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IT Internship In the US For a Foreigner?
grk writes "I am from Europe, studying Business Informatics. I have plenty of IT-related work experience (from my part-time job and summer jobs) ranging from Project Management and Software Planning to Programming. In the 5th semester my curriculum has scheduled an internship for February 2009 preceding bachelor examinations and bachelor thesis. It will last for about three months. I would like to do my internship in the US, but I do not know how to start. Is it common to send unsolicited applications to companies in the US? Try the big corporations? Should I go for an employment agency? Which ones to choose from? What about the pay? Where I come from it is common to pay only a fraction of what your work is actually worth if it's called an 'internship.' Does this apply to the US as well? Any other recommendations?"
But I would have thought the visa hassles would put most companies off doing something as short as a 3 month internship.
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
Unless you're a PhD student with a unique skillset, without authorization to work in the US you will not be able to get anywhere. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money for an employer to sponsor someone and it is highly unlikely any company will do that for a mere intern.
Generally internships with medium to large companies pay well, almost as much as an entry level full time employer. A small company or startup may not be able to afford that.
In my undergraduate university they had contacts with US companies looking for interns. Go talk to your careers office.
Don't expect high pay, you are a risk, and they'll want to minimise it, and expect to work more then you've ever worked before. That's what you need to do to shine anywhere though.
A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
I would be surprised, especially in the current economic climate, if you can find a company who will be prepared to sponsor your visa application for a short term internship... for the hassle of getting your visa in 3 months how much will you be able to contribute that a student with right to work in the US already granted couldn't do themselves?
I would look closer to home.
--- Users are like bacteria -> Each one causing a thousand tiny crises until the host finally gives up and dies.
It would probably be a lot easier to do your internship locally and then apply for a job in the US after you graduate.
Hell, if your ultimate goal is to work in the US, your best bet is probably to do your internship in India or China and then market yourself to US employers as an "outsourcing specialist".
Didn't every situation involving moving to a different country get discussed in the pool of opinions during that "ask slash" or is our humble questioner looking for an actual job offer within the forum?
[J]
My school had mandatory co-ops (paid internships) in order to earn a bachelor's degree. In my experience, most companies paid interns between one half and two thirds the standard full time rate, after factoring in benefits. Without a degree or significant full time work experience, they rarely go higher.
On the other hand, it can be a great foot in the door if you do well; a company that may not have hired you full time under normal circumstances may be more favorably inclined if you demonstrate your skills in an internship. Many smaller companies won't hire new grads without a period of internship; they prefer to get a sense of your ability to contribute before committing to a full time offer.
$_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
you could try to get an internship through an international organization called IAESTE. They have organizations set up in over 80 countries around the world to do internships abroad. Go to www.iaeste.org (or more specifically http://www.iaeste.org/network/index.html ) and choose your country of residence to see if your country has a chapter. If they do, you should be able to provide you with the necessary information about applying for an internship through them. You can also get information thru the IAESTE-US website: http://www.iaesteunitedstates.org/
When people go to school during downturns, wouldn't this be a problem? Here in the US, I happened to get an internship, but the school eventually dropped the requirement for any of the graduate degrees in the electrical/computer engineering department. I didn't even use the internship as it turned out I'd just have to pay the same price without much instruction.
Assuming your home country participates in the Visa waiver program and my memory is correct, you should be able to stay for 3 months.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/
Here in the SF Bay Area, most IT recruiters are always reading Craigslist looking for candidates, and many tech companies regularly post ads seeking interns. If you post your resume regularly and reply to open intern positions, I'm sure someone will take interest. Also, make sure your visa is in order BEFORE you begin talking with the company, otherwise they'll just consider you a waste of time.
Microsoft is known to hire many interns every year and plenty of them are not US nationals... in fact I know a couple in Redmond right now who do not hold a us passport.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
They have different programs that can get you a J Visa that you can work on for an internship. They also have a 'Work and Travel' program, which gives you more freedom in the jobs you can choose, but is limited to the summer.
