81–90 of 105 posts
> I tried to look away, apply for a job/internship in the U.S. but the reason is always the same: visas are hell. I would do anything to get my way out.
Just a random suggestion, since you'd do anything to get out, but have you considered perhaps (I know it sounds really crazy, but hear me out) applying for jobs that aren't in US?
There are so many countries except the obvious one with a growing startup scene.
- Scandinavia in general. - Estonia is one of the european country with the biggest number of startup. - UK is easy to access, Germany too.
Visas for the US are hard to get that's true. You are not even working yet, give you some time, learn more, build a network, contribute, and you will get noticed (and get away from your "hell").
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're coming to the UK, don't limit yourself to just London, there are equally vibrant tech scenes in other cities like Sheffield (where I live), Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and many more.
Great to see another Sheffield-based software engineer on HN!
Good news: You sound like a great fit as an interview passer for any large tech company in the United States.
I don't think this is worth a post on HN with the title containing the word help. As another HN user from France said, you are an EU citizen, you can move everywhere. There are so many countries except the obvious one with a growing startup scene. - Scandinavia in general. - Estonia is one of the european country with the biggest number of startup. - UK is easy to access, Germany too. Visas for the US are hard to get…
"Jobless programmer" is kind of a joke there.
Well, first of all: i'm excited to see so many italians over here. We are a quiet but strong community :) As most of the people already said: i feel your pain. There are MANY good advices on here and others have already highlighted most of the options you have. I passed (actually, not yet completely) thru a similar situation. When i was your age, i was completely crushed and just said "fuck you" to everything and lef…
I am just moved in Milan, and I was wonder what amazing programmers you were talking about... sisciapub(at)gmail.com
Also I will add that the Appsterdam group here in Milan looks great :)
So I was definitely over-worried. I learned a lot today and was something that I was not expecting at all.
First I would say to everyone that criticized my post: THANKS. Really thank you, because you made me feel better.
I read every comment here and got some useful advices. Also I talked in private with some great people and received lots of emails with great advices.
I really didn't know about the European Startup scene. Lots of people suggested that I should move to London or Berlin. Thing is the internet and web startups are mainly US based that's my kind of trap that I felt.
...Thank you
Sturgeon's Law: 90 Percent of Everything Is Crap. It's true in Italy, I'd imagine. It's also true in the Valley. For everyone founding an exciting startup, there are hundreds of cubicle drones at places like Oracle. Coming to the US and working in the Valley won't automatically make life amazing.
Anyway, the Valley is a really shitty place (suburban purgatory) to be unless (a) you attend Stanford or (b) you're a venture-funded founder or VC. Without (a) or (b) you're likely to find the same anonymous corporate grind you can find in small-town Pennsylvania (where I originally come from) or a conservative, risk-averse European city.
If you find a specific job in the US then, by all means, come over. But my advice in general would be to find something of quality in the EU; it's probably easier for you, right now, to do that than to find quality in the US. You're not "trapped" just because TechCrunch and Valleywag aren't interested in covering the companies in countries accessible to you (the whole EU, I believe). Anyway, most of those VC darling companies are awful places to work. You probably over-value the Valley startup scene because you read too much HN. Most of the startups in the U.S. (yes, even in the Valley) are also hellish, overly bureaucratic for their size, and dominated by conservative MBA culture.
If you end up in a job that's "bureaucratic" after college, fine. Learn what you can. Use it as an opportunity to learn about people and how they work together. Figure out why it sucks. Keep the technical skills sharp and continue getting better at solving problems. Expect it to take years before any of this pays off. That's how it is for most people in the real world.
Good luck.