# What kind of working skills are needed in the US?



## jay123 (Feb 19, 2009)

Hi (newbie here)

I am only 16 years of age (Well, will be on sunday), and I know that seems a bit young to be thinking of emigrating, but it has always been a dream for me to move to America. I am currently in the process of choosing subjects for my college course and I owuld like to then carry on my education and obtain a Bachelor's degree which I've heard is vital to get a permanent working visa in the US.

With the current economic climate, are their any particular skills in America which are lacking? I know I won't even be applying for my visa for a good 5/6 years, but I would like to know now so I can base my college options on this.

Note: I am very skilled in Business and am interested in a career to do with this. are there jobs needed in marketing, business management, business teaching etc.?

Thanks


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## cactuscake (Feb 14, 2009)

jay123 said:


> Hi (newbie here)
> 
> Note: I am very skilled in Business and am interested in a career to do with this. are there jobs needed in marketing, business management, business teaching etc.?
> 
> Thanks


I'm coming to the end of a BA in Business Studies this year, so I've been looking for US job opportunities recently that match my profile. There are certainly a lot of positions, so it's a viable option. However I have noticed during my search that the most opportunities by far are in the IT field, specifically knowledge and experience using specialised programming languages. If you have an interest in that area you should find it much easier to find jobs.

Of course, I have no idea what the visa process will be like by the time you graduate, so it could be even harder than it already is now, but at least the jobs should still be there, it's still the fastest growing market (software).


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## tomben (Dec 31, 2008)

jay123 said:


> Hi (newbie here)
> 
> I am only 16 years of age (Well, will be on sunday), and I know that seems a bit young to be thinking of emigrating, but it has always been a dream for me to move to America. I am currently in the process of choosing subjects for my college course and I owuld like to then carry on my education and obtain a Bachelor's degree which I've heard is vital to get a permanent working visa in the US.
> 
> ...


Actually a very good forward thinking question Jay. Make no apologies for having a dream of moving to USA. I was aware of my dream to move here at the age of 11. 
However I feel you don't need to concentrate on whats in need now, your concern is 10+ years down the road.
My advice is not to think about just getting a degree but to also plan on spending some time proving yourself and getting extra experience in your field. You will always need an edge over any other US citizen to get a job. Unless you get position in a company in the UK that will transfer you to work in the USA. 

Also you would probably want to be doing something you enjoy doing anyway as you would need to be doing the same job likely for up to 5 years on H1-B + renewal. Plus even more if getting a GC.

I wish i could tell you what would be the next best in demand skill over here but i don't have the crystal ball. Its your best guess.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

jay123 said:


> Hi (newbie here)
> 
> I am only 16 years of age (Well, will be on sunday), and I know that seems a bit young to be thinking of emigrating, but it has always been a dream for me to move to America. I am currently in the process of choosing subjects for my college course and I owuld like to then carry on my education and obtain a Bachelor's degree which I've heard is vital to get a permanent working visa in the US.
> 
> ...


It's certainly a valid question, though unfortunately there is no easy answer. Business graduates are thick on the ground in the US - and while there may be job postings, there are more than enough qualified candidates who don't need visas to be on the job tomorrow.

IT has traditionally been the big "ticket" to an H1B visa, though there are also tons of experienced IT professionals now on unemployment. It's thought by many that hi tech companies are exploiting the visa system to hire cheap labor they can blow away at the first sign of trouble.

One thing to consider - the US is wailing and moaning about the lack of hard science majors - Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Chemical or Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, etc. - the really tough programs that often require a PhD. In something like this, it may be possible to do graduate work in the US and turn that into a work visa or even a GC if you land the right job after graduation.
Cheers,
Bev


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## cactuscake (Feb 14, 2009)

Bevdeforges said:


> It's thought by many that hi tech companies are exploiting the visa system to hire cheap labor they can blow away at the first sign of trouble.


That's an odd assumption... the company has to invest considerably more money and especially more time to recruit a foreign worker. They have to pay for most of the visa process, and then they must pay the "prevailing wage" for the job position.

Visa holders do have rights believe it or not. And companies who willfully violate the terms of employing their H-1B holders can be prohibited from hiring foreign workers in the future.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

cactuscake said:


> That's an odd assumption... the company has to invest considerably more money and especially more time to recruit a foreign worker. They have to pay for most of the visa process, and then they must pay the "prevailing wage" for the job position.
> 
> Visa holders do have rights believe it or not. And companies who willfully violate the terms of employing their H-1B holders can be prohibited from hiring foreign workers in the future.


What can I say? I used to work in Silicon Valley, and I know many of the older IT professionals who have been laid off and are having trouble finding jobs bitterly resent the foreigners being recruited on H1B visas. They assume that it's cheaper to hire newly qualified "youngsters" than to have to pay someone with years of experience.

I'm not in a position to judge who's right here - but I've heard plenty of the grousing.
Cheers,
Bev


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## cactuscake (Feb 14, 2009)

Bevdeforges said:


> ... many of the older IT professionals who have been laid off and are having trouble finding jobs bitterly resent the foreigners being recruited on H1B visas. They assume that it's cheaper to hire newly qualified "youngsters" than to have to pay someone with years of experience.


Aha, I know what you mean now, I saw some of this while I was on placement with IBM (in the UK) although the issue was not foreign workers, just youngsters in general being hired in place of experienced workers. I think if they want a real scapegoat they should turn their eyes to all the findings of Gen Y / Gen Z research. The baby boomers are out and we seem to have skipped the people in the middle (Gen X).