Do you even work in tech? There are no unpaid internships here, except *maybe* in gaming. Internships in this industry pay better than starting salaries in many fields (teaching comes to mind). While you probably don't want to negotiate hard for better money, you'll always be paid decently as an intern- they want you to come on full time when you graduate.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
don't we usually out source for funny english from here to another country?
We seem to have lots of room for foreign workers around here. At the University of Alberta we've seen a noticeable increase in foreign researchers for the past several years, especially as the US tightens its borders and makes it harder and harder for people to be trusted with a visa. I wonder if coming into the US with "bioinformatics" would raise eyebrows...
"You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help" -- Calvin
From your e-mail address I am guessing you are German, you speak/write English -- so you could probably take your pick from at least Austria, Holland, Germany, Swiss, Norway, Sweden, Finland, UK, Ireland or Belgium without running into great language difficulties.
A good university would have a placement officer that can help you out and would already have some contacts in place. Start early, ask around, keep asking.
If you are looking for the sexy internet companies like Google or the like -- most of them have european offices that also do interesting things down here.
Good luck!
WTF? It must be a slow news day. But I guess if slashdot is becoming a classifieds site, why not just go with the flow:
I'm an IT professional with U.S. Citizenship and 10+ years in the field. I have experience with both Linux and Windows administration, programming in C/C++/Fortran/Java/Ruby/PHP. I'm looking for a 6-figure salary anywhere in the US or $80K+ in Colorado. References available upon request.
Someone please let me know when slashdot opens up to personals too, as I've got a much more interesting ad for that one.
What about the pay? Where I come from it is common to pay only a fraction of what your work is actually worth if it's called an 'internship.' Does this apply to the US as well?
In the US, this varies widely by the professional field. Some fields, internships typically do not pay anything at all. However in IT they tend to pay pretty well, especially with the larger companies.
You real problems will be visa related. You cannot just come here and get a job; you have to be admitted under an appropriate visa.
Speak for yourself.
Here's a guy with a proven attitude of wanting to learn. Undergrad student, but already has work experience in relevant fields.
He's willing to work hard, step outside his comfort zone, take a risk trying something different, and experience a new culture all at the same time.
I'd much rather have him here than you.
That said, though, check out the J-1 Visa. I have no idea how to actually go about getting one, but it's far, far easier to do than a H1B. It's specifically geared for international student workers/internships and thus focused on short term workers. Contacting the local US Embassy can get you started on what the requirements and expectations will be.
As for trying to find an actual job over here, try contacting the companies directly. Explain what you want and see if they have anything to offer. You might also try any international companies that have offices both in the U.S. and in your local area.
Good luck!
If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
apparently they are inventing new 'fields' like chickens laying eggs everyday to attract students ?
Read radical news here
I'm a Canadian going to a university in Canada which routinely sends 100+ students per term (4 months) to the US for internships/co-ops. I'm returning for my 3rd term with a US company in just under two weeks actually.
Disclaimer: things might be different from where you are due to agreements between countries.
Basically, the process for me has gone as follows: 1) Apply to US company intern positions 2) Get an offer after an interview 3) Start visa application process (J-1 visa).
The visa application can't start until you already have a job offer, and requires your company to submit a training plan to the visa sponsor (CDS International, for example) in order to issue the DS-2019 form. The visa sponsor is chosen by the host company. Since I'm Canadian, I bring this form to the border/airport with me, answer a few questions in immigration, and get my visa stamped in my passport.
Most large corporations will have done this before, and it's just another part of the routine.
The application process itself is relatively simple, with online forms that you need to fill out plus scanning some information. You will probably need to meet with a representative from your visa sponsor for an interview as well.
Visas are relatively inexpensive compared to salary. Companies that want to recruit the best employees in the world will pay the extra visa money, especially for an internship. It's not very expensive ($650 + a couple hundred in fees IIRC)
Baver
On monster, dice etc. "Willing to in IT work for no pay". That should get an employer's attention.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Try a company from your country with a base in the US. something like BMW or Mitsubishi or Lufthansa or ...
Many European countries (like Germany) have special deals with US when it comes to working abroad.
Especially in a sanctuary city, all of which have plenty of high-tech opportunities.
I am sure a college educated English speaker would be protected from any embarrassing questions about their legal status in those towns, right?
