UK OR US

freemind76 · Post by **freemind76** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 6:58 pm

Hi Guys,

I got my Tier1 visa approved on this 30th Oct. I am working as technical project manager in India and getting around 16L in India. I am kind of confused now. I have H1B option and UK tier1 option.

Can anybody suggest which would be the better option and why?

Also, can anybody advice me some tips of getting a job while I am in INdia?

I'd appreciate your valuable inputs.

herts · Post by **herts** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:26 pm

Hi, for USA H1 do you have a job when you shall be landing there or you have to find one ? If you have to find job having H1 try to do some research, as my brother who is in usa says that now days jobs being advertised are mostly for greencard holders.
For tier 1, I think you have a good experience but you shall need to downgrade from manger position.
I am not into IT but tried to give my best what i have heard.

freemind76 · Post by **freemind76** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:17 am

Thanks. This is a very good answer.

Yes, my employer has promised that I'll have the job the day I'll land in USA. All interviews will happen from US while I am in India.

I have approved Tier1 as my plan B ready (in case things do not materialized properly in US).

ramesh1 · Post by **ramesh1** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:01 am

Some of my friends in H1 got some jobs recently after a long search of more than 6 months. But coming to Tier-1 there is a rumour that only british employees are given priority compared to Tier-1 or HSMP guys? Is this true? Also I believe getting a job in US will be easier than UK?

meats · Post by **meats** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 10:18 am

ramesh1 wrote:Some of my friends in H1 got some jobs recently after a long search of more than 6 months. But coming to Tier-1 there is a rumour that only british employees are given priority compared to Tier-1 or HSMP guys? Is this true? Also I believe getting a job in US will be easier than UK?

People currently in the UK are given priority over people who are currently outside of the country.

herts · Post by **herts** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:43 pm

just wondering is there anything in India ,like that people from south get more preferance in jobs in south first than a north indian ?

ramesh1 · Post by **ramesh1** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 6:35 pm

meats it means if i have tier-1 and if i come to UK there will be no diff from me and the people already in UK as i have legal approval to work in UK. But if i search from India that wont workout much.

Herts there is not preferance i can see because i worked in Bombay and even in chennai and i am from south if you see. But southern people are preferred on technical posts as southies are known to be good at techncial areas and northern people are preferred in managerial posts. But again these has been slowly changing now a days. But again some religion/caste/language/state wise discrimination do still exists but they are of very very less % and gets implemented in small scall industries but on Big and MNC companies i dont see such things as i work for top mnc.

meats · Post by **meats** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:33 pm

ramesh1 wrote:meats it means if i have tier-1 and if i come to UK there will be no diff from me and the people already in UK as i have legal approval to work in UK. But if i search from India that wont workout much.

Of course there won't be any difference if you're in the UK applying for UK jobs. The main disadvantage that you'll come across will be that others might have more UK experience than you and right now that could be a huge disadvantage for you due to the sheer number of unemployed people.

herts · Post by **herts** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:42 pm

ramesh, i think you have a good experience, you might be lucky to get a job quickly as well, you never know

netHelp · Post by **netHelp** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:52 pm

I had moved from US to UK in 2007 after I had exhausted 5 years on an L1B in US. The larger question you need to answer is if your move to US or UK is a permanent or a temporary move. US is definitely better for settling down (at least I feel that way!). However, if you plan to return to India after a few years, UK is a better choice. H1B is very restrictive in terms of the opportunities that you can have. On a Tier 1, it will not be very difficult to find a s/w development role in UK. You can get better money on Tier 1 especially if you can land a decent contract role.

Also it sounds like you are planning to use some desi body shop to land in US. Be very vary of such setups - they are in the business of making money off you and hence there is a natural conflict of interest. If your plan to is to make a long term move to US, the only good route is through direct employment (if you can find one) with a company - especially if you can get them to do an EB2 labour filing for a GC!

Feel free to ask any questions!

ramesh1 · Post by **ramesh1** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:55 am

netHelp excellent answer. I am having Tier-1 approved actually and planning to come to uk for job search from Feb2010 as i was waiting for the job market to recover. Unfortunately my H1B got approved but i need to go to US embassy here for interview this thru a desi body shop. Few of my friends gone for the interview and they got rejected and i can see now there are lot of rejections of H1 and L1 at indian embassy. So thought of not going to H1 interview and plan to move to UK as already have Tier-1 and my goal is a short term and based on how future unfolds i can think over of settling down in UK alternatively if job market picks up i can go for a H1 interview after an year or so. But i had already travelled to US and Australia on a short term buisiness visit. My only concern now is i dont have UK exp and even exposure in UK as i have never travelled to UK. As you explained H1 has lot of restrictions but Tier-1 has the flexibility and one of my friend got a permanent job in uk in Tier-1. So started upgrading my skills and will see how market unfolds during Feb2010. I would appreciate if you could shed some of your views reg my decision or tips may be it would be highly appreciated. I am married with 2 dependents (wife+kid). Luckily no loans and No EMI.

netHelp · Post by **netHelp** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:01 pm

The UK job market has picked up and finding a permanent job in UK should not be too difficult. You should start applying in end of Dec, early January - hopefully you will have a few interviews lined up when you come here (I was lucky to get 5 interviews lined up during my one week trip! - but then that was a different job market).

DO NOT accept just any salary in the UK as you have dependents. For London, you should try to get at least 58-60K base salary (about 45-50K for areas in the vicinity of London).