Gen Y & Z are the new target market and all the IT companies seem to want employees from that demographic in order to best target their perceived market's needs. I'm not saying it's right, just that it's happening.

Interesting article here.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

cactuscake said:


> Aha, I know what you mean now, I saw some of this while I was on placement with IBM (in the UK) although the issue was not foreign workers, just youngsters in general being hired in place of experienced workers. I think if they want a real scapegoat they should turn their eyes to all the findings of Gen Y / Gen Z research. The baby boomers are out and we seem to have skipped the people in the middle (Gen X).
> 
> Gen Y & Z are the new target market and all the IT companies seem to want employees from that demographic in order to best target their perceived market's needs. I'm not saying it's right, just that it's happening.
> 
> Interesting article here.



Unfortunately this does not apply to IT only. I see more and more bean counters with double MBAs, a CPA thrown in for good meassure and 3-5 years public accounting being hired into senior positions; mostly privatly held companies. Hard to believe but some of them are actually expanding.


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## jay123 (Feb 19, 2009)

Thanks for the replies everyone!

The subjects I had in mind for college were Business Studies, Economics, IT and History or Law. (Undecided which one to take) From what I've gathered so far, there are plenty of Business students already in the US who would be far more likely to get a job over me, understandably. Is there anything in Business teaching? Is there different qualifications needed to be a teacher in the US?

Also there seems to be more of a chance of me getting if I do IT. I am interested in taking IT in college. Would a 'Double Honours' award which would consist of a Business related subject and IT at University be useful?

If anyone has emigrated by moving with a degree in the past could you please give me your experiences on it? How difficult did you find a work placement? Are man companies willing to sponser/petition you? etc.

Also what do the people of the US think the economical climate will be like in about 10 years time? Will it have improved at all or got worse? I know that this question cannot be answered for definite but does anyone know of any plans or such to sort out the problem? 

Thanks again everyone!


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## cactuscake (Feb 14, 2009)

The great depression lasted 10 years in the US... I'd hope the world has learned from that mistake. I'd be really surprised and really unimpressed if it hasn't improved by 2019.


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## Danzaivar (Feb 19, 2009)

jay123 said:


> ...Would a 'Double Honours' award which would consist of a Business related subject and IT at University be useful?...


I'm a second year student in a Computer Software Development degree, got into Uni through doing a double award IT A level, and my Uni (Hull, if you're interested) has quite a few big American companies (Microsoft being the major one) trying to recruit the 'next generation'. I haven't tried to get into the USA at all yet, since i'm not done with my degree, but from what I can tell if you do a Computer-related course at University you stand a good chance of getting in on a H1B.

Failing that, you could always get a job in England with an IT degree and work for a big multinational company then request a transfer to somewhere in America down the line...that's my back-up anyway...

(I've been lurking for a few weeks but this guy's plan here is almost exactly what i'm doing, so I thought i'd chip in.)


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## jay123 (Feb 19, 2009)

Cheers mate, that's really helpful! What kind of things do you study at university in that particular course? Is it interesting? I know it's a long way down the line, but I want to make the right decisions now, to increase my chances of getting into America later.


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## Danzaivar (Feb 19, 2009)

jay123 said:


> Cheers mate, that's really helpful! What kind of things do you study at university in that particular course? Is it interesting? I know it's a long way down the line, but I want to make the right decisions now, to increase my chances of getting into America later.


Erm it's mostly programming, along with some computer theory and maths (Logical maths and algebra mostly). Theres a tiny bit of psychology too (User Interfaces and making them natural etc). It's pretty heavy stuff, I find it fascinating but some of my friends absolutely hate it. Depends how good you are with logic really.

There are some Universities that do a 'IT with Business' degree, which is a lot less with programming and covers the basics of Business management and Business software (Spreadsheets and the like) too. That would be more ideal if you wanted to get into the management side of things, i'm not sure if Software companies would hire foreigners for that kind of stuff but it might be worth a go.


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## jay123 (Feb 19, 2009)

Danzaivar said:


> Erm it's mostly programming, along with some computer theory and maths (Logical maths and algebra mostly). Theres a tiny bit of psychology too (User Interfaces and making them natural etc). It's pretty heavy stuff, I find it fascinating but some of my friends absolutely hate it. Depends how good you are with logic really.
> 
> There are some Universities that do a 'IT with Business' degree, which is a lot less with programming and covers the basics of Business management and Business software (Spreadsheets and the like) too. That would be more ideal if you wanted to get into the management side of things, i'm not sure if Software companies would hire foreigners for that kind of stuff but it might be worth a go.


Thanks! The 'IT with Business' sounds interesting! If their are any Americans on here, is there any need for this kind of thing, or is it just IT? I'm particularly interested in the NY area, is this being too restrictive? If not what kind of skilled jobs are needed in NY?

Thanks


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## autumnstar (Feb 7, 2009)

What are the chances for an interrupter job in USA at the moment?


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

The prevaililng wage regulations are new. Companies did indeed advertise jobs at ridiculous wages, use the lack of response as 'proof' that there were no US citizens or permanent residents available, then brought in people from India and paid them the ridiculously low wages. 

It's really difficult to know what will be hot in the future. Back at the end of the millenium, everybody was getting degrees in IT and getting great jobs. Then it ended. One year graduates could pick and choose where they would go, and the next year, hardly any got jobs at all. So study something you enjoy, at the most respected university you can get into, do really well, and then look at grad school in the US, if you can afford it.


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