"Informatik" is the German term for "Computer Science". I presume, as it has a more academic sound to it, that Informatics is becoming the generic english term for CompSci in Europe, but I'm not sure.
He's doing CompSci with an emphasis on business. Dunno watcha call that in the US nowadays, but just so you get the picture.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Where I come from it is common to pay only a fraction of what your work is actually worth if it's called an 'internship.' Does this apply to the US as well?
Here in the states, its not uncommon for interns (especially if they are still working on their undergraduate degree) to get paid nothing. And considering how difficult it can be to hire someone who isn't a US citizen, you may want to be ready to work for "the experience" (ie, no pay) just in order to have something to put on your CV.
And then when you're done being abused here, you'll realize how much better the rest of the industrialized world treats its inhabitants.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
It's an idiomatic translation for what would be understood outside the US as "Business Computer Information Systems", and probably what you would simply call "IT".
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Wait.. Why would someone who has an education and presumably a future, choose to leave the paradise that is Europe in order to go *to* the US?
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
If zero is a fraction, then yes, companies WILL pay you just a fraction of what you are worth Interns = Free Labor in many (But not all) organizations.
And the subsequent elimination of 1 million H1-B visas and the fake usage of T1 and T2 as well as L1 visas, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Thanks for helping replace US citizens with your labor - Comrades McCain and Bush thank you!
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Very true.
Canada has always had a skills-based immigration policy, where knowledge of the primary languages is critical as well as advanced skills.
The US has a bastardized system of ad-hoc limits on family-based immigration, which most Canadians and Mexicans and many other countries' citizens ignore (aka illegal immigration), since it takes up to 10 years to immigrate, and sometimes 5 years to get a visa permit.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
My cousin will be starting a co-op work placement of I believe 4 months at Amazon.com in Seattle. I don't know the details of what's involved with setting it up, but it doesn't seem so bad, there's a number of people from her school who will be in the Seattle area specifically at the same time. It may be that it's substantially easier to arrange this sort of thing for Canadian citizens, I don't know; but arranging a short term student placement is likely easier than a longer term placement. The co-op work placements usually get paid a decent amount but I don't know what she'll be making for this.
Numerically, Americans constitute 5% of the world's population.
Therefore, statistically 19 out of 20 intelligent people will be foreign.
Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
The US has nothing to offer us that we don't already have.
Hold up a second! You forgot to mention of our special relations:
1. Trade. Canada is the largest trading partner of the US.
2. Food. You don't get all your food from the great plains of your country. Otherwise you would have yearly fall harvests.
a low crime rate
What about the ethnic tensions you country refuses to admit? http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/11/america/montreal.php
I'm hoping you'd reply by saying "that's another part of Canada". That'll make us sound even more similar. =)
You can try applying to NIST. Although it is not a corporation, it is an excellent research institution with an excellent guest researcher. It is mostly geared towards graduate student, but having five year degree from Europe is enough to get in. Speaking from my own experience, a stint at NIST will help you a lot in your future career.
If you're applying from Europe, you may find it easier to get a Canadian work Visa (especially if you are a student) than a US Work Visa.
We have many of the same large employers (Microsoft in Vancouver, EA near Vancouver, IBM in Toronto/Victoria/Vancouver, SAP/Business Objects in Vancouver... don't think we have Oracle though). The tech sector in Vancouver is amicable to interesting startups and smaller shops. The sector in Toronto has a lot of business related IT. There are some interesting companies in Victoria and Montreal as well, but I don't know most of them.
Also, a co-op term in Canada (co-op is Canadian for Intern) will definitely pay. It won't pay as well as full time, but it's not awful. You can expect 2000 - 3500 CDN a month, sometimes higher, rarely lower, as far as a wage goes.
1. You have studied mostly things applicable to the management. Who in his right mind places an intern into a management position???
3. If someone is crazy enough to hire a "guest manager" for three months, why deal with massive amount of bureaucracy with immigration process when there are plenty of educated foreigners right under his nose in American universities?
3. Why are you so eager to have internship in US? It's three months, nothing important can be done in three months anyway. Also take into account that US is nothing like the image it projects in its propaganda and movies.