DO NOT resign from your job in India when you visit UK. After your visits to Australia/US, your perception about UK may be very different from reality (especially for housing).

For US - So you got an H1B without having any concrete projects ? I am pretty sure the embassy will (rightly) reject the Visa. If the desi body shop has taken money from you for the H1B visa - it is illegal. You should complain to DOL/USCIS and get your money back.

gotcha · Post by **gotcha** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:37 pm

netHelp wrote:London, you should try to get at least 58-60K base salary (about 45-50K for areas in the vicinity of London).

That's very ambitious , even in good market, isn't it ?

netHelp · Post by **netHelp** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:15 pm

I am assuming that the person has 7-8 years experience, as he is a technical manager in India.

The guy is earning a decent salary in India - so the opportunity cost of moving out is a bit high. I think for London, expecting 58-60K is not too ambitious (http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/london/c++.do). Ofcourse, I only did a search in my area of expertise (C++).

gotcha · Post by **gotcha** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:25 pm

netHelp wrote:I am assuming that the person has 7-8 years experience, as he is a technical manager in India.

The guy is earning a decent salary in India - so the opportunity cost of moving out is a bit high. I think for London, expecting 58-60K is not too ambitious (http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/london/c++.do). Ofcourse, I only did a search in my area of expertise (C++).

Headline salaries shown in jobsites are mostly considering contract rates(assuming you work all year around). Jobsites surveys always show salaries for your skillset more than you earn. Otherwise no one will switch jobs. And so does use their websites.

About OP, yes, it's very difficult for him to settle for less salary because of kind of package he is getting in India.

But, it's very difficult to get managerial position.

And again, in market, price is determined by demand vs supply equation.

ramesh1 · Post by **ramesh1** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 5:26 pm

nethelp and gotcha and to all others thanks for all your valid inputs.
I have around 8yrs of exp out of which 5yrs in mainframe and 3yrs in VB/ASP and SQL server. Unfortunately my current exp in mainframe and i dont find much of openings in UK for mainframes. So thought of switching to client server VB/VB.net and SQL Server DBA and currently updating my skills in this area. I can see few of my friends went to UK got jobs in PL/SQL or in Oracle or in .Net and also when i do a research SQL Server and SQL Server DBA has good openings. Because for mainframes with less preparation i can attend the interviews as that's my current exp but for my OLD client server exp i need to be prepared and updated with .net and i love doing SQL Server DBA hence concentrating on SQL too and they consume lot time as i am working and updating my skills during weekend. I am putting lot of efforts in means of money and time so Pls suggest if i am going in right direction and if there is anywhere i need to speed up or correct it so that i can do it at the earlier stage.

ashishj · Post by **ashishj** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 8:44 pm

Well,
U.S job market for software is definitely bigger than UK. Here in UK you should have good skills. Also cost of living is much much cheaper in U.S. I have worked in U.S before and just working in UK on Tier1. But Tier1 gives you one advantage that you don't need any sponsor. So you are liable to get almost the entire money that is paid for your contract if you are working as a contractor. So maybe based on these factors you can decide. Also keep on checking UK job sites like cwjobs.co.uk , indeed.co.uk, jobserve.com etc. regularly and try to get contacts who are working in UK in your area of specialization. You will get a fair idea of how you are placed in the UK.

herts · Post by **herts** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:58 am

ashishj, in what areas usa is cheaper than uk ? that will help us to analyse things.

ramesh1 · Post by **ramesh1** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:43 pm

ashish what do you mean by good skills?I know mainframe is not hot in UK but i am updating my VB/SQL skills updating my SLQ DBA and PL/SQL skills do. If time permits i will have a crash course in .net. I believe Herts/Ashish and some other are from india and settled in uk now if any of you guys work in mainframe pls comment on mainframe market or in that matter if you guys are working in sql server/PLSQL/.net pls comment on these market so it would realy help me a lot. Pls shed some lite.

herts · Post by **herts** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:57 am

ramesh, what is your aim, to settle in uk permanently or make money and come back ?

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:55 am

I'd say UK hirers look for real UK experience over qualies and not just been on a training course or read a book about it.

More so in this market, employers want to see that you've done it, not that you may be able to do it, they can pick and choose. There's thousands on the bench.

Also Â£60k is pushing it even for London I think for someone whose effectively changed careers.

ramesh1 · Post by **ramesh1** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:07 pm

yep i have exp in those areas but those were at the begining of my career. Hence need to brush up my skills on those areas.

herts i am planning for short time stay probably 2-3 yrs and if things workout i will plan for permanent settlement. you have anything to say to me reg settling down in uk permanently?

herts · Post by **herts** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:47 pm

ramesh, for 2-3 years is good time. i will pm you regarding permanent settlement..

sajidzaidi · Post by **sajidzaidi** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:11 am

I think that US economy is going down the drains. from the unemployment figures in US, It seems probable that very soon, ppl from US will be looking for jobs in europe.
So i think UK is a more secure basket to put my eggs.

Secondly, once it the flow starts from US into europe, immigrants like myself from asia will have a tougher time too.

so be prepared

ashishj · Post by **ashishj** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:11 am

herts wrote:ashishj, in what areas usa is cheaper than uk ? that will help us to analyse things.

I am extremely sorry for replying so late. But to mention most of U.S is cheaper compared to UK except New York City, Los Angeles and other big names. Many IT jobs are based in New Jersey which is closer to New York and cheaper for living. But overall, cost of living in U.S with the exception of the cities I mentioned above is cheaper than UK.

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UK OR US

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