Want to be a software engineer in US of A ?

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A friend of mine sent me a mail last day. His friend is interested in moving to USA to work as a software engineer. He sent me 10 questions:

1. What is the cost of living in USA? I heard it depends on area, but could you tell me (approx.) how much it will be in some of possible areas?Would like to know the average expenditure per month also average salary for an IT professional?
2. Like here in India we have IT/software hubs like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Noida, Chennai, what are the places in USA I can target for my job hunting?
3. What is the tax I have to pay there? Some people say it is 50%, some say it is 30%….. Also do I have to pay tax in India too?
4. I am having exp. Around 5 year in c++, how much salary I can expect in normal companies (not very high pay masters like Microsoft)?
5. Which is the best way to go there, is it thro’ consultancies or direct? I have no idea about what will terms and conditions of the consultancies. Could you tell me what and all I have to consider or keep in mind while negotiating with them? Are there any free consultancies to sponsor H1?
6. How is working in US different from that in India (work environment)?
7. Any description about public life there and things to be taken care..
8. Any other tips and tricks?
9. I am also searching it in the internet, do you have any good links that I can refer for general info?
10. This is not the last question, but very important one for me, do you mind if I ask some of these kind of questions (may be very stupid) in future?

My answers:

1.Cost of living – The main components are rent and food (assuming your company pays for ur health insurance). Rent can vary anywhere from $450 to $1500 (or more) for a single bedroom/single bathroom apartment depending on the city and specific location in the city. If you are single, the best option is to take a 2 bed/2 bath apartment and share with another person. I can give you a general idea of the rent ranges : In Minneapolis, a good 1 bed/bath will cost approx $600-$800 in sub-urbs or $1000 – $1200 in downtown. In Seattle, the cost would be $700-$950 in sub-urbs and $1100-$1400 in downtown. In New Jersey and California, even suburbs can be very costly like $1400 for a 1bed/bath. If you live close to where you work, you wouldnt need a car. But the best bet is to get car and live in a sub-urb. If you cook, the food and other groceries would be surely less than $400 per month (i should say it would be around $200).If you eat outside it will be much higher (it is not very healthy either). To round up, you would spend around $1500 to $2000 dollars a month to live comfortably and $1000 if you are stingy (or live with roommates). The upper limit always depends on the person, ofcourse.
To give a general idea, $800 (rent) + $100 (utilities – electricity, water, garbage, sewer) + $300 (food) + $250 (car payment) + $50(phone bill) + $100 (car insurance) + $100 (gasoline) + $200 (fun – movies, dinner, other crap – optional) + $100 (buy stuff you like – optional). So there you are. If you get $4000 in your hand after tax, you save 50% of your salary, which is good and that is what you should aim for. You can get an idea of the rent in different cities from http://www.rent.com or http://www.craigslist.org.

2.The main IT hubs are California, New Jersey, Texas and NewYork (not necessarily in that order). Then there are cities like Seattle, Minneapolis,Chicago etc. As a matter of fact there are IT companies in major cities of most states (even North Dakota) . California, NewJersey and NewYork are very expensive in terms of cost of living.

3.The tax you pay varies from state to state (there are different components in the tax cut). There are a few tax exemptions but not much. In general it would be around 33% but it could be higher depending on your salary, location and situation (single vs having dependents etc).

4.The salary will always depend on many criterias like your previous experience and domain, your previous companies (brand name), how well you know your stuff, your ability to negotiate your salary, general market conditions, the availability of people with your skill set, whether you are a consultant or a inhouse developer, the location of your work (costlier places == higher salaries) etc etc. On the average a “good” C++ developer with 5 years of exp should get $75,000 + benefits + paid vacation per annum in a moderately expensive place. For costlier places you should be getting $80,000 – $90,000 per annum. For paymasters this would increase by $10,000 to $20,000. I would recommend going for an average salary in a company that gives stable employment as opposed to a high paying company where you could get laid off any day. The reason being that you really cannot afford to live here without a job (unless you have many years of savings, but that would diminish rapidly too).