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
The US does not want you.
They will make a pain for you to get a visa and if you have a funny sounding name you will be put in all kind of sinister lists and your laptop may be confiscated on arrival for no reason whatsoever.
If you are from an EU country you can apply to companies in other EU countries (most big US companies have big offices in the EU) for internshios, since guess what? You are legally entitled to do so.
I ignore which reasons you may have for thinking going to the US now is such a good idea, from the professional point of view you can achieve the same or better development by applying to companies in the EU. If you really must go to the US you can join an US company with the view to be relocated there eventually, or perhaps to travel there as part of your duties in a regular job.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Numerically, Americans constitute 5% of the world's population.
Therefore, statistically 19 out of 20 intelligent people will be foreign.
and there is also self-selection. Most morons don't even think about going through the hassles in order to get to America. If they do think, they'll likely fail either in handling the due process or getting a job. But the talented know can they can make a difference, and no paperwork is enough obstacle.
Stay Home. We have enough of you half-priced foreigners standing on every street corner.
Bonjour Monsieur OReilly!
Stay home. IT jobs are getting scarce enough without you coming here and driving the demand for American IT personnel even lower. Please, it has nothing to do with your religion or your ethnicity or your cultural background. On a purely economic level: stay the fuck out.
I'd go to America do start a company or to do basic research. The problem would be being surrounded by people like you, from the DHS to colleagues.
If you're looking to work in the US, try applying to non-American companies. A big German international company I interned for hired a lot of foreign students (they also had an intern program where they brought over German students for a summer internship in the USA).
I am sure a college educated English speaker would be protected from any embarrassing questions about their legal status in those towns, right?
I don't know. As a completely legal foreigner I was certainly never exempt from being treated like someone trying to enter the country illegally everytime I crossed the border or dealth with the authorities (although I did once have trouble trying to persuade one idiot NOT to register me for voting when getting a US drivers license!).
While a certain level of caution is excuseable I used to find that they would regularly deliberately misconstrue whatever you say in the most convoluted and tortuous fashion possible in order to make you sound suspicious e.g. on returning to a visit to Niagara Falls a few months after just arrived in the US on a J1 visa they asked "what do you intend to do when the visa expires?" to which I replied "I don't know, I have not thought that far ahead - I have only just started my job here". Bad idea: apparently this is code for "I plan to remain the US, thumb my nose at your laws and be an evil foreign bastard" - and this was BEFORE the terrorist attacks. Apparently the "correct" response was "I will immediately leave and make no plans to return".
The sad thing was that at the time that was not at all true...but after several years of being treated as persona non grata US immigration moved me around to their way of "thinking" so to say.
I would have thought that IT related work would include some IT! PM and software planning do not IT experience make.
"My immediate reaction is "WTF? What kind of moron doesn't make things 64-bit safe to begin with?" Linus
Work in the U.S. sucks. In many cases companies will offer you 2-3 weeks off on start. That's it. Yeah, they may attract you with a flashy salary, but then you'll have to pay for benefits, insurance, etc. and you're an at-will employee. Means that an employer can dismiss your ass w/o any reason. There is no such thing as taking 3 weeks of vacation at a time and then having 2 more weeks left over. Oh, and judging by the latest stats our European friends are just as productive as us, so I really doubt that you'll benefit from knowing how Americans do it here.
Silicon Valley may be a flashy name, but you must check your brains before moving there (trust me, I am a local). As a young person you probably want to meet young interesting people in nice social settings. Well, this is definitely not the place. The area is too expensive to live if you're young and there are not too many colleges around. Meeting chicks, especially the ones who are ready to party (if you know what I mean), is hard. So if you want to have some fun, SF area is not for you. Try Boston, Seattle or something more hip and less Indian than the Valley. Sorry if I offended anybody, but that's the truth. Also, every metro area is going to be expensive for somebody who is an intern. You must find roommates and have some stash of cash just to move in (first + last month of rent and a security deposit). You may try something in North Carolina's scientific triangle. It is more affordable and I hear that the quality of life is awesome compared to Silicon Valley.
