Hi all
I'm writing because I've been thinking about living in the US for a while, probably California and probably the SF/bay area. I am a computer scientist and senior PHP and Drupal programmer, specializing mainly in module development. Currently living in Melbourne.
I am writing to ask, do you think I would have any difficulty finding work in this part of the world? Is there an abundance, or a shortage of work? I normally work freelance/contract (I don't know if this is particularly common in the States) - what kind of rates are normal in the US?
If you have any other advice for me, such as good places to live, methods for obtaining permission to live and work in the US, or any other important things I should know, I would really appreciate the information :)
Thank you and have a great day!
Shaun
Comments
bay area work
there's a lot of work in the bay area right now for drupal/PHP development.
it's difficult to make a good living as an independent contractor in the US. i have no idea how it compares to australia, but considering the prevailing hourly rates, the additional taxes you have to pay as a self-employed contractor and the high cost of health benefits, you really have to be booked 40 hours per week (which means you're working 50 or 60 hours a week to handle running the business) to net the same amount of money you would working a salaried position as a senior PHP dev in the bay area.
for comparison: http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-Senior+PHP+Engineer/l-San+F...
it's a better business play to join (or form) a consultancy with a small group of people - the time spent running the business can be distributed among the group, you can charge a little more as a shop than you can as an individual, but the work feels very similar to independent consulting. it's easier to organize as a corporation and get cheaper benefits (although you can do that as an independent contractor as well).
it's difficult to impossible to get legal permission to work in the US unless you are sponsored by a company (now it has to be a salaried position with a large firm - your dream of independent contracting is getting further and further from reality :) or you marry a US citizen.
my subjective opinions and impressions only. no citations available. if anyone disagrees with any of the above, please assume that they are right and i am wrong :)
thanks
thanks, firebus! You answered my questions. It would seem that being an independent contractor in the US is much more difficult than Australia. I think you're right, if I hope to work in the States then employment and sponsorship is probably the way to go.
context
hia,
I am an Australian studying in the Bay Area, and doing a little student aide work - Drupal 6 / OpenScholar on campus. Run a few Drupal websites as part of my studies, research etc and am have a little bit of a connection to the community and the market.
In regards to Drupal, there is a mini-boom (bust to follow?) in Drupal at the moment, it feels a bit like the good-old dot com days; lots of generosity, work, ethusiasm online and in the meetups and conferences. Always OMFG stories about a new Drupal website like World Economic Forum or the White House or whatever... so, within Drupal world, its an expanding pie, and so that's good for those taking the slices.
However, I have to wonder whether an increasing share of the pie is going to the big agencies like Phase2 and Acquia who seem to be gobbling-up talent and distributions and getting the really BIG JOBS.
The craftsman and the fellow-travellers seem to be finding homes in one of these big Drupal shops, or should I say Drupal factories?
I imagine, as the Drupal 7 ecosystem settles down and a lot of the really obvious and useful modules, features and distributions fill the product and service niches the craftsman culture will totally disappear and the factories in the US will be totally dominant. The next obvious step will be to offshore the factory type work to cheaper countries where communications, design and language abilities will be less important that the cost per labor unit. The Drupal App Store will probably have a big effect on the D7 ecosystem.
The Silicon Valley economy is in dire straights, see Scott McNeally in the WSJ or the Harvard studies, the 60 minutes reports. The social media and entertainment start-ups like Facebook etc aren't really creating any real economic value, just distracting the distracted from the obvious implosion of the US quality of life.
Now might be a good time to come to the US for work, because most of the talent is leaving i.e. going back to India or China or Europe to better economies or better opportunities starting their own businesses, away from the predatory US VC. Cloud computing has changed the need for squillions for new dotcom startups.
But, yes, you will find yourself working for a big Drupal shop, which may become more and more like a corporate services division in an IT firm.