From: Darby Weaver (darbyweaver@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Mar 15 2007 - 01:34:12 ART
If you are non-U.S. citizen and you get your CCIE and
want to work in the U.S...
Listen up and listen well.
About the average U.S. salary for a CCIE is around
$115,000.00 U.S.
What does this mean to you?
It means that some U.S. companies may try to lure you
here for say less than $50,000.00 U.S. and take a bit
of advantage of the fact you want to work in the U.S.
My advice: Turn them down... Cold.
Here's why:
Any U.S. company that wants to hire you based on your
CCIE status is going to profit greatly from hiring
you.
Now, there literally about 1000 companies looking for
CCIE talent every single day - no matter how many pass
the lab that day...
Supply and Demand.
My advice - learn to negotiate. Let them give you a
number.
If it is under $100,000.00 U.S. - they did not want
you anyway and if they did you may find later it was
probably better you waited just a bit longer you could
have doubled or tripled your salary.
Sound outrageous?
Go to www.monster.com and www.dice.com put your resume
online and wait...
Won't take long...
If fact put it up before you get your CCIE, you may be
amazed at the opportunities that are presented to you
even at the CCNP level.
Mention your lab experience (even if you fail) on your
C.V.
Make the American Dream work for you too...
This also applies to your friends in I.T who are DBA's
and other I.T. Professional.
Once you take the job you will be slaving away like
the rest of us and your stress level will improve
since you will be able to afford a $200-500,000.00
home or even better, you will be able to afford a
couple of nice $40-80,000.00 cars and your children
will be able to attend the best schools in your city
of choice.
I promise you will hate yourself every single day that
you go to work with your CCIE certification, knowing
that the CCNA who just got out of the Cisco Academy is
making more than you are and is driving a better car
while you are walking to work from the closest
apartment complex.
So learn to negotiate, - I feel so strongly about
this matter, I will negotiate for you or give you
personal tips if you like.
No more free lunches for companies - an H-1B only
costs a few thousand dollars to obtain...
Hey, even if you take a 30k salary and double it to
60k you win and they still got you at 1/2 the price -
so they win... (Still you are being robbed).
We call this a WIN/WIN in the U.S. Corporte
Environment and you can still afford to eat at
McDonald's for lunch at least.
Which when you get here - you may notice that your H.R
people may never eat at McD's... and your co-workers
in I.T. seem to avoid like the plague...
Which by the way... also kills your ability to
fraternize with your co-workers - they think you are
avoiding them, the truth is they spend more on lunch
than you spend on bus fare... to get to work.
Now the rub - if a company turns you down, you will be
surprised at how quickly the next one makes a play for
you.
It is the United States and we have literally
thousands of companies.
In the end, you will have to do what is best for you
and your family.
However, if you take a minimum wage CCIE job... you
will likely have to wait for maybe 2 years or more to
move your family here while you wait in the H-1B to
get approved and finalized...
All the while, you are missing your wife or husband
and your kids are growing up barely seeing their daddy
or mommy.
Don't get me wrong you can fly to see them (at least
say $700-1000.00 or more for a flight) but now this
continues to drain your salary further...
And did anyone tell you about "Uncle Sam" and local
state taxes and Sales and Use Taxes during the
interview - never mind withholding for Social Security
and FICA...
Yep - your 30k - just got raped and diminished about
$10k at least... and if you have to start using credit
cards or buy that car - you are going to pay interest
as well...
My wife (Venezuela) tells me all the time how people
in her country - even the lowest paid workers can
afford quality health care and vacations...
Many people in the U.S. with under $30k salaries go
without healthcare - they need the cash to get by.
Many people in the U.S. with $100K+ salaries do not
take vacation and some companies seem to even frown on
it... others require you take it.
Choose wisely.
OK - I just was talking with another friend of mine
who is getting / got raped and is alive to tell the
tale...
So...
Learn to negotiate - it may be worth more than a
handful of tech certs and a Master's in Technology
combined...
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