Ask HN: Coming to the USA for a study exchange, where are the tech hubs? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Coming to the USA for a study exchange, where are the tech hubs?

4 pointslobe10 comments

As the title hints at, I am studying software engineering at UNSW in Sydney. In the 1st semester of 2016 (my final semester) I want to go on exchange to the USA, and use that opportunity to have a fantastic college experience and to meet potential future employers.

What would you call the tech hubs of the USA? Silicon Valley is obvious, Seattle also comes to mind, and I have heard that Austin and New York (although is that just due to the size of the city, not density of tech companies) also are 'tech hubs'. Are there any other areas that I should consider that have a lot of larger companies that would be willing to sponsor the visa for a software engineering grad?

So apart from asking where should I go, the other question is 'what are the grad recruitment patterns in the American tech industry?' Are companies willing to help bring international graduates to them? Am I limited to large companies, or are smaller organisations also in a position to hire overseas applicants? Are there fixed intakes once a year for new grads (common in Australia) or is the door open year round? Thanks, just trying to weigh up my options here

If you are working for work after graduation I would consider the school rather than the location. It is easier for a large company to sponsor a visa than a small one and a large company will visit all the good schools. Plus if you network with your fellow students, who knows where they may take you. It will be easier to network with your fellow students than with people already in the industry. And attending a good school will go further than being in the right location.

I am not sure whetehr you qualify for 12 months OPT program (optional pratcical training). This OPT program helps you get the employment authorization document for 12 months, which can be extended for another 17 months (so-called STEM extenstion).

First, you need to worry about the authorization to work. If you get such an authorization, yes, you can find an internship or a job. There is another authorization document called CPT, curricular pratcical training or something that is issued by the school itself.

The other visa ya shud look for is E3 visa.

University of Texas has an exchange partnership with UNSW I believe. Austin is a great tech city and also just an awesome place to enjoy life as a college student.

There have been a lot of companies opening up offices in Phoenix, AZ. Specifically Scottsdale. If I remember correctly Weebly and Yelp have offices on Scottsdale Rd. Usually Phoenix is known for it's Real Estate investing but tech companies have been getting more more and more recognition. I think we're calling it Silicon Desert.

I was under the impression that with a student visa (is it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_visa ?) you can't go out and work everywhere. Maybe somebody in this thread can correct me.

You can work anywhere regardless of your/company's physical location as an F-1 student. The restriction is placed on the company's and position's type. The nature of the job must be related to your major, and the employment is subject to approval from USCIS in the form of CPT and/or OPT.

Source: http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/f-1-opt-optional-practic...

and I'm an F-1 student myself.

I want to use my time in America under a student visa to meet and interview with potential employers who would then sponsor me for the appropriate visa. The grad recruitment process in Australia is usually 6-9 months before you start, I assume it is also similar in the states

I'm pretty sure that the OP would be coming in on a J visa as an exchange. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-1_visa

Tech Hub: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Only Manhattan and the SF bay area. Forget everything else.

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