5.The best way to come here is through direct hire but that is next to impossible (unless you are a well known geek in India). The reason for this is that if a company in US hires you, they really would want to bring you there straight away. Unless you already have a H1 this would not be possible. For H1 visas there is an annual cap which opens in April and gets filled within a month or two. So you should really start you paperwork atleast a couple of months before the cap for that year opens. Assuming that your potential employer applies for your H1 and gets it approved (3-4 months), you should go to the US Consulate and get your visa stamped and you can start working in US from the October of that year. So your employer has to wait for about a year to bring you aboard. Not many would be willing to do that unless they want you very very badly. Consultancies are the easy option but could cause you a lot of headache. There are good consultancies and bad ones. Dont depend on your luck in choosing one, always go for a consultancy for which somebody dependable can give you a reference. A good consultancy can be a better option than a permanent employer especially if you are looking for Green card processing and stuff. Another sneaky option is to get your current employer in India to process your H1 and wait till they send you onsite and then find a job here and change jobs (you can change jobs even if you are on H1, it is called a H1 transfer). Some consultancies charge you money for the H1, but I would recommend not to trust those people. They usually dont cheat you of that money, but it is almost always a headache to get it back. Moreover you are tied with them until you get it back. Some people just take it as a security deposit because some people after coming to US on H1 would immediately change jobs when they get a better offer. This would cause the consultancy to lose money (they shell out approx $3000 for your H1 plus approx $800 for your plane fare, some provide initial accomodation too). Some would make you sign bonds for a year or 6 months (which is ok if they pay decent salary). As a rule of thumb, stay away from consultancies which ask for money or bond. Also, keep away from people who says they will train you and find a job for you if you pay them money.

6. Work environment – Unless you work for a desi company in US (like Wipro, Infosys) you would be having a 8 hour job. Americans like to come in early and leave early so generally it would a 8 to 5 job. But software engineers might have to work some additional hours depending on your project schedule but the good thing is that you get paid for overtime. Americans almost never work on the weekends. They are extermely professional in the work place and they usually prefer to keep work at office and not mix with their personal life. This means that people who work together for many years might not know each others’ spouses or would never have visited each others’ homes. In a sentence, work and personal life are not mixed. Apart from that, conditions can vary from company to company just like in India. There are employee friendly companies and money hungry companies. Your work would always be appreciated if you do things well. There is less office politics (but it is there).

7.Life in USA – I could go on forever on this, but I would try to keep it short.

  • People are very nice and polite to each other even though they may not know or like each other. It is like – give respect and take respect. You will be surprised when complete strangers greet you like you bosom buddies. The atmosphere is generally cheerful.
  • They are very protective of their personal life and privacy.
  • Americans like to enjoy life to the hilt. Examples of things they enjoy are hiking, bike riding, camping, parties, long distance running, building something (almost everybody has pet projects), flying, sailing, fishing etc.
  • Life here can get very lonely unless you have some indian friends or you are married.
  • Everybody has a car so it is highly recommended you get one too because visiting friends, going to work, going to a movie or in short going anywhere can be very difficult and troublesome if you dont have a car.
  • People wont call you late in the night (usually after 8 – 9 pm) and they expect the same (except under emergencies).
  • There is a custom of calling a person in advance and letting him know before going to their house.
  • It is very bad to ask how much one makes, how much one pays as mortgage etc.
  • Honking without a real good reason is considered very rude.
  • You really wont lose your virginity if you dont want to. Infact, if you are a guy, you really have to try hard.
  • Americans are far more self-reliant than the average Indian. They like to do most of the stuff themselves (like repairing broken stuff, painting the house, hiking).
  • You can get sued for the most innocent folly.
  • You are in seriously deep shit if you ever break the law and get caught.
  • Americans are generally honest. A lot of practices in this country works on the belief that people are honest.
  • Most people obey traffic rules. Yeah true… I am not kidding.
  • There are lots of libraries in every cities and they are free. So if you love books, this is one thing you will love about being here.

