How to Break into Silicon Valley
twitter.comPeople who act like this are the reason I don’t want to live in the Bay Area. There isn’t enough interesting work in the whole world for this lifestyle to be worth it. I feel like this is written by a robot.
When I scroll through a job board it’s 90% garbage like just another data analytics company or payroll software. Is there a secret underground culture where all the good work is advertised and never made public?
People move there for the high comp, interesting work is a bonus but not guaranteed or even probable. Also the car-centric lifestyle is going to be a shock to anyone used to walkable cities.
> People move there for the high comp
I feel like this is the only valid reason and it’s the only reason why anyone I know has moved there. As someone who has never been to the Bay Area I can’t tell if this is actually the culture or just some bs that people post on Twitter because it helps them make more money. I have met people who think it’s appropriate to ask me to schedule an hour on their Google calendar in 2 weeks to hang out though so I wouldn’t be surprised..
Yes startups. They’re bad at PR
Not pictured, but to Break Into Silicon Valley, definitely don't be disabled.
If you struggle with chronic illness or general health issues, you'll be left on read. If you can't hustle the twelve-hour day, even if "most days aren't like that, we're very work-life balanced here", you'll get iced out.
The snark is gonna be heavy on this one, so I might just say this and dip.
The main lesson to take away is it doesn’t really take that much to get started in SV. you don’t have to be born rich and you don’t have to start with a ton of connections.
Just get over your fear of talking to strangers and ask for 2-5 intros from every person you meet. Tedious, but not really even hard.
standard VC ad roll
And if you are a European?
Move to SV.
There's a reason Databricks is in SF instead of Stockholm, and why Chinese and Indian founders tend to study at Stanford or UCB at some point.
Without a work visa?
Get a job at an Bay Area company or study at a top Bay Area college - that's what most European founders, VCs, and operators in SV have done.
If you can't land a work visa despite having a EU or EFTA passport, no offense, but there's something wrong with you.
> no offense, but there's something wrong with you.
Nice. What kind of visa do you think I should have no trouble getting?
H1B, EB1/2, or O1. I'm sure you can either
1. get hired by a company in the Bay Area
2. get hired by a Bay Area based company with an EU office
If you have around 5-6 YoE, a decent resume, and a Bachelors degree you should have an easy time.
Aka how to become a tech bro