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Comment by benrutter | Hacker News Reader

If working for big tech is what youbwant to do, there's no such thing as a bad time to go for it. That said, you'll have a harder time finding opportunities in this currently bout of layoffs and hiring freezes than you would have this time last year.

My advice is think about what you want to do day in and day out, rather than just focusing on "big tech". There's plenty of coding roles outside of big tech, and a lot of industry jobs haven't been affected by layoffs. If you love working on web apps or data processing (eg) you don't need to restrict yourself to big tech in order to get paid for that.

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Let’s be honest, the only reason anyone is trying to work for big tech is the outsized comp.

Well, it's not in my case. I live in a developing country and I've been working remotely in US for the past 4 years. It was generally a great experience, but it's really difficult to basically live and work in completely different time zones. That's the reason I finally want to relocate and getting into big tech is the most straightforward way to get a visa currently

I would test that assumption. At big tech firms you’re going to be competing with tens of thousands of other applicants who have the same idea as you. There are lots of lesser known midsized companies that sponsor visas where there will be much less competition (and less pay).

Yes, people with visas were fired during their probation time because they were easy targets during layoffs. If that's what you want to know.

> getting into big tech is the most straightforward way to get a visa currently

I don't know about that, basically the main reason we were able to hire new grads and juniors at previous company with lower comp is people wanting a visa (which we sponsored)

I don't see the issue. Visas are valuable, and/or expensive, and that should be considered as part of the compensation.

In an environment of layoffs and slowdowns, tying your visa to your employment seems like a very bad idea. Folks on H1B that were laid off have _60 days_ to get a new tech job or move out of the country. That is an incredibly short time to get through a full interview process even in the good times (google can take like 4-6 months to decide on candidates). Imagine the stress as each day ticks down and you haven't heard back from resumes sent, etc. It sounds like a complete nightmare.

And the alternative is what?

Continue their remote work until conditions improve.

Get ready to work outside of your time zone if you get a job at any bigtech.

Team are often global and having calls outside 9-5 is pretty common.

Great idea, I worked in different time zones and I know how it feels. Good luck

Comments like this just come across bitter and jealous. There are many reasons to work at big tech. One big one for me personally was the opportunity for growth. I've generally felt there was a ceiling at small companies I've worked at before, but there is no limit at big tech. The downside is definitely much higher expectations.

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