How I went to the States in 2000 and what happened next
After one of my comments, several people asked me to tell you how I went to America. In short, it was like this ...
The final decision to leave came after the crisis of '98. Then I worked as a programmer in a bank, i.e. This was due not so much to economic reasons, as ... but I do not even know! I just wanted to change my life. I felt that everything flows like a slow, shallow, not the purest river. I still remember this ad , which was like a window into some other, funny, clean world in which people enjoyed life and for some reason without me :)
Considered any ways - USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand. I figured out the possibilities, the means - it turned out that leaving on a work visa to the USA was the most realistic option. Canada remained spare, but it was worth $ 10K for a family that was not there.
')
At first he deliberately sent a resume in the United States, and after the quota for H1B visas ended - worldwide. I sent up to 50-100 resumes per day. I met with representatives of the recruitment company Mastech in Omsk, I had some kind of telephone interviews - with England, Canada, and Switzerland. Now, of course, it’s fun to remember - I can imagine what they thought of me according to English.
At the same time learning the language. I started with a complete zero — I didn’t know how the do and did verbs differ.
I worked hard - I got up at 6 in the morning, did written exercises, or after work either a tutor or courses, did oral tasks in the evening, on the way to work and from work I listened to a player with Voice of America broadcasts. (When I arrived, I realized that it was necessary to apply 3 times more effort! Especially, I didn’t understand practically anything to read fiction and listen to the radio. Vocabulary was poor.)
In the end, one of the Dutch new-group resumes was found by the English consulting company BesTech, which had a representative office in Seattle. I went through several telephone interviews, paid for tickets, visas, insurance for me, my wife and son, and brought them here. We arrived with $ 400 in your pocket. The company settled into the hotel for a week, then they helped to rent an apartment, open an account, gave a loan of $ 3K to purchase the first necessary.
When they saw my English live, they were fucked up and sent to classes at the Washington Language Academy in Seattle - 10 days, 4 hours one-on-one with the teacher. 4 days before the end of the class found the first job.
After half a year, they offered to remain on a permanent client company, but still in the mentality of that time, they thought that if I stay, I would “throw” the bodyshop, and in particular John, the director, with whom I had excellent relations. As a result, he remained in the bodyshop, but with a 20% salary increase. It was the 2000th. Then everything was very chocolate with the works ...
Then - 2001, IT-crisis. Seattle - in the top unemployment among programmers, John is trying to buy a branch, does not work and he leaves (having organized his own company: startechnical.com ). In his place comes a complete fool who is ruining the company - he begins with the fact that the company is reoriented to UNIX-specialists (in Seattle, where you don’t spit, you get into a programmer from Microsoft !!!). I was first dismissed with the words, “30 days to leave the country. Tickets will pay. "
It was on Monday morning. When the first shock passed, the thought was one - “Damn you !!!” I arrived home, began sending out a resume. By lunchtime, the calls went and the whole week was a solid marathon interview, 2-3 times a day. And on Friday there were already 2 offers, one in start-up with + $ 15K per year and stock-options, the second in Microsoft for a contract through my bodyshop, which again “loved” me when I went through an interview. To avoid a conflict with the bodyshop, I met a lawyer in a restaurant - $ 500.00 for advice, with the result that the bodyshop is sent by the forest and a start-up is chosen.
After 8 months, not finding the next money to invest, start-up shouts, before spending 2 strong layoffs. Programmers are not touched, marketing and managers were fired.
It was the end of the summer of 2001 - the height of the crisis, did not even hire Microsoft ...
Looking for the next job takes a month - a company that wanted to make a partnership with the very start-up, just reimplemented their product, and I was directly involved in this.
Here are the details of this story: habrahabr.ru/blogs/startup/127987/#comment_4229329
When transferring a work visa to a new company, INS sent a request, which was thrown out by the “smart” aunt at the reception. An unanswered request means an automatic refusal in the transfer. Refusal of transfer means receiving a new visa for the whole family in the country of residence and a ban on working in the United States until a new visa is received.
The company urgently hires a lurer, dismisses me from a permanent position, on the same day transfers me to a contract with the same salary, gives a laptop and sends me to Omsk to work and get new visas. Probability does not return - very non-zero. Power of attorney is written to the machines by friends, all things are packed in boxes with instructions: if we don’t go back, give away / sell everything, buy plane tickets and make a big surprise to parents. For all - 5-7 days.
A month later he returned with visas to unpack things, and the family remained for another couple of months - to relax from stress :)
Here is a brief and all.
Now, in the same company, I received a Green Card (it took 7.5 years), Senior Software Engineer, my friends here are like family, I play hockey after work. 8 years ago was born the second kid. There are no problems with English. Every 3-4 years we go to Russia with great pleasure.
The happy end! What do you want;)
UPD0: To paraphrase, "when they saw my Russian live" - ​​ofigel Habr.
Guys, you understand - I now speak most of my life in English, of course I insert words that sound in English several times shorter than in Russian.
UPD1: Regarding how to learn a language.
