Hi, I started learning software dev about 7 years ago.
Most of the time I’ve been working on my side projects but I’ve also been freelancing for about 4 years doing full stack dev, frontend, UI/UX design, and microservices, I’m pretty confident about my skills at this point. The thing is - I’ve never had actual 9-5 as a developer. I’m based in Poland(will need a visa sponsorship) and I always wanted to move to US California. Does it make sense to apply for a job in the US when I did not have any ‘professional’ experience?
I certainly makes sense to start applying, at least. Yes, both the non-traditional background and the visa requirement make it harder, but neither makes it impossible. Try to keep an open mind and try to learn from the application process as you go through it, so you can learn to make your job hunt more effective.
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It is tricky, because to qualify for an H1B or H1B1, higher education degree or equivalent is required, and without a company to vouch for your experiences(the equivalence is 3 year of work experience = 1 year of post secondary education), that’s a difficult hurdle to clear even without going into the potentially convoluted process of getting a work Visa.
I wouldn’t discourage you to apply, because there is always a chance that the company that hires you can help you through the process. However, a more realistic route might be to apply to a global company’s European arm and look for transfer opportunities. In those cases, I believe only L1 visa is required and the requirements is not quite so stringent.
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I’m not familiar on the visa aspect but I do know sponsorship is common in California especially if you have a solid portfolio. Definitely give it a shot. The worst thing they can say is no
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As per your visa is concerned I would not like to comment on that as it totally depends on the immigration department. But as you have raised the word Professional experience I would like to say that 90% of the people working right now on software has come from a different field and are really doing well in software. It totally depends upon self-study and how active you are in learning the latest technologies. And yes doing certifications from renowned institutes will give you a little advantage but again while you will be interviewed you can show your knowledge and can impress the interviewer. And obviously what Whisper Pntr has what worst thing they can say other than no. So its better if you will apply.
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