EU?

#60

Post by 698969 »

morpheuskafka wrote: post #6

My perspective is limited as a US citizen who's never been to Europe, but what I would add is that international students here are under a lot of stress to find a job when they graduate so they can stay in the country. Of course choices are limited because not all companies sponsor. You can see entire lines of people disappear at the career fair when a company puts up a sign saying they aren't sponsoring visas this c…

Yes, the work visa after graduation is the main source of my worry. I've read the problem for internationals is amplified by the current state of the tech economy.

Dunno if that'll persist by the time I graduate or not. I'm considering switching my major to Electrical Engineering if the university allows in hopes of keeping more doors open.

As for the gap year, this particular university denied it, besides I'm 20 and have been out of school for more than a year already, that plus moving to another country thus loosening my ties to my home country feels like it'd seriously jeopardize my visa application as well in a year.

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