Need to talk, the ideal option - with a native speaker. You can search for Mormon missionaries in your city, their religion will be on the drum, but then you will have to hear and talk a lot. You can try to become a shortwave radio amateur, there is generally practice will not be limited.
Speak as much as you can. I, in general, on my way to work in the car, tried to repeat behind the radio in order to reduce the emphasis. Of course he did not have time, he repeated individual words several times, maximally fitting the sounds to the original.
For vocabulary, nothing more effective than reading fiction I do not know. Start with the simplest children's books and continue with what you read in Russian and you liked it.
The level of understanding can be considered sufficient if you calmly watch TV shows without captions. Not movies, but serials. Speech rate is very different. I remember seeing Tutsi fell into shock - could not make out a single word in a continuous stream of sounds. Desparate Housewifes is a great example of clear English speaking.
UPD2: ... and in Russia you can get well settled. There would be money.
Let me give you some simple examples from life.
- Early morning, a rather busy road along which residents of the microdistrict are rushing to work, at the bus stop there are children waiting for the school bus. A school bus pulls up, special flashing lights of red light up, the flow of cars stops in both directions , the car closest to the bus is at least 3-5 meters away. Everyone is waiting until the last child comes, the bus does not turn off the lights and does not move. Moving at a time when the bus is on gravity - well, about how to knock down a pedestrian.
- Mail, the end of the working day, all 10-15 people. Behind the windows are three clerks, working in full force. It is 6 pm - the entrance doors are closed, but the weekends remain open and people continue to work until they serve the last visitor, who entered before 6 pm
- Pedestrian crossing with a zebra without traffic lights, a busy flow of cars. A person approaches a pedestrian, is not yet stepping on a zebra, but is only going. The flow of cars stopped, a person pretty quickly passes the road, waving his hand in a token of gratitude.
- When leaving the highway, the policeman stops, says that I started to leave the lane, in which only those cars in which two people and a bluer person, buses or an ambulance can move. The estimated penalty is $ 500. I explain that this cannot be, because I am familiar with the rules, I have been driving this road for five years now and the speed with which I moved was less than if I were driving along a free, forbidden lane. The officer checks something on the computer, agrees, says that he took me for another intruder car of the same color, wants a happy journey and reminds me that I can ride it one after 7 in the evening.
- The child, less than a year old, choked after feeding, began to choke. The ambulance arrived in 3 minutes.
- Driving along the road, I see a red flasher in the rear mirror, I immediately turn off to the edge of the road and stop, letting the car rush to help someone — this is my civic duty, which will help someone to save life.
Bottom line: There are things that you can hardly buy, even if you have money.
The final decision to leave came after the crisis of '98. Then I worked as a programmer in a bank, i.e. This was due not so much to economic reasons, as ... but I do not even know! I just wanted to change my life. I felt that everything flows like a slow, shallow, not the purest river. I still remember this ad , which was like a window into some other, funny, clean world in which people enjoyed life and for some reason without me :)
Considered any ways - USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand. I figured out the possibilities, the means - it turned out that leaving on a work visa to the USA was the most realistic option. Canada remained spare, but it was worth $ 10K for a family that was not there.
')
At first he deliberately sent a resume in the United States, and after the quota for H1B visas ended - worldwide. I sent up to 50-100 resumes per day. I met with representatives of the recruitment company Mastech in Omsk, I had some kind of telephone interviews - with England, Canada, and Switzerland. Now, of course, it’s fun to remember - I can imagine what they thought of me according to English.
At the same time learning the language. I started with a complete zero — I didn’t know how the do and did verbs differ.
I worked hard - I got up at 6 in the morning, did written exercises, or after work either a tutor or courses, did oral tasks in the evening, on the way to work and from work I listened to a player with Voice of America broadcasts. (When I arrived, I realized that it was necessary to apply 3 times more effort! Especially, I didn’t understand practically anything to read fiction and listen to the radio. Vocabulary was poor.)
In the end, one of the Dutch new-group resumes was found by the English consulting company BesTech, which had a representative office in Seattle. I went through several telephone interviews, paid for tickets, visas, insurance for me, my wife and son, and brought them here. We arrived with $ 400 in your pocket. The company settled into the hotel for a week, then they helped to rent an apartment, open an account, gave a loan of $ 3K to purchase the first necessary.
When they saw my English live, they were fucked up and sent to classes at the Washington Language Academy in Seattle - 10 days, 4 hours one-on-one with the teacher. 4 days before the end of the class found the first job.
After half a year, they offered to remain on a permanent client company, but still in the mentality of that time, they thought that if I stay, I would “throw” the bodyshop, and in particular John, the director, with whom I had excellent relations. As a result, he remained in the bodyshop, but with a 20% salary increase. It was the 2000th. Then everything was very chocolate with the works ...