If I were you, I would forget about moving to the U.S. Try to find a company that employes people who are passionate about technology and you'll learn a lot more than by working for a large company (in the U.S.) where your intern position will be one step above bean counting (if you are lucky). European countries are heavy on the next big things like eco technology, alternative sources of fuels, etc. This is where you would like to be. Just because you have a degree in IT, it does not mean that you can start working in a different industry. Judging by the articles that I read, places like Norway kick butt when it comes to leaping into the future. Finally, if you want to do something totally outrageous, see if you can go to a place like India to work there. As a Westerner who has worked in South Asia in the past, I can tell you that it is nothing like you have experienced in the past. Good luck.
The American middle class is crumbling. if the jobs aren't being moved off shore, foreign contractors are being shipped here from some east asian hell hole to work at 1/3 or 1/2 the prevailing wage.
Emigration? I have no problem letting people in. If people want to move here, live here, be citizens, hell yea! Let them in!!
The H1B visa program is a club INS gives to corporations to beat down the middle class.
If you want to intern, intern in your own damn country and leave opportunities in the U.S.A. for full fledged citizens. It isn't like a kid in the U.S.A. has many opportunities to intern in Europe.
If I can get back in college, I'm on disability and couldn't afford to stay in college so I dropped out, I want to go to Brazil as part of a study abroad program. Before I can go though I need to take 2 years of Portuguese. I've thought about trying one of those programs like RosettaStone but I wonder how well they really are especially with pronunciation and writing.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
there were probably 10 people out of a class of 80 who were not foreigners, presumably, Indian or South Asian.
South Dakota? Those Indians, were they India Indians or Sioux from one of the reservations?
It seems that companies are not that interested in searching the country to find American workers, but prefer to give the job to the first foreigner they come across and claim that there's no Americans to be had.
Businesses don't have to pay foreigners as much as American workers demand.
American workers will be just as successful when they have to compete with foreign workers.
Actually Americans are compeating against foreign workers, and because they demand more than foreigners they don't get as many jobs. While I don't like seeing workers, any worker, losing jobs especially because of offshore outsourcing or because of visa holders I'll also say they need to compeat more.
Falcon (;-
Should there be a Law?
I've found the RossettaStone program to be very useful. Nothing is as good as having a native speaker teacher, be this is about as good as the computer programs come.
The purpose of language is communication, If the idea is clear the grammar ain't important
If I was you I would consider Ireland: no problems with immigration, real possibility of getting a job there with a good pay.
There you could practice your english and make a foreign experience while holding all of your "citizen status", you could stay there as long as you want and you can move back and forward in case.
An other option would be Spain, which is growing fast and is a nice place as well for young people.
I've found the RossettaStone program to be very useful
I asked a RosettaStone employee about prices and he said for Portuguese there were 3 sets. The intro set was $200, as were the other two but if you bought all three at the same tyme they were only $300 or something like that. I thought that it was outrageous to spend that much to see if it works. Taking a class costs more sure but at least you can get help, which because of an injury caused disability I need.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Also, a co-op term in Canada (co-op is Canadian for Intern) will definitely pay
Though it's rarely heard of the US has co-ops too. Here, in the US, from what I've been told by career counselors the biggest difference between them is that you will get paid with a co-op whereas you may or may not be paid as an intern.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Talk to your school international office!!!
They'll have the details, but you don't need much documentation to do 2-3 semesters a full-time or part-time co-op.
Once you graduate, you can apply (it's easy and pretty much everyone's approved) to do a year of work in your field.
Respected sir, I am having 30 years of experience in software programming and data entry. Please give me job sir. I will B obligated 2 U 4 my HOLE life. I am only 29 but dont let age fool U dear respected sir. I am having so much expereience that UR cumpany will benefit so much bcoz of me.
kind heartedly sincerely regards
software engineer from XYZ
slashdot rocks
If you're a good student, some professor at your school surely knows it, and professors in Europe tend to have contacts in the US. I know for instance someone who got an internship in Silicon Valley just because he was working on a project with a professor. The professor and the company in the US took care of most of the paperwork.
Are you saying you are inspired by Asok from Dilbert Strip????
> I would like to do my [three-month] internship in the US, but I do not know how to start.
