
Ask HN: Working in the U.K.? - tixocloud
Hi,<p>I&#x27;m considering working in London for the next few years and am wondering how easy&#x2F;difficult it would be to land a job and also what the process is like.<p>My background is in analytics, strategy and software engineering.<p>I&#x27;m also curious about how differences in the interview process, work culture, etc.<p>Does anyone have any thoughts?
======
ruairidhwm
Generally you should be fine as the banking industry is awesome in London.
Culturally you should be fine (assuming you're American) - people are pretty
friendly.

Only words of caution are to see how Brexit affects the industry there. It may
become less attractive in the coming years, and we're about to experience
inflation etc which will affect your pay and quality of life.

Flats are super expensive in London. If you head up to Scotland as you
mentioned in a comment then you'll get far more bang for your buck. As a Scot
I'll vouch for us being extremely friendly! Culturally different to England
but you won't have any issues fitting in.

On the whole though, the UK is great fun and very friendly!

~~~
anexprogrammer
Well, most of the north is culturally different to the SE. :)

For the OP, I agree with this - look North - the people get friendlier. Even
though you'll be paid less you'll have much more money in your pocket to enjoy
after housing and travel. I'll even agree that the Scots are extremely
friendly - half my friends are Scots!

~~~
ruairidhwm
Very true re cultural difference between the North and SE. I was just thinking
from a purely Scots perspective :)

------
hijinks
For differences, it might help to tell people where you are coming from

~~~
tixocloud
Sure. I'm coming from banking (credit cards) by I've also been in insurance,
forex and consulting.

I've been a web developer, full stack BI guy and a strategy consultant.

------
osullivj
Which sectors are you targeting? Banking, startups, media, energy? Also,
getting hired may not be your biggest challenge. The London accommodation
market is difficult. Apartments in desirable or even just acceptable areas are
outrageously expensive, and get snapped up quick. If you're not a high earner
you'll have to settle for a rough area or commuting in from dormitory towns.

~~~
tixocloud
Which sectors are big in London and Glasgow? Wouldn't mind startups either.

I see. Any sites you'd recommend for me to learn about housing in London?

~~~
osullivj
rightmove.co.uk I lived in a scuzzy part of North London from 97-99 (N15),
then a nice area (N8). Looking at rents on rightmove now, you need to pay
~1500GBP/month for an apartment in N8. All decent areas will be similar or
more. Cheaper areas carry a higher risk of street crime. I left London in 2010
after three burglaries in the same year, and a knifepoint mugging.

------
afarrell
I'm an American who moved to London 3 months ago. I got a job at a fintech
scale-up[1]. I am really enjoying it so far. My wife and I are in the middle
of writing a retrospective on the process, but here are some tips:

Click on my profile and Email me. I'd be happy to skype/hangouts/appear.in
videochat with you.

Getting a job & Visa:

\---------------------

\- Get an account at [https://calendly.com](https://calendly.com) so when
setting up interviews, you can avoid: 1) A bunch of back-and-forth emails
slowing the process. 2) Double-booking yourself. 3) Missing an interview due
to incorrect timezones.

\- Change your location on LinkedIn to the UK, but specify in your bio you are
not currently in the UK. Recruiters will start reaching out to you.

\- Try to coordinate things so you only have to fly out once. I stayed in a
hotel paid for by one company for a couple of days, then an Airbnb for another
week.

\- Most interview processes are pretty similar to the ones in the US.
Whiteboard algorithms questions are common. As is hackerrank. If you think
they are silly, you should interview with GoCardless[2].

\- Probably the most annoying thing is the visa process. If you are from a
country like Canada or Australia, things are easier because you can perhaps
get a Tier-5 visa. I'll assume you need a Tier-2 visa because that is what I
got. \- Your company will need to be on the register of sponsors[3]. \- Unless
you will be doing a job on the Shortage Occupations List[4]. They will need to
perform a labour market test for a month. Web Dev is not on that list. \- You
and everyone in your party need to have "certified maintenance". That is
either a certain amount[5] of money (945 GBP) in the bank or your sponsor will
need to tick a box on your certificate. In order to verify that you have this
money, you'll need 3-months worth of statements on official bank letterhead or
with an official bank stamp. Bank of America policy is that branches should
not have these, but some of them still do. Having them notarized at the bank
also might work. \- After the company gets the certificate of sponsorship,
you'll need to fill out a long web form and book an appointment at a biometric
center. After the appointment, you take the documents from the biometric
center along with the other supporting documents for your application and send
them in. Application processing times can be found at
[https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times](https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-
times)

Moving over here:

\-----------------

\- When you do the move, give names to your pieces of luggage. "Snorlax" is a
lot easier to keep track of in your head than "The blue dumpy one that keeps
falling over"

\- Buy a Fujitsu Scansnap to digitize your documents[6]

\- Buy a small transformer[7] to step down from 240v->120v before you fly
over.

\- To find a flat, you can use websites like rightmove.co.uk,
reddit.com/r/London_homes/ gumtree.com/flats-and-houses-for-rent and you can
work with a letting agency. Many letting agencies do not respond to email, so
you'll need to call them or walk in in-person. Black Katz is an exception and
they are nice people. Avoid Foxtons.

\- To rent a flat in the UK, you will need a UK bank account. If you have an
Android phone, the easiest way to do this is via
[https://www.monese.com/](https://www.monese.com/). Otherwise, you will need a
UK address. Some banks such as Lloyds allow you to use your place of
employment as a correspondence address for this.

\- For transferring money from USD or other currencies, use Transferwise.

\- Your credit score will not carry over to the UK. Consequently, you will
likely need to pay 6 months of rent up front, along with the rental fees.
Negotiate your relocation package accordingly.

[1] GoCardless. 100ish people and agile, but they've already found their
revenue model, so the word start-up is a bit of a stretch.

[2] For the UX and Core Payments teams, the process is similar to
[https://gocardless.com/blog/redesigning-the-devops-
interview...](https://gocardless.com/blog/redesigning-the-devops-interview-
process/) but swap the DevOps specific questions for Web Dev questions.

[3]
[https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm...](https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561841/2016-10-21_Tier_2_5_Register_of_Sponsors.pdf)

[4]
[https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm...](https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486107/Shortage_Occupation_List_-
_November_2015.pdf)

[5]
[https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/eligibility](https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/eligibility)

[6] [https://www.amazon.com/Fujitsu-ScanSnap-S1300i-PC-
MAC/dp/B00...](https://www.amazon.com/Fujitsu-ScanSnap-S1300i-PC-
MAC/dp/B008F05ND6)

[7] [https://www.amazon.com/EnergyPal-Charging-
ETCS04-Internation...](https://www.amazon.com/EnergyPal-Charging-
ETCS04-International-Protector/dp/B016CHUPB8)

~~~
tixocloud
Wow. Incredible tips. Thanks for all the detailed information - I'll be
sifting through it later tonight. And thanks for the offer to connect - I'd
love to get your thoughts on managing the transition for both you and your
wife.

~~~
afarrell
Can you pop me an email with a calendly link and I can pick a time for us to
chat? My address is in my username at mit dot edu.

~~~
tixocloud
Absolutely.