Then - 2001, IT-crisis. Seattle - in the top unemployment among programmers, John is trying to buy a branch, does not work and he leaves (having organized his own company: startechnical.com ). In his place comes a complete fool who is ruining the company - he begins with the fact that the company is reoriented to UNIX-specialists (in Seattle, where you don’t spit, you get into a programmer from Microsoft !!!). I was first dismissed with the words, “30 days to leave the country. Tickets will pay. "
It was on Monday morning. When the first shock passed, the thought was one - “Damn you !!!” I arrived home, began sending out a resume. By lunchtime, the calls went and the whole week was a solid marathon interview, 2-3 times a day. And on Friday there were already 2 offers, one in start-up with + $ 15K per year and stock-options, the second in Microsoft for a contract through my bodyshop, which again “loved” me when I went through an interview. To avoid a conflict with the bodyshop, I met a lawyer in a restaurant - $ 500.00 for advice, with the result that the bodyshop is sent by the forest and a start-up is chosen.
After 8 months, not finding the next money to invest, start-up shouts, before spending 2 strong layoffs. Programmers are not touched, marketing and managers were fired.
It was the end of the summer of 2001 - the height of the crisis, did not even hire Microsoft ...
Looking for the next job takes a month - a company that wanted to make a partnership with the very start-up, just reimplemented their product, and I was directly involved in this.
Here are the details of this story: habrahabr.ru/blogs/startup/127987/#comment_4229329
When transferring a work visa to a new company, INS sent a request, which was thrown out by the “smart” aunt at the reception. An unanswered request means an automatic refusal in the transfer. Refusal of transfer means receiving a new visa for the whole family in the country of residence and a ban on working in the United States until a new visa is received.
The company urgently hires a lurer, dismisses me from a permanent position, on the same day transfers me to a contract with the same salary, gives a laptop and sends me to Omsk to work and get new visas. Probability does not return - very non-zero. Power of attorney is written to the machines by friends, all things are packed in boxes with instructions: if we don’t go back, give away / sell everything, buy plane tickets and make a big surprise to parents. For all - 5-7 days.
A month later he returned with visas to unpack things, and the family remained for another couple of months - to relax from stress :)
Here is a brief and all.
Now, in the same company, I received a Green Card (it took 7.5 years), Senior Software Engineer, my friends here are like family, I play hockey after work. 8 years ago was born the second kid. There are no problems with English. Every 3-4 years we go to Russia with great pleasure.
The happy end! What do you want;)
UPD0: To paraphrase, "when they saw my Russian live" - ​​ofigel Habr.
Guys, you understand - I now speak most of my life in English, of course I insert words that sound in English several times shorter than in Russian.
UPD1: Regarding how to learn a language.
Need to talk, the ideal option - with a native speaker. You can search for Mormon missionaries in your city, their religion will be on the drum, but then you will have to hear and talk a lot. You can try to become a shortwave radio amateur, there is generally practice will not be limited.
Speak as much as you can. I, in general, on my way to work in the car, tried to repeat behind the radio in order to reduce the emphasis. Of course he did not have time, he repeated individual words several times, maximally fitting the sounds to the original.
For vocabulary, nothing more effective than reading fiction I do not know. Start with the simplest children's books and continue with what you read in Russian and you liked it.
The level of understanding can be considered sufficient if you calmly watch TV shows without captions. Not movies, but serials. Speech rate is very different. I remember seeing Tutsi fell into shock - could not make out a single word in a continuous stream of sounds. Desparate Housewifes is a great example of clear English speaking.
UPD2: ... and in Russia you can get well settled. There would be money.
Let me give you some simple examples from life.
- Early morning, a rather busy road along which residents of the microdistrict are rushing to work, at the bus stop there are children waiting for the school bus. A school bus pulls up, special flashing lights of red light up, the flow of cars stops in both directions , the car closest to the bus is at least 3-5 meters away. Everyone is waiting until the last child comes, the bus does not turn off the lights and does not move. Moving at a time when the bus is on gravity - well, about how to knock down a pedestrian.
- Mail, the end of the working day, all 10-15 people. Behind the windows are three clerks, working in full force. It is 6 pm - the entrance doors are closed, but the weekends remain open and people continue to work until they serve the last visitor, who entered before 6 pm
- Pedestrian crossing with a zebra without traffic lights, a busy flow of cars. A person approaches a pedestrian, is not yet stepping on a zebra, but is only going. The flow of cars stopped, a person pretty quickly passes the road, waving his hand in a token of gratitude.
- When leaving the highway, the policeman stops, says that I started to leave the lane, in which only those cars in which two people and a bluer person, buses or an ambulance can move. The estimated penalty is $ 500. I explain that this cannot be, because I am familiar with the rules, I have been driving this road for five years now and the speed with which I moved was less than if I were driving along a free, forbidden lane. The officer checks something on the computer, agrees, says that he took me for another intruder car of the same color, wants a happy journey and reminds me that I can ride it one after 7 in the evening.
- The child, less than a year old, choked after feeding, began to choke. The ambulance arrived in 3 minutes.
- Driving along the road, I see a red flasher in the rear mirror, I immediately turn off to the edge of the road and stop, letting the car rush to help someone — this is my civic duty, which will help someone to save life.
Bottom line: There are things that you can hardly buy, even if you have money.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/307350/
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