You mean apart from attempting to land an internship somewhere in the US?
You'll also need to do the government paperwork. You could come to the US for three months on a tourist visa, which is easy to get, but I'm not 100% certain you can be employed on a tourist visa. Maybe on a student visa? There is also such a thing as a work visa (e.g., H1B). I'm not really up on these details, but you'll want to find out exactly what kind of visa you need to get, and apply for that.
Of course, you'll want a passport from your home country first, but you probably already knew that.
> Is it common to send unsolicited applications to companies in the US?
Yes.
You don't expect to get a position every place you apply, of course. Some of them may turn you down, others you may never hear back from at all. But you *certainly* won't hear from them if you don't apply.
> Try the big corporations?
If you want to work for a big corporation, sure.
> Should I go for an employment agency?
That may be an option as well, though I don't know as much about it.
> What about the pay? Where I come from it is common to pay only a fraction of what your work is
> actually worth if it's called an 'internship.' Does this apply to the US as well?
Yes. As far as I'm aware, the word "internship" carries this meaning in every English-speaking country on the planet. (In fact, there are some fields wherein interns are ordinarily not paid, but I don't think IT is one of them.) If that's a problem for you, you might check whether your program of study really cares whether the employer views the work as an internship program. Some programs of study require an internship as such (so that you have a supervisor who views you as a student and expects to spend an appropriate amount of time showing you the ropes and such), while others just want you to have some real-world work experience. Find out which situation you're in and plan appropriately.
> Any other recommendations?
In terms of culture, it *does* make a difference which part of the US you come to. California is totally, totally different from Indiana, for example. If you have specific ideas about what you want your experience to be, you might want to discuss them with someone who has moved around a bit in the US.
If you're serious, keep putting in applications until you get something.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
What about the pay? Where I come from it is common to pay only a fraction of what your work is actually worth if it's called an 'internship.' Does this apply to the US as well?
Let me give you an example of the "pay." My daughter is entering her senior year at a large university in the South. She just completed an 11-week internship in New York with a large entertainment conglomerate's subsidiary.
We (her mother and I) paid for her plane fare up there from Florida. We helped her get a loan to pay for the housing in Brooklyn (about $3500 for the session, for a tiny room in a converted hotel that she shared with one other girl...that looked a lot different from the photos they posed on their web site). We made sure she had some money to start out with and a Metrocard to get back and forth to lower Manhattan.
When the whole thing was over, I made arrangements to pick her up, bring her back to where I work in Virginia to fly home, and shipped three boxes of stuff back at a cost of about $100. This was much cheaper than putting the boxes on the plane with her, since the new luggage fees would have cost me $300 for the boxes, in addition to the $40 we had to pay for her two suitcases.
Oh, yeah, forgot to mention...her flight to Florida was canceled due to weather, and she got stuck here in Virginia with me for another day. Not an easy trip home, by any regard.
Now you wanted to know about pay: none. She left the company with about 75 CDs and a couple of rolls of posters for the bands she worked with. She received glowing evaluations and the possibility of landing a permanent, paying position after graduation next spring. Other than that, no pay. Just a pile of CDs, nice words and a grade for school.
Did she enjoy it? Hell, yes, she loved every minute being in New York, working in the music biz, making friends, seeing family (my wife and I grew up in the area), and all the other great things that went along with it. She was very unhappy to have to leave there this weekend.
Any other recommendations?
Just consider the peripheral costs before you make the decision to come here. I just wanted to give you a small taste of what someone in the States had to lay out to intern in the States.
There were ways she could have saved some money, like on the housing. She could have stayed out in the suburbs with family, but that savings would have been offset by the cost of commuting and the long hours on trains every day. The company's business was centered in New York, so it made sense for her to have the convenience of being close by and not having to make those long commutes late at night. (She's nearly 22 and can take care of herself, but I'm still her Dad, she's still my baby, and I still worry).
Just remember to conside the total cost of your decision. Any internship payment will likely not offset the other expenses you'll need to consider. If getting the working experience and contacts is worth that expense (it certainly was for my kid), then you might just want to plunge in.
