4 ms·
Ask HN: Working in the U.K.?
Hi,
I'm considering working in London for the next few years and am wondering how easy/difficult it would be to land a job and also what the process is like.
My background is in analytics, strategy and software engineering.
I'm also curious about how differences in the interview process, work culture, etc.
Does anyone have any thoughts?
- hijinks 10y agoFor differences, it might help to tell people where you are coming from
- tixocloud 10y agoSure. I'm coming from banking (credit cards) by I've also been in insurance, forex and consulting. I've been a web developer, full stack BI guy and a strategy consultant.
- osullivj 10y agoWhich sectors are you targeting? Banking, startups, media, energy? Also, getting hired may not be your biggest challenge. The London accommodation market is difficult. Apartments in desirable or even just acceptable areas are outrageously expensive, and get snapped up quick. If you're not a high earner you'll have to settle for a rough area or commuting in from dormitory towns.
- tixocloud 10y agoWhich sectors are big in London and Glasgow? Wouldn't mind startups either. I see. Any sites you'd recommend for me to learn about housing in London?
- osullivj 10y agorightmove.co.uk I lived in a scuzzy part of North London from 97-99 (N15), then a nice area (N8). Looking at rents on rightmove now, you need to pay ~1500GBP/month for an apartment in N8. All decent areas will be similar or more. Cheaper areas carry a higher risk of street crime. I left London in 2010 after three burglaries in the same year, and a knifepoint mugging.
- ruairidhwm 10y agoGenerally you should be fine as the banking industry is awesome in London. Culturally you should be fine (assuming you're American) - people are pretty friendly. Only words of caution are to see how Brexit affects the industry there. It may become less attractive in the coming years, and we're about to experience inflation etc which will affect your pay and quality of life. Flats are super expensive in London. If you head up to Scotland as you mentioned in a comment then you'll get far more bang for your buck. As a Scot I'll vouch for us being extremely friendly! Culturally different to England but you won't have any issues fitting in. On the whole though, the UK is great fun and very friendly!
- anexprogrammer 10y agoWell, most of the north is culturally different to the SE. :) For the OP, I agree with this - look North - the people get friendlier. Even though you'll be paid less you'll have much more money in your pocket to enjoy after housing and travel. I'll even agree that the Scots are extremely friendly - half my friends are Scots!
- ruairidhwm 10y agoVery true re cultural difference between the North and SE. I was just thinking from a purely Scots perspective :)
- afarrell 10y agoI'm an American who moved to London 3 months ago. I got a job at a fintech scale-up[1]. I am really enjoying it so far. My wife and I are in the middle of writing a retrospective on the process, but here are some tips: Click on my profile and Email me. I'd be happy to skype/hangouts/appear.in videochat with you. Getting a job & Visa: --------------------- - Get an account at https://calendly.com https://calendly.com so when setting up interviews, you can avoid: 1) A bunch of back-and-forth emails slowing the process. 2) Double-booking yourself. 3) Missing an interview due to incorrect timezones. - Change your location on LinkedIn to the UK, but specify in your bio you are not currently in the UK. Recruiters will start reaching out to you. - Try to coordinate things so you only have to fly out once. I stayed in a hotel paid for by one company for a couple of days, then an Airbnb for another week. - Most interview processes are pretty similar to the ones in the US. Whiteboard algorithms questions are common. As is hackerrank. If you think they are silly, you should interview with GoCardless[2]. - Probably the most annoying thing is the visa process. If you are from a country like Canada or Australia, things are easier because you can perhaps get a Tier-5 visa. I'll assume you need a Tier-2 visa because that is what I got. - Your company will need to be on the register of sponsors[3]. - Unless you will be doing a job on the Shortage Occupations List[4]. They will need to perform a labour market test for a month. Web Dev is not on that list. - You and everyone in your party need to have "certified maintenance". That is either a certain amount[5] of money (945 GBP) in the bank or your sponsor will need to tick a box on your certificate. In order to verify that you have this money, you'll need 3-months worth of statements on official bank letterhead or with an official bank stamp. Bank of America policy is that branches should not have these, but some of them still do. Having them notarized at the bank also might work. - After the company gets the certificate of sponsorship, you'll need to fill out a long web form and book an appointment at a biometric center. After the appointment, you take the documents from the biometric center along with the other supporting documents for your application and send them in. Application processing times can be found at https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times Moving over here: ----------------- - When you do the move, give names to your pieces of luggage. "Snorlax" is a lot easier to keep track of in your head than "The blue dumpy one that keeps falling over" - Buy a Fujitsu Scansnap to digitize your documents[6] - Buy a small transformer[7] to step down from 240v->120v before you fly over. - To find a flat, you can use websites like rightmove.co.uk, reddit.com/r/London_homes/ gumtree.com/flats-and-houses-for-rent and you can work with a letting agency. Many letting agencies do not respond to email, so you'll need to call them or walk in in-person. Black Katz is an exception and they are nice people. Avoid Foxtons. - To rent a flat in the UK, you will need a UK bank account. If you have an Android phone, the easiest way to do this is via https://www.monese.com/ https://www.monese.com/. Otherwise, you will need a UK address. Some banks such as Lloyds allow you to use your place of employment as a correspondence address for this. - For transferring money from USD or other currencies, use Transferwise. - Your credit score will not carry over to the UK. Consequently, you will likely need to pay 6 months of rent up front, along with the rental fees. Negotiate your relocation package accordingly. [1] GoCardless. 100ish people and agile, but they've already found their revenue model, so the word start-up is a bit of a stretch. [2] For the UX and Core Payments teams, the process is similar to https://gocardless.com/blog/redesigning-the-devops-interview-process/ https://gocardless.com/blog/redesigning-the-devops-interview... but swap the DevOps specific questions for Web Dev questions. [3] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561841/2016-10-21_Tier_2_5_Register_of_Sponsors.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm... [4] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486107/Shortage_Occupation_List_-_November_2015.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm... [5] https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/eligibility https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/eligibility [6] https://www.amazon.com/Fujitsu-ScanSnap-S1300i-PC-MAC/dp/B008F05ND6 https://www.amazon.com/Fujitsu-ScanSnap-S1300i-PC-MAC/dp/B00... [7] https://www.amazon.com/EnergyPal-Charging-ETCS04-International-Protector/dp/B016CHUPB8 https://www.amazon.com/EnergyPal-Charging-ETCS04-Internation...