In short, life in USA should be good if have a decent job and have friends and/or family here and you dont break the law.
8.Tips and Tricks

  • First step should be to find a trustworthy consultant who has direct clients. Remember both are important – trustworthiness and having clients.
  • Have all required docs ready – your degree certificates, marklists, previous employment related papers, birth certificate, passport etc etc.
  • Read about H1 visa interview in websites and mailing lists. If you are going to Chennai Consulate, the visa interview can be a little tough compared to other consulates.
  • Search in Dice and Monster, upload your resume there. Get good resume samples and modify your resume accordingly. (By good resume I dont mean flashy ones)
  • Never ever try to mess with US authorities. Any dishonesty can land you in trouble and you may never be able to set foot in US.
  • In stark contrast to Indian authorities, you can explain a bad/error situation (for eg. why you dont have previous employer’s relieving letter) to immigration authorities and they would understand it.
  • Dont aim at GC processing right away. Be patient. Get a stable job, make sure you would want to stay with that employer for atleast 5 years (and that the employer would want you for 5 years) before starting GC processing. Consultants would like you to start GC processing immediately because then you wont be able to quit them (actually you can quit, but you will have to start the processing all over again with the next employer).
  • I really dont like saying this, but having a lot of “keywords” in your resume helps. For e.g. C#, XML, ASP.NET, Java/J2EE, Hibernate, JUnit/NUnit, Javascript, SQL Server/Oracle. Even if you know only a little bit about it, you can put them in your resume because consultants search by these keywords. Make no mistake, your resume matters. Be sure to prepare well for the interview though.
  • Dont take consulting assignments less than 6 months if you have a choice (unless there is no need to relocate). Short term assignments would typically be a pain considering the relocation (breaking current rental lease, finding new apartment, changing licence if you are moving out of state, not to mention moving all your furniture by yourself).
  • Never ever do stuff that affects your credit rating.
  • Always have cash backup for emergencies. Dont count on friends/co-workers to pull you out of financial emergencies.
  • Use Craigslist for getting apartments/roommates/used cars/furniture etc (beware of frauds though).
  • Dont buy a new car. Neither buy one which is older than 6-7 years. Buy one which is 2-4 years old. Best bets are Toyota Corolla/Camry or Honda Civic/Accord.
  • Always make sure you have health insurance.
  • Winters can be a little rough, so if you have the luxury to chose a state, go for the warmer ones. Snow looks beautiful only from a distance.

9.Links -

  • http://www.immihelp.com
  • http://www.murthy.com/h1bstvi.html
  • http://www.path2usa.com/immigration/h1bcorner/H1b_interviewquestions.htm
  • http://www.going2usa.com/employment/workvisa.html
  • http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=H1b+visa&btnG=Google+Search
  • http://groups.google.com/group/misc.immigration.usa

10.Feel free to ask.

P.S. There is a follow-up post to this one. You can read it here.

Disclaimer and other crap :

The words above are from my personal experience but may or may not be accurate since it is just my point of view. You should take the responsibility upon yourself if you believe it or act based on it. You have no right to point the finger at me if you are in deep shit by following any of my advice or believing any of the things I said. You choose, you suffer.

79 thoughts on “Want to be a software engineer in US of A ?”

  1. Great writeup mashe! I did not closely follow the math, but I will re-read this should I need it :-)

    BTW, I really appreciate the coherence in your writing.

  2. Really superb info Pradeep. It would be a great asset for anybody interested to go US on any visa category. You can even think of writing a book with some more additional info.

