Strong Qualifications to Pair with Experience

Water Cooler Careers
#1

Good evening all,

Hope you had a great new year.

I am reaching out to try and get some help in what direction I may be best taking in my career, after hours and hours of extensive research I believe I’ve narrowed my options right down now so I would appreciate any insight,

My circumstances are that I am a UK national living in the UK, I would like to move to the US. I don’t have a formal degree however I have a good work experience background in that I run a large scale project for a top UK bank as a contractor/ ‘Head of Site’ with experience in quality assurance and a few years in Operations & Senior operations Management experience. I also have Prince 2, a few R0 exams passed and currently finishing APMP studying.

I’m looking for a way to move to the US by being offered employment and applying for a H-1B visa, I know I have what it takes in a practical Senior Operations Management/ Head of Site role, however I am finding it hard to translate to the US marketplace as job offers are very specific in requirements.

I believe I need to study to prove a clear direction and set of expertise to an employer,I also need to keep in mind most job requirements state a Bachelors degree or equivalent, whist I have a lot of experience I don’t have this formally to prove.

I considered CFA given it’s seniority/ demand in the US marketplace, however I don’t feel this compliments my experience in Senior management and may be a waste of time/ money unless I want to work in asset/ portfolio management, also if I pass CFA I will be deemed the bottom of this ladder and may struggle to justify a US visa with this qualificaiton only.

There is PMP, which would compliment my existing experience which I am considering.

I could consider an MBA studying part time in the UK for 2 years (there are ways to bypass not having a bachelors degree) however as this won’t be from a top rated school I feel this could be a waste of time/ money in the US job market place.

Are there any other study at home qualifications that are US (or Canadian as my second option) recognized which can be translated to the equivalent to a Bachelors/ Masters degree and I could use with my senior management experience to put me in good light to secure a job in the US and pass the visa requirements to justify being brought in to the US, aside from CFA or PMP? In the UK we have CMI Level 6 (Bachelors equivalent) and Level 7 (Masters equivalent) however from my research this isn’t a hugely recognized global qualification and may again turn in to a waste of time & money.

I will fully invest in whatever option I choose, I just need to get the right option first to begin my journey!

Thank you in advance!

#2

I have been studied in the US as an International student for my Bachelor degree, and I tried to seek job right after graduation, and I found it extremely difficult to secure a job for International student with Bachelor degree. I am in Canada now, but I am not yet a Canadian citizen. I’ve been reached out by the headhunter in the US, but once the headhunter know that I would require a H1-B Visa, he instantly said the firms he was hiring for did not provide H1-B.

Hence, I want to illustrate the difficulty of securing an H1-B if you are outside of the US and do not have US education experience.You may want to consider a STEM major master degree in the US if you really want to stay in the US, but that comes with great opportunity costs (time, money, future opportunities in UK).

#3

Thanks Tamiesurok, can I check if you explored options for funding to study in the US? Studying is definitely an option, but from my research it seems that you cannot get any state funding or loans and it must be entirely self funded through personal savings, did you find this to be the case?

I take it you’ve done a lot of searching for jobs in the US? Did you find any particular avenues more helpful than others when trying to find an employer to sponsor a H-1B visa? i.e are there any definitive ‘not worth it’ avenues and some which seem more promising etc.?

Many thanks,

Mike

#4

Hello Mike,

For the loan, I am not so sure. Since I do not have plan to study full time in the US in the short future, I did not look into the student loan. I will suggest you to try to contact the admission office of the university you are interested to ask about the scholarship and student loan options.

I have not done a lot of research about job in the US yet, but I will once I get the Canadian Citizenship (hence I can apply for TN job visa and skip the H1-B application). According to my friends in the US, the H1-B is hard to get nowadays. Major big companies, like Google and Facebook will have more resources to sponsor H1-B. You can do some research online, as I remember there’s website that shows the major firms that provide H1-B sponsorship.

Another option is to look into MBA program that has STEM options, that way you get a MBA and have three year work permit to allow you to work in the US, while applying for H1-B.

Hope it helps,

Tamiesurok