Got my CS degree from a no-name university in a third world country a few years back, got a job in one of those software sweatshops getting paid peanuts, moved to a new one an year later where I worked my ass off to learn things and generally be a good developer, but here too I was paid a pittance, mostly due to my education and previous job. I hated working here by the end and wanted to leave.
Somehow I got an interview from a company in [COUNTRY] who were willing to sponsor my visa along with good pay. I studied hard for it (coming home from work at 10pm, preparing for interview until the late wee hours of the night) and cleared the interviews. Finally something good had happened to me, but just before I was scheduled to move for the new job, this outbreak just fucked everything over.
The company still hasn't rescinded the offer, but I don't really have any high hopes, everyday I wake up in the morning expecting a rejection mail from them in my mailbox. Whats worse is that I had left my previous job since the joining of the new one was so close before all this happened, so here I am sitting jobless leeching on my family till god know when.
Sorry for the rant, I just wanted to get this out.
Edit: Any reason why this comment is dead?
The world is a competitive place, and a lot of success factors are outside of your control. (timing, pre-existing resources, sheer luck)
What you can control is exactly what you are already doing: Work really hard and make the best of what you have. Come up with a good long term plan and execute it. Do life decisions that help with that plan.
This will make you more successful than your relative peer group and over time wash you into an upper percentile compared to others dealing with the same factors.
Keep up the good work! It's a long game.
My point of this entire comment is to say: be a bit careful with your words when you're from a 1st world country and the person you comment to lives in an entirely different context.
--- My actual comment ---
You seem to be based in the USA. This person is from a 3rd world country. Your advice looks like its written for an American, not someone who lives in a 3rd world country.
For example, I can imagine that a lot of people don't think that the world is a competitive place but a criminal one. Why? Because there are a lot of mercantile practices going on. Your passport matters. There is no meritocracy in this world, only passports.
Make the best of what you have in some cases can be translated to: try to fucking survive and I'm sorry that your relative passed away from malaria and that we had no money for medicine, and even if we did have money the infrastructure would be too broken to bring it fast enough. Sadly enough, that happens quite often. Technically, that's still the same as "make the best of what you have". But I can imagine that it can be perceived quite negatively, as some might see that there's some implied sarcasm there.
> This will make you more successful than your relative peer group
So instead of having an average age of 50, you'll get to be 60? More successful for sure. Yet, I can feel the unfairness to 1st worlders who get to be 80.
> It's a long game.
I don't think everyone perceives life to be a game. I know I do at times. But I also happen to know family members that almost die from hunger (rare thing to happen in The Netherlands but it does). I am sure that to them in those moments life is not a game. Because of that, I also believe that enough people who suffer from poverty or are threatened by it don't perceive life to be a game.
---------
In closing: I think your comment was actually well meant. But since I see that you were downvoted I decided to take the time to explain how your comment seems to be missing the mark to me personally. I assume that other people have a similar enough interpretation of it.
FYI I didn't downvote, as I think your comment was well meant.
Thank you for stepping out of your comfort zone and actually visiting a non-touristy place.
It is unclear what the definition of a 3rd world country is. It has different meanings depending on cultural context. see also https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/third-world.asp
> your advice looks like its written for an American, not someone who lives in a 3rd world country.
My advice was written for someone with a university CS degree, years of experience in his profession, and an actual job offer that might still be honored. That goes a long way, especially in impoverished countries, where your odds of success are even more tied to the wealth of the family you were born in.
> that the world is a competitive place but a criminal one
Whether that's true or not, it's out of his control.
> There is no meritocracy in this world, only passports.
I agree. But a passport is a pre-existing resource, something you don't have a lot of control over. You can try to immigrate to another country, but that takes a long term plan again.
> Make the best of what you have in some cases can be translated to: try to fucking survive
That's true again. Families in Africa, who don't have a son with a CS degree, often pressure their strongest, smartest son, the future of the family, to embark on a very dangerous journey to Europe. The risk of dying along the way is fairly high, but the upside is huge for the whole family.
The person I responded to was worried about a job offer. He might need to work for less money in a job he hates again. It's all relative.
> I don't think everyone perceives life to be a game
My bad, I should have used an actual subject: career. And a career has many characteristics of a strategy game. Accepting the job offer was probably a good career move and it might still happen. It's not withdrawn yet. Even if it is, I can't think of a situation where it would help to stop doing the best you can.