  3. Really great…This info is the most descriptive one I got. Thanks a lot for this wonderful writing, Pradeep

  4. Very good information Pradeep, it cleared many of my doubts about going to US. Many Thanks and keep writing your views if you find anything interesting

  5. Thanx Pradeep..You answered most of the queries striking my mind…Very good information for one want to got to US…

  7. PC,
    I have been watching your posts silently for a couple of weeks now…I love your posts..they are simply superb.. Regarding this post, it’s really helpful for someone who comes in the US for the first time. I used to give advices for my medicos friends but I am not qualified to comment on this article, I being completey unaware of the IT field here. But I have one advice for the Indian friends. ( actually my husband gave me this advice). We Indians tend to stick on one Resume for all kinds of jobs we apply to. But the best thing is to modify your Resume each time you apply for a job, giving special importance to the words/qualifications that you think the recruiters are looking for that particular job. I had my Resume modified 6-7times already when I was looking for externships here, jsut trying to add some words that would be interesting to the particular hospital.

  8. Thanks for all the kind words, folks. Anju, you nailed it exact on “fine tuning” the resume. I have had to change my resume multiple times because employers really want to see the EXACT words (that they have in their mind) in your resume, they wont settle for something that is implied. For eg, I have put “agile development experience” in my resume but that couldnt satisfy a HR guy who was looking for a guy with “experience in test-driven development”. Consultants search the job portals using certain keywords which is specified in the “requirements doc” of the employer. So dont feel shy to put in all the “keywords”.

  9. PC, Kamal once told me this idea – write stuff like “I am aware of Struts, Tapestry, Ruby on Rails, JMX, blah blah blah but have no professional experience using them” on your resume.

    That way you are being honest, yet your resume would show up in keyword searches :-)

  10. Folks, check out http://xmlresume.sourceforge.net/. This software lets you maintain your resume in XML format, and provide transformers to various output formats like HTML, PDF etc. Also, you can add keywords to sections of your resume, and control the output based on those keywords.

    I haven’t used this software though – maybe sometime soon :)

  14. Pingback: What (wo)men want… « the life and thoughts of a .net developer

  15. Pradeep,

    One of consultancy called IIC (Indotronix International Corporation) website: http://www.iic.com ready to sponser my H1B without any money/security from myside for base salary of 30$/hr + project allowances depend on the location. They are not asking for any bonds but asking me to work for 2 years. This is the best offer I got without spending from my pocket. Do you heard about this consultancy? Is it genuine and reliable? Appreciate your help man… Am friend of Biju(your friend) who sent the 10 Q’s to you.

    Thanks and Regards.

  16. Mukesh, unfortunately I havent heard of this company. I can ask around though. There is a couple of things you need to be aware of. $30/hour salary is ok for places which are not expensive. Check out whether they are willing to negotiate the payrate depending on location. Next make sure they will pay for your medical benefits. This is VERY VERY IMPORTANT. Hourly pay is risky because if you dont work for a day you wont get paid for that day (for eg if you are sick). So it is better to get an annual fixed salary instead of an hourly rate. There is another catch with hourly payment. Usually when one project gets over there would be a gap of 2-4 weeks before you start the next project (you might start the next day or sometimes you might have to wait for 2 months, but 2-4 weeks is the common waiting period in between projects). So you wont be getting paid for that period and additionally that makes your status illegal in the US (you should be paid for the time you are working for an employer, or else you should leave the US). I can suggest you a better pay package which you can negotiate for – $60K per annum + health benefits + relocation (if a project requires you to relocate – ask what all are covered. As part of relocation benefits, you should ask for flight ticket, moving your household items, shipping your car, hotel stay and car rental for atleast 2 weeks) + atleast 2 weeks paid annual vacation + 10 days sick leave. If you are paid hourly you wont get paid vacation and sick leave. Dont be fooled into thinking it is not important. See the math – $30 * 8 hours per day * (10 (sick days) + 10 (vacation)) = $4800. In addition there might be 2-4 weeks where you wont be paid when you are out of a project = $30 * 8 hours per day * 10 (2 weeks = 10 working days) = $2400 (or $4800 if you cant get a project in 1 month) . So hourly pay against annual salary costs you like $7200 to $9600 per year (approx 3.5 to 4.5 lakhs rupees). The consultants know this and will try to get the maximum out of the deal, so I strongly recommend for a fixed annual salary (whether or not you are on a project) instead of an hourly pay. If they are only willing for a hourly pay ask for $40/hour + health benefits. You could also ask for 2 weeks vacation and 10 days sick leave. Trust me, it is worth asking. Get it in writing what they mean by project allowances. Most consultants will say that they will take care of everything, but once you join them they would show their true colors. So you would be kind of stuck with whatever you get. Get everything in writing, dont feel shy to ask that.
    Let me know if you need any other info.

