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Is moving to work in Silicon Valley on your goals list? Are you a software engineer or work with technology and always craved for more? Then get your @$$ to Silicon Valley and start making a difference disrupting an industry and learning a ton load of new things in the process. Oh and Happy New Year!
Here’s why you need to be in Silicon Valley
- Silicon Valley is the hub for technology.
- The best place to get your startup funded – the best investors are here.
- The best place to bump heads with the best & like minded folks in the technology space. Everyday something is going on in the bay area.
- Everyone moves fast! You wanna get stuff done, this is the place to do it.
- No corporate bull. This place is all about startups disrupting the norm and pivoting to customer demands. Kicking ass!
- You can visit amazing places in the USA like Hawaii, New York/Manhattan, Los Angeles, Vegas, Yosemite, Yellowstone etc..
It has already started!
Aussies are leaving Australia to start tech companies in the valley. Check out this SMH article & video on this movement.
Brain drain: why young entrepreneurs leave home – source: SMH, May 18, 2012
How to get to Silicon Valley
- Make sure you are up to date with the latest tech. Australian corporate world (common work environment) is behind with technology so moving to Silicon Valley you may need to ramp up on the tech side. There is also plenty of free education online you can take advantage of.
- Organize an E3 (faster & easier for Aussies) or H1B (the common) Visa. You can come to Silicon Valley on your Visa Waiver Program (VWP) for 90 days (3 months), find a job and then get the Visa sponsored by the company.
- Find a place to live in the Bay Area (also known as Silicon Valley) / San Francisco areas. If you come on a Visa Waiver Program just rent out a bedroom via AirBnB anywhere you like. Super easy and convenient until you lock down a more long-term accommodation.
- Find a job / startup to work at. Or just contact me and I can help you out – we are hiring! A friend came here on a Visa Waiver Program and scored plenty of interviews and locked in a great job in 2 weeks.
- Understand employment & contracts in the bay area. There are plenty of perks for great software engineers including long-term financial gains via stock options. Unlike Australia where getting stock options is next to unheard of for software engineers. Check out glassdoor.com to get a feel for the salary range in Silicon Valley.
- Before you leave Australia make sure you have attended to the going away checklist; changed to non-resident for tax purposes, notified your banks, given power of attorney to someone you trust etc…
Need help or still not sure?
Look. If you’re a good engineer with the right attitude and want more out of life you need to be in Silicon Valley. If you fear the change it’s ok. It means your human. Contact me and I will help you with your journey from Australia to Silicon Valley and connect you with startups in the bay area.
Don’t waste another day, start today and make a difference in your career and life.
~ Ernest
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Hello, I recently discovered your blog and I am now following it. I really like your articles and the resources are just awesome, thank you. I am currently working in France (sry I am not an aussie ^^) but I made my mind to get my @ss to Silicon Valley this year. Do you think that it’s possible to find a job with H1B from France or do I have to quit my job, get the 3 months VWP and then look for a job ? If I quit my current job, I have to notice my employer and it is a 3 months period which is really annoying.