> But since I see that you were downvoted I decided to take the time to explain how your comment seems to be missing the mark to me personally.
Appreciate that. It's interesting how people fill in context based on their own experiences and come up with assumptions. While it's true I'm currently based in the US, I wasn't born with this privilege.
Like many others in this thread, I posted some universal best practices you can apply in pretty much every part of the world to deal with inevitable setbacks. It worked for me in the past 2 recessions and I expect it to work again for this one. The person I responded to seemed to be in distress and I think building some resilience skills helps with that.
Don't do that to yourself, i.e. living bitter and angry. Engage with those you disagree with by conversing. Correct them or be corrected and learn.
on edit: at any rate I upvoted it as you're right, seems an encouraging nice message.
1. Switzerland (90k or higher + mountains if you're willing to drive a bit)
2. Luxembourg (I just remember you get paid quite a bit)
3. Berlin (alright pay, low living costs, amazing city)
4. England + Scandinavia + The Netherlands (didn't look into Scandinavia enough but in most cases they're on par or a bit better than The Netherlands)
Englang is on #4, because while the pay is better, society seems to be more screwed. University is more expensive, the welfare system sucks more (compared to most of the other countries in this list, Scandinavia being Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland).
Take this with a grain of salt, do your own research of course.
Countries that I wouldn't want to go to:
1. Eastern Europe
2. Southern Europe
The pay is too low.
The thing is: higher pay is always better, even when living costs are always, let's say 50% in any country. The more money you safe, the more you can utilize it for geo-arbitraging strategies later on in life.
A senior position at a good company in Bucharest will mean at least 3000 Euros net per month which means that you'll live like a king, since rent for a great apartment will be something like 500-600 Euros.
The downside is lower development you notice regarding infrastructure, education levels, pollution, etc.
> 1. Eastern Europe
3-4k EUR net (after taxes) is pretty normal salary for senior enterprise dev in big cities in Poland. That's perhaps a bit less than in say Berlin (although I'm not too sure of that, given high taxes in Germany), but the costs of living are so much lower.
Kazakhstan is in Eastern Europe. It's 2000 km away from Poland.
France is in Western Europe. It's 800 km away from Poland.
With the EU money and regulations pouring in, the Central Europe begins to feel much more Western-ish and quite disconnected with Eastern Europe.
Also, Japan IT sector is notoriously messy, think again before you join them
But unlike the last 2 times, now it didn't hurt much. May be i developed a tolerance. But its more of the fact that I accepted that many things are beyond my control. The fact it happens, shouldn't be taken personally by looking around and wondering why it "happened to me"? Shit happens, move on.
Focus on self-development like reading more, watching & listening to informative things like documentaries or well-written programs instead of time-killers. Stick to a personal routine and keep a clear head.
What is the fun if everyone has the same story? I story is unique to me, no claims of plagiarism. Your priority is to keep moving forward, whatever happens just think how to move forward.
I just talking this time and studying. What else can I do? I do spend about an hour applying for jobs. Learn new skills, in job & in life. I have a small garden now that was setup during this covid times. I contribute fresh leafs to the meals at home.
> so here I am sitting jobless leeching on my family till god know when. sitting jobless - that is you. Why sit simply, do something productive for you or the ones around you. Just washed some old unused vessels in the kitchen that my mom wanted to use now. leeching? as long was you not drinking or snorting drugs and actually trying to move forward its fine. Your time will come. You need to believe that to keep moving forward.
Dont resent or feel jealous of the ones who seem to have things better than you. You can never compare yourself to any one around.
The only person to compete with is yourself from yesterday.
For example, most companies in Germany/Europe working in the automotive sector froze hiring since nobody is buying cars anymore.
> Even though their pizza isn't really as good as the fancy pizza place at the mall
They opened the "not best pizza option" and "nTH restaurant option".
Opening a restaurant is a good example of what to avoid if you want to be resilient in the face of bad luck. It's a fragile and brutal business even in the best of times.
I feel bad for the higher class pizza restaurant that opened down the street from our house at the end of January after a long time of renovating the building.
Even though their pizza isn't really as good as the fancy pizza place at the mall (it's a mall in a rich area) down by the nearby harbor, which will upset me if it goes out of business because I could take my kids there or visitors and they were made happy by the quality of the pizza.
But this place down the street from me, that is textbook bad luck.