Joe Dougherty, Florida, USA
The words I thought I brought, I left behind. So, never mind.
OP here. Firstly, I spend most of my time in my current job with writing code and managing servers. Secondly, not every "IT manager" is an ignorant blowhard who knows nothing about technology. I'd say only 60 to 70 per cent. Project Management IS important but depending on the size of your project you do not always perceive it as such. Also: Software Planning is useless? I do not know of your view is based on the terminology (Call it "Architectural Engineering" if you want to) but if you are convinced that thinking through how you are going to build a system in advance is a "useless pseudo-IT skill" maybe you should try a different career? Because starting an IT project by firing up your IDE and starting to write code is not going to lead to success. You need to differentiate between playing buzzword bingo and actually planning your piece of software (by whatever means).
U.S. Companies seem to PREFER bringing in foriengers over hiring U.S. Citiezens. They can pay them nothing or next to nothing. Is any company in Europe willing to hire U.S. Citizens? Germany won't, I know I tried that path.... How about you folks from Canada - are companies up their truly willing to hire U.S. Citizens? If so what is the process we have to go through? I'm ready to be an Ex-patriot! F@ck the U.S.!!!
The Truth is a Virus!!!
I'm a full time college student currently working at my fourth internship. I don't know anything about visas or anything but I do know about getting internships in the US. Get in contact with colleges in the US. I go to University of Wisconsin-Stout and they have a career services program that really helps find new jobs. The computer science department sends out emails at least on a weekly basis about internships that are available. Very useful resource. Also I hope you're not planning on making loads of money in the US, and you're doing it for the experience. I've worked for $13-18/hour, which is enough to get by but I can't go out to the bars every night ;). Travel fees probably won't be significantly offset by the amount you'll make in 3 months. Look into companies that will provide living/traveling stipends. Last summer BAE Systems gave me a $3000 living stipend, even though I was living with my parents :D.
From my experience and those of others, I'll try to answer your questions about wages and applying for jobs.
I am Canadian. My undergraduate engineering degree requires that I complete six internships. I have done two in the United States and I am moving to California in September to do my sixth. The majority of my classmates have done internships in the United States as well. I have also worked with an intern from Germany (although he attended university in England) whose employment and visa experiences were similar.
The minimum internship duration is typically 3 months.
Salaries range from $4000 to $6000 per month. Some companies subsidize living and travel expenses to the tune of $500 to $1600 per month. Expect to pay approximately 30% of your income in taxes to state and federal United States governments (few deductions apply to foreigners). However, you will be refunded approximately half of the tax you pay when you file your taxes the subsequent year. Note that you will probably also be taxed by your own government (e.g., I had to pay the Canada Revenue Agency a few hundred dollars).
As some posters have mentioned, you will need to have enough money to subsist until your first paycheque. Most companies will not pay you (neither your salary nor living subsidies) until you're granted a Social Security Number (SSN). Getting a SSN can take up to two months. Hence you should have enough resources to last two months without pay.
The job-application process goes as follows:
1. You submit an unsolicited resume to an American company through my university's job-recruiting Website, or you use the company's "we're hiring interns" website. I estimate that 2/3 get their jobs through my school, the other 1/3 through companies' Websites.
2. A company decides to hire you.
3. The company arranges for your J-1 visa. The company uses a visa sponsorship agency. The companies that hired me and most of my classmates use CDS International (http://www.cdsintl.org/).
The companies that I have described include Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, NVIDIA, Yahoo, and others.
Good luck!
(This isn't aimed at you as an individual...) Unemployment is the IT field is bad enough here in the US, largely because of all the H1B Visa holders being admitted to suppress salaries by greedy companies. If you want to work for an American firm, move to India.
If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?
The EU does not want you. They will make a pain for you to get a work permit and if you have a funny sounding name you will be put in all kind of sinister lists and your laptop may be confiscated on arrival for no reason whatsoever. If you are from a US state you can apply to companies in other US States (most big EU companies have big offices in the US) for internships, since guess what? You are legally entitled to do so. I ignore which reasons you may have for thinking going to the EU now is such a good idea, from the professional point of view you can achieve the same or better development by applying to companies in the US. If you really must go to the EU you can join an EU company with the view to be relocated there eventually, or perhaps to travel there as part of your duties in a regular job.