  17. Hi Pradeep,

    As usual, you are clearing my most of doubts. Thanks a lot. I am gonna thanks Biju for providing me contact with you… I requested the info with the consultant and let me know how it is proceeding. The way you put things is very good and informative. Keep it up. You made me to add your blog in my faviourates list….

    Thanks again.
    Regards,
    Mukesh

  18. Hi Mukesh, i also have an offer from ICC. Can we talk? gimme your contact details.

  19. Very informative Pradeep.. Hats of 2 u!!! :)

    I kindly request you to do me a favor if possible.
    I’m planning to process H1 this year. I got an offer from Infoobjects Inc. If you know about this company please send me your suggestions to kstarmind@gmail.com. I have checked the terms, he is expecting 2k$ upfront b4 along with doc as processing fee. Consultant says he is ready to pay my health insurance + 60K per year.

    Company’s website http://www.infoobjects.com.

    Please help me.

    Thanks a lot in advance.

  20. Thanks for the comment buddy.

    About the company:
    ————————–
    I havent heard of this company, but that doesnt matter because there are thousands of desi consulting companies in the US and I know only a few. You should ask as many questions to the consultancy as possible. For eg. how many employees do you have now? Who all are your “direct clients”? What is the usual bench period between projects? How often do you give salary hikes? How many people are you recruiting for this year H1 quota? You can ask for references from the current employees. Ask for contact details of people from the place where you are now. Verify all details before plunging in. If these guys doesnt have any direct clients (dont expect them to tell you that) you would be in a tough situation after coming here.

    About giving money upfront to the consultant:
    ———————————————————–
    There is a very low chance of you getting cheated out of the money. But that is a rare thing to happen. Most of the consultants nowadays ask for the H1 processing charge which they will usually reimburse after 6 months or maybe 1 year. Make sure you ask the consultancy that they should reimburse the money after 6 months. Get it in writing. There is another way in which you can lose this money. If your H1 application is rejected or if ur visa stamping gets rejected (at the consulate) you would lose the money. So there is some risk involved. Think about it and make the decision. I suggest you talk with the consultant and ask them to put in half the money. That is, you would put $1000 and they should put the rest. Chances are they would tell you that they are already spending money (i.e. $2000 is not enough to process the H1 and that they are footing the rest). You can tell them that you are aware that H1 processing will cost only approx $2000-$2500. You can also tell them that you have offers from other consulting companies who are willing to do the H1 processing for only $1000. You should also ask them to pay for your flight ticket and provide accommodation till you get a project. This is business pal. Negotiate as hard as you can and get the best deal.

    About Salary:
    —————–
    60K is ok to start with. It is good that they are paying your health insurance also. You should also ask for 10 days sick leave and 2-3 weeks of paid vacation. You should be paid for the time after you finish one project and is looking for another (known as bench period). It seems that they are located in California, and chances are you would get a project in California itself. 60K salary in California is not that great since California is very expensive to live in. You could share an apartment with other bachelors and it should be ok. After 1 year or so you could jump companies and get a better pay or ask for a raise in this company itself.

    Feel free to ask if you have more questions.

  21. hey guys,

    these guys are doing it for free:

    http://www.iic.com (good company it seems, no bond but expects u to work for 2 yrs, hourly based sal )
    http://www.g-c-i.com (u hav to bear air fare, which will be reimbersed after 1 year, no bond but expects u to work for 18 months, good company)

  23. Thanks a lot Pradeep.. Really a great insight for my request about infoobjects earlier, I appreciate that. You are doing a great help by helping ppl like me aspiring to work in US.

