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Hey blinders, My goal is to eventually move to the US. Reasons being: - Less crowded - Higher TC - Better quality air & roads - US is the hub of tech so I expect good growth and good work throughout - Foreign wali feeling and new experiences (not kidding) I have about 1.75 YoE, my ESOP grant will completely vest in July 2024 (only then will I actually take the decision lol but still I’m curious) Current TC in India: about 80 LPA (based on $40 stock, this is inflated due to IPO) I am a SWE-II Should I move to a company with good L1 prospects (Google is the only one that comes to mind, Amazon pays less in India, Microsoft pays less everywhere) or try for master’s? The catch with L1 route is it will take more time (1-2 years to be eligible for transfer), transfer isn’t guaranteed and until I get H1B, I can’t switch jobs. I’ve heard that even your stock grant remains same so you get paid less than what you would’ve, if you were on H1B. The catch with master’s route is I don’t think I will get a very good university as I don’t have any LOR’s right now, no research experience and no side projects. Only work experience and 8.4 CGPA from a tier 1 college. Not to mention lost pay, lost YoE, at least 50L incurred in tuition + living expenses. The only reason I’ve considered this is because it can expedite my process of moving to the US and the H1B vs L1 issue.
Honestly to me MS is a mega waste of money and time better spent in gaining YoE and growing as an SDE At Amazon you’re eligible for international transfer after 1 year as an L5 At your YoE you will get sde2 interviews and Amazon pays quite well for external sde2 now (55LPA+ at least) Crack Amazon and move wherever you want in a year
Is it guaranteed though? The relocation? I don’t want to go through rounds and rounds of internal interviews just to be rejected and end up at the same place (SDE-2 in India)
For 90% of the teams there is no interview round as such Just an informal convo with the HM And there are thousands of openings at Amazon for international transfers Basically it’s quite easy once you satisfy the 1 year as L5 requirement
I am in a similar position as you and have spent the last year thinking about it carefully. I concluded that going on L1 is better because the college degree does not really give you anything you cannot get by working in the industry and causes you to lose 2 years without working. Moving on L1 is much easier - both Amazon and Google support relocation in a hassle free manner. The only drawback with this approach is that you will be paid less and cannot switch companies until you get an H1B, for which the amount of time is not fixed.
The amount of time is not fixed for an L1 either, how long does it take after you join Google or Amazon to get this transfer? I know the lower bound is 1 year, but what if it takes 3-4 years+? Eventually, you can make up for lost YoE during youth in your 30’s but can you make up for lost youth? Moving to a different country is different at 27 vs 35 and this stuff should be factored in as well I feel. All of this could be FOMO lol.
While there is no guarantee of being able to get an L1 immediately, there are companies which are more than happy to transfer you after 1 year. Amazon is the best example here - there are so many people who transfer out that you can find posting on LinkedIn. Google has an easy process as well. It mostly depends on the hiring manager in the US team - they need to be willing to have you on the team and be able to justify it to the company. If you join some other company like Uber, yes it can take much more time. Yes, other factors like your youth and what else you can do there need to be factored in. I am assuming that you have already done your research on this and made up your mind :)
OP why do you want to leave Indian tech scene right now ? Heard it is red hot. Do you think h1b life is worth it ?
Is h1b or l1b that bad ?
It’s even better to try out H1B now right? Worst case, you are back in India where as you say, the scene is hot. Win win, or am I missing something?
Which universities are you aiming for?
Not anyone in particular but preferably in California/NY and in top 50 at least. CMU is the only exception (I don’t think I’ll be able to get in though)