Sig: I stole this sig.
Quit taking our jobs!
Damn future Euoropeople. Gyarrrrr....
My employer has direct contact with several of the universities in the area (Boston). I recently (~two months ago) interviewed a handful of candidates and ended up hiring two. We only go through universities for finding candidates for our internship programs; we don't accept unsolicited résumés.
After working closely with one of these interns, I completed an evaluation for consideration as a full-time employee.
Have you driven a fnord... lately?
You must wait a little bit before using this resource; please try again later.
As a non-american who's done a few internships in the US, I would have to say it is an absolutely worthwhile experience to do this kind of thing.
In my experience, companies have never discriminated against me in terms of salary - I always felt I had competitive compensation in each of my internships. I could live comfortably and work without worrying where about my finances. (At least, after the first paycheck, which depending on your hire date and company policy could be over a month.)
One recommendation I would strongly make is to try and find an internship in a large company in the US, and to do it in the summer. A large, well-known company can easily lend credibility to your CV. In the future, when applying for jobs, the first person to scan your resume will often be someone with a non-technical background. If they can recognize "Microsoft" or "Intel" or whatever, that will help you.
I also think it's a tremendously good idea to do it at a large company in the summer, because a large company will have a lot of other interns in the summer. Your peers come from all over the US, and all over the world. It's a great opportunity to meet people like you from different background, and see how things are done all over the world.
Good luck :)
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#include <malloc.h>
free(your.mind);
As I said, competition can be a good thing, but where is the limit? If we have to work 15 hour days to compete, is that reasonable? It seems that if you try to argue that long work days, even if they negatively affect your health, you can just expect to be told that "there are no meal tickets."
I know we're not there quite yet, but we are very close. There are already companies that expect you to work insane hours; I know because I've worked for them.
Also, would you support opening up all jobs in the U.S. to foreign competition without any requirements to hire American workers? Why or why not?
I applied unsolicited at a German R&D department in the states. They just called me back and we had an interview. The company than sponsored me a program at http://www.cdsintl.org/. Got my J-1 Visa w/o a hassle. But I also have try to get an internship for at least six month. The visa process is quite lengthy, and most companies don't want you to leave when just started to be a bit productive. If you want some more details just send me a PM.
Interestingly, I have done research on this and it's fear easier to move into most EU countries as a highly skilled worker, especially in Engineering, ESPECIALLY if you avoid Germany and the UK (but you can do it even there).
I have friends in Germany who have investigated moving to the US and it is much more difficult.
So, while you're little search-find-replace is a tad funny, I'm not sure that it's accurate, coming from someone who has actually looked into it.
like all the other folks who got here first.
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
My ancestors did bud. I'm an full blooded Mohican and proud of it. How about you?
"As an American citizen trying to make my part of the world a better place, I don't want or need you. Any chance you can work out an exchange? You can leave, and the other guy can come in?"
You're failing. I seem to be doing better. Why don't you leave? I was here first too...
My experience with many aliens is that they come here to do nothing but pillage and take what they can before running back home. Many are not only lazy but stupid. They go to American University's where they're passed along with excellent grades from teachers that "happen" to have their same nationality and abysmal accent. Many ride an American gravy train not open to our own citizens that allows them to achieve Masters and PhD's with few if any of the skills those academic achievements have traditionally required. We're left with highly degreed technicians that can't even speak the language of the country that educated them to return to their various countries to sell idiot managers in this country on using their $5 dollar an hour engineers (and worth every penny) to take jobs from this country.
I'd much rather see you work in a country where you give two shits about the people (try India, lovely country, nothing like shitting in a trough outside like an animal). It seems Americans have been so brainwashed in to thinking Americans are evil we have little sheepies like yourselves that would gladly welcome those that would destroy us into our country.
You're fools. History shows it again and again and the sad part is you probably won't live long enough to overcome your misplaced racism to understand what I'm saying. The best think you could do for this country is go to some of the countries you love so much and actually LIVE there for a while. You'd have to be a moron to want to allow that to creep into this country anymore than it already has!!