    I have got another offer from a consultatnt AITCUSA. He is saying he will return back 1700$ once I land there. Could you please let me know your advice and insight about this consultant?

    His website is http://www.aitcusa.com/

    I will be really grateful to you for all your efforts.

  25. Bold and powerful article. Major issues covered. Congratulations for an article well done!! I am also thinking about relocating to the US with a certain consulting company and your detailed write-up has helped clear most of the issues clouding my mind.
    I wouldn’t think of a better blog than this. Thanks a lot.

    John

  26. Really good article. It helped lot in getting the info on moving to US on H1B…..Thanks a lot Mr.Pradeep.

  27. @kstarmind
    A friend of mine told me that this company has been sued by an employee once. I can mail you the details of the case if you want.
    It has been around for quite a while so I think it should be a stable company.

  29. Hi Pradeep.

    Thanks for writing such a informative article.
    Anyway, I need few clarifications.

    1. What is an average monthly cost for a couple to stay in CA?

    Is it possible to survive with an annual package of [60K annual + Health + Dental + Vision Insurance + paid vacations + sick leave etc]

    2. If I expect a child in US, then what will be the cost as far as care and child delivery is concerned? and do the child and parents gets any privelidges in US?

    3. My wife in well qualified, Can she work in US legally by any way?

    4. I will be signing an agreement with my employer. From legal point of view, can I break that agreement and go for a change?

    Thanks.

  32. Thanks Pradeep.
    Please update me with your new blog, so that I get get required information.

  33. Hey Pradeep, My H1B is stamped. I am planning to come in May 2007. Is it i good time for getting job? or i need to come early? Also my employer is not giving me health insurance, i have to bear it. So how much it cost to get an average health insurance?

    Thanks,
    Girish

  35. @Girish,
    Congrats on getting ur H1B.
    May would be a good time to come. The winter would be over as well. If you can come in April it would be ok too, but it depends on your convenience. To which place are you planning to come ?
    I cant believe that your employer is not paying for your health insurance. I am not sure but I think it is required by law that the employer should provide health insurance to their employees.
    What I suspect is that your employer is paying a portion of the insurance and you will also have to pay a part (usually $100/month). This is the normal case. I am also paying $100/month for my health insurance. I dont think you will have to pay the whole amount.
    There are 2 rates for health insurance. One is called group rate which are given to employees of a company. It would be comparatively very cheap. The other one is when a person takes health insurance directly from the Carrier without involving the employer. This will be very very expensive (I dont know a single software guy who pays his own insurance). Please contact your employer and find out what is your case.
    I dont want to be the messenger of bad news, but if your employer is not going to pay any part of your health insurance and you will have to get insurance directly from the carrier then you have been given a very bad deal (unless your salary is very high to compensate for this). If they are not going to pay, you should start negotiating with thim right now.

  36. Pradeep, thanks for the reply. I would be coming to South Iselin,NJ. All i know that my employer once told me that i have to take care of my medical insurance on my own. But tell me is it so costly??? One of my friend told me that it ccosts around $50 something. And i am getting 58k salary. Is it reasonable for such a place??

    Thanks,
    Girish

  37. This is what is written in offer letter regarding insurance.

    “Temporary Health Insurance: All candidates are advised to purchase health insurance for a period of three months from their home country to avoid costs related to any emergencies during travel and after travel to the USA. Serebrum does not reimburse these expenses and the insurance is recommended for the safety of the candidate.”

    Thanks,
    Girish

  38. @Girish

    About the salary
    ============
    NJ is an expensive place. 58K is ok to start with but dont think of saving a lot initially. You can get a better job or negotiate with current employer for better pay once you work on a couple of projects. Look for stability initially. Once you are all settled and self sufficient you can look at saving some money.

