Quote:Original post by __ODIN__
as soon as the employer is having to apply for visum for you, you go to the bottom of the applicant list

Any idea about how long does the Visa process take these days ? Last I heard they said it was 6-9 months to get a Visa in Canada if one is from European Union. Is that still true ?

Also, assuming I have skills for a Senior Programmer, if I applied for Beginner position, would i still have great disadvantage since I need visa (assuming company could wait few months for visa to clear) ?

Vlad wrote:

>assuming I have skills for a Senior Programmer, if I applied for Beginner position, would i still have great disadvantage since I need visa?

Yes. But another part of your question deserves a response. If you have senior-level professional game programming experience, you should not apply for entry-level positions anyway.

If you have professional senior-level programming experience but no game industry experience, then you should get game industry experience in Europe - preferably with a company that also has operations in North America (that would make it much easier to relocate eventually - you could make it a company-internal transfer).

Good luck

Quote:Original post by tsloper
Yes. But another part of your question deserves a response. If you have senior-level professional game programming experience, you should not apply for entry-level positions anyway.

I would apply to those lower positions just because I`d like to reduce the risk of putting my resume down below other (local senior programmers) due to me needing Visa. But in my opinion, the company that isn`t in an immediate hurry for an entry-level position would be willing to wait few months for visas knowing that my qualifications are more than adequate.

Quote:Original post by tsloper
If you have professional senior-level programming experience but no game industry experience, then you should get game industry experience in Europe - preferably with a company that also has operations in North America (that would make it much easier to relocate eventually - you could make it a company-internal transfer).

Sorry, I forgot to mention it`s in games industry - I have my own company producing budget PC games and doing some contract work. I just always want to have some back door open should everything screw up and have a back-up plan for next 6 months. You know, this is a tough business ;)

Thanks for your answers.
Best Regards
VladR

Vlad wrote:
>I would apply to those lower positions just because I`d like to reduce the risk of putting my resume down below other (local senior programmers) due to me needing Visa.

I don't think this is a workable way of overcoming the visa problem. I still think it'd be better to get a job at a company in Europe that has offices in North America, then ask to transfer after a couple of years.

Hm, that`s bad then.

Well, can`t think of any company other than EA that has offices in Vancouver AND Europe. Maybe there`s one that I missed ? (Radical,Relic, THQ,...)
Anyway, 100-hrs week doesn`t sound too bad either...

Still, thanks for your insight into this situation. Something to consider...

Quote:Original post by cbenoi1

Quote: Also, assuming I have skills for a Senior Programmer, if I applied for Beginner position, would i still have great disadvantage since I need visa (assuming company could wait few months for visa to clear) ?

An employer needs to fill in a lot of paperwork to justify bringing in someone from outside Canada, and why that position could not possibly be filled by a canadian. And then you have to fill in paperwork every year in order to maintain that employee's status. It's a costly red tape mess companies tend to avoid whenever possible. It is, however, easier to justify personnel movement within the same company than recruit abroad.
-cb

As cbenoi1 said; in many countries, you have to prove you couldn't get a local to fill the same position . For a junior programmer, that's pretty damn hard... colleges are producing them at a rate Henry Ford would have been proud of. For experienced lead programmers, it's a lot easier; it's a senior level position with a limited supply.

It should also be mentioned, as part of the EC, you can easily move around in europe. There's pretty kick-ass dev-teams in most of the big european countries, and the salary level shouldn't be that different to Vancouver level. You're not going to hit San Fran style salary, but then neither will you in Canada.

There are some countries that make labour immigration really easy (Singapore is one of them, where getting an employment visa takes 1-3 weeks, as long as you stay under 50% foreigners in your employment pool), but most countries are by and large protectionist.

Allan

Quote:Original post by __ODIN__
It should also be mentioned, as part of the EC, you can easily move around in europe. There's pretty kick-ass dev-teams in most of the big european countries, and the salary level shouldn't be that different to Vancouver level. You're not going to hit San Fran style salary, but then neither will you in Canada.

I`ve made some research regarding costs of living in various areas and if you`ve got a family, Vancouver wins.

1. The fact that you get less in dollar value is less important compared to what you get for same work - especially properties. It`s unbelievable that you can get a 2-room flat for rent for same price as in our small country in main city whereas here you earn for same work about 7 times less. The rest of costs is very similar - car costing the same, insurances/loans costing the same, basic food/dresses costing almost the same.

2. Climate. In Van, there are no harsh winters (-25 `C) and hot summers (40 `C). This alone almost made me go there 3 yrs ago when I checked that information.

3. Language - 90% of Canadian speak English. And in Europe there`s no country with big gamedev company (except UK) that has English as main language. So even though there`s EC, there are and always will be language barriers that no Union or whatever can fix. And that`s a pretty big barrier.
EDIT: I just want to add that this barrier is just for my family, not myself. I consider myself a very fast language learner and speak 3 foreign languages fluently and 2 moderately. I have no problem in learning 500 words (necessary for basic talking) of new language and basic grammar within 2 weeks with 1 hr per day (tried with 2 languages so far) - I`ve developed a system for this 15 yrs ago at elementary school and it still works.

4. Xenophobism - most of rich European countries (except UK) have a pretty high level of disregard to Eastern European people. The best you can get is an official "Hello" and just keep hearing comments in their natural language. And Van has a pretty diverse population compared to most of the gamedev cities that are here in Europe (other than London of course). So there`s inherently less hatred towards other races/nations. And if you`ve got 3 kids you gotta take that into account VERY seriously.

[Edited by - VladR on May 2, 2006 9:56:23 AM]