Mike Cole's .NET Blog

American Developer in London

In the fall of 2002 I began exploring travel opportunities related to my .net consulting career.  This was the result of a desire to travel, but also I think -- simply hedging my bets against a faltering economy.

.NET contract opportunities in London (www.jobserve.com) were, and are,  pretty incredible. Much better than here in Atlanta - probably on par or better than NYC.

It was very important to me to not be tied down to a particular consulting house. Luckily, the UK has a special visa program called the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme.  Through this program, select candidates can become authorized for 'permit free' consulting.  Its a pretty interesting point system based on education, experience, earnings, etc... The idea is that you need to prove you are adding needed skills to their economy, rather than competing with their workforce for jobs.

After applying in Oct 2002, I finally received my HSMP visa in March 2003.  After wrapping up things with my last client - it seems LondonTown is calling !!  

I will be in London Dec 15 - 22 to hopefully track down a contract to begin early 2004.  I will document my journey here.

I'd enjoy reading feedback from anyone who has or is considering a similar move...

One more good link for anyone interested: Immigration Discussion Board.

-Mike

Posted: Dec 09 2003, 01:27 PM by mikecole | with 14 comment(s)

Comments

OmegaSupreme said:

Good luck, hope you enjoy your time in London.
# December 9, 2003 2:11 PM

Scott Galloway said:

My opinion, but, horrible place to work unfortunately...I'm one of the odd people who would rather earn WAY less than live in London again...
# December 9, 2003 2:58 PM

Scott Galloway said:

Umm...but you might like it :-)
# December 9, 2003 2:58 PM

Phil Winstanley said:

Mike,

Join up to the UK Microsoft Web developer Community here: -

http://www.mswebdev.org.uk

Also there is a London .NET Usergroup here: -

http://www.dnug.org.uk/

Ignore Scott, he's just trying to keep all the work for himself, eh Scott? ;-))))

Drop me a mail if you want to chat about the UK market.

Plip.
--
Phil Winstanley [MVP - ASP.NET]
mailto:phil@winstanley.name
Blog: http://weblogs.asp.net/plip/
--

# December 9, 2003 4:30 PM

Mike Perrin said:

Interesting, after 6 years working in London I needed a break and moved out to New Zealand for a year....

It's a great place to work as long as you can stand the commuting every day. The market was pretty terrible earlier this year, don't know what it's like at the moment, it'll be interesting to hear what think when you get there. Good luck with it!

Mike
# December 9, 2003 8:22 PM

Scott Galloway said:

Phil, may have to join the list again...all the recruiters gone yet?
# December 9, 2003 9:08 PM

Damian Barrow said:

Bah - come up North mate.
More sheep, less traffic.
# December 10, 2003 4:18 AM

Phil Winstanley said:

The Market in the North of England (both sides of the Pennines) seems pretty good at the moment, I got snapped up back in December and was getting 2-5 calls a week from recruiters for six months.

Scott, they're all gone now :-)
# December 10, 2003 4:50 AM

chris said:

I was kinda hoping they would come back .. tsk :OS

Anyone looking for an ebiz consultant? ;O)

Back on topic - I think London is one of those places you have to try. Suck it and see kinda thing. Some people LOVE it, others (like me) enjoy visiting but only visiting, others hate it. I bet you could say the same about other cities. IMO Leeds and York are much nicer but YMMV ;O)

# December 10, 2003 2:10 PM

Mike Cole said:

Well, I love NYC.... So I'm completely into the big city -- we'll just have to see about this firehose of new culture.. At least right now, I'm just really looking forward to it.

Oh, a couple Brits over here have advised me on words to avoid: "Fanny" (as in fanny-pack) and "Hand-Tossed" (as in hand-tossed pizza) :-)


# December 10, 2003 2:45 PM

David said:

Mike:
How is your time in London? I've stumbled across your page while searching for information on this very subject. I'm a .Net developer as well. I also have the desire to live abroad (London). I would be interested in your experience as well as any recommendations for someone looking to do the samething you are. The information you have already provided is great. I hope you got the contract you were looking for.
# June 22, 2004 9:08 PM

Pradeep said:

Hey Mike,

I hope that all's well with you and that you have found your contract that you wanted. I am a .NET developer and planning to move to London early august '04 on HSMP. Can you give me some advice on where to look for jobs. Also, would it be possible for you to indicate wether it is possible to secure interview calls while still in my country (India) and then come to London???

I am open to both Permanent and Contract opportunties, though I have never contracted before in my career.

Thanks,
Pradeep
# July 2, 2004 6:39 AM

TrackBack said:

^_^,Pretty Good!
# April 10, 2005 5:46 AM

Tier 1 Visa UK said:

A very interesting point of view about HSMP. The judicial review has been successful and people can reapply now.  Anyway you can try the new Tier 1 Visa for UK now.

# August 15, 2008 10:54 AM
Leave a Comment

(required) 

(required) 

(optional)

(required)