    About the health insurance
    ===================
    Important question – Does your friend work for the same company?

    If your friend said that he pays only $50 for health insurance then definitely his employer is footing the major share of the bill. That is the way things usually work. Only very few employers pay the entire premium.

    I am not very sure why they ask you to take insurance while coming from India but here is what I think : You will be eligible for health insurance only when you start working for them. So in case you have the necessity for medical assistance in the mean time (after you start from India and till you start working for this company) you will have to foot your own medical bill. To avoid that risk they are asking you to take coverage from India. I dont think many people take that coverage while coming to work on H1. If you are coming on B1 or if you are sent to work onsite on H1 usually your company will cover your insurance expense.

    I recommend you to send a mail to your employer asking whether they will be providing medical insurance for you.

  40. Pingback: More questions on H1Bs coming to USA « –==PC==–

  43. Hi there,
    excellent writing!!!

    Well i have one more question for you. I have been searching through Internet for H1B sponsors, but most of them seek java,c#,asp et.al. , that is web technological skills.
    I have c,unix,networking & network security development experience. I have worked on perl also , though my knowledge to that is limited.

    What are my chances of finding sponsors ? Are there any sponsors for these technologies?

    Secondly, I was going through this link ( http://www.h1base.com/storechoices.asp?id=49 ), and was thinking of buying there “H1B announce service”? what is your take on this ?

    thanks and regards

  44. hi pradeep,

    u had provided very useful info to us,i’d so many doubts abt taxes,living expenses,abt consultancies etc.now i got an clear idea abt all these.Its great to know abt nature of the Americans in my view this is the main thing for our security.nice information given by you…

    keep it up

    thanks and regards
    bapiraju yarlagadda

  45. @Nishant,
    There are plenty of opportunities in C, Unix arena. Do a search in Dice. http://www.dice.com.
    To know what chance you stand to find a job in this area, create a professional updated resume and post it at dice. Don’t put your current location or phone number. (Put a US address in case they require you to enter an address when you register). Just put email address as the sole contact info. See how many responses you get. You can also register at CareerBuilder and Monster.
    The response you get will show you the demand for your skill set in US. But the disadvantage is that most of these requirements will be for US citizens, green card holders or people with existing H1-Bs. If you say that you are in India and you need a new H1, chances are they wont consider you because it will be 1.5 years before a new H1 can come to US (assuming you haven’t applied in the 2007 quota). Few companies would want to recruit somebody who will be able to join only after 1.5 years.
    As you might be aware the H1 quota was a lottery this year, chances are it will be same next year also (unless they increase the annual cap or remove it altogether). So it poses an additional hurdle to H1B seekers. You need to find a sponsor and you need to be lucky to get through the lottery. This will further reduce the willingness of companies to bring new H1s. Your best bet would be a consulting company. They would be willing to take the chances.
    As about the h1base.com service, I haven’t heard about them from anybody. From what they say on their website it seems like a pretty good option. If they do as they promise, it is a good deal for $300.

  47. thanks for the suggestion mite.

    I will be bothering you once again pradeep. I m in dillemma right now.
    I worked on c,unix (my comfort zone) for 1.5 yrs and later 1 yr (untill now) in networking.
    So will I have more scope in networking rather than C and unix?
    If you have to choose one will it be networking or C,unix?

    Thanks for your kind and generous insights.

  48. I would say you should make the choice depending on what you want to do. If you like working as a C developer on Unix, by all means go for that. You should tune your resume to that of course. I hate to say it, but you should modify your resume so that ur C/Unix projects are shown as the most recent ones if you plan to go that way. If your interest in in networking you can stay in that field itself. Since I haven’t looked around for networking jobs I really dont know how many requirements are there. As I mentioned earlier you can float around 2 versions of ur resume (one for networking and one for C/Unix) and see which one has more demand. I, personally, would stay in development as opposed to networking because that is what I like. I recommend you should go for what you are interested in doing.
    As a corollary, I think development jobs pay better than networking – in general.

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