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Newbie advice

1K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  synthia 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,

As a young couple looking into the possibility of moving to USA we thought we'd check out the forums to obtain 'real' advice.

Little bit about us:
1. I am 28, have a BA(Hons) in Japanese and Marketing and also have CIM qualification. Start my MBA in couple of weeks via distance learning. Spent 6 years in the police Special Branch as a fast track graduate and now work in Marketing Management.
2. My wife is also 28 and although she doesn't have a degree, she's been a manager for various financial service providers most of her working life.
3. We have a 2 year old son
4. Both of us a British born with no familial ties to America.

We're both absolutely committed to moving abroad - we both appreciate that opportunities abound everywhere and it's up to us to make what we do a success. I was in Chicago last year and loved it. Areas we would think about are:
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- California
- Suburban districts of NY

To be honest, because we're both inexperienced in any of this can anyone please advise if there's any realistic chance of us being successful, and would it generally depend on securing a job before applying? Presumably we'd have to be pretty amazing for an employer to put all that extra work in?

So, any advice would be grateful.
Thanks
 
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#2 ·
Look for a job in the UK with a company with a presence in the US that has a history of transferring employees. Excel for a year, then push for a transfer.

P.S Best not to limit yourself geographically -- it's difficult enough already.
 
#3 ·
Hi and welcome to the forum.

Getting permanent resident status in the US is getting more and more difficult these days (though there is some chance of change after the next round of elections). Right now you need either a job where the employer wants you bad enough to do the necessary or family ties. (Or, lots of money you can invest in the US.)

But, if your Japanese is at a usable level, you might have a shot, especially on the West coast. Whatever you're doing now, try and get into as many "international" projects as you can manage, especially anything that uses your Japanese skills. For that matter, if you're in an international company now, do what you can to get yourself known to the US staff. It can take a while, but international experience plus a "difficult" language like Japanese may pay off long term.
Cheers,
Bev
 
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