Out of Pod Experience

Hi guys,

Just looking to see if the Yanks have an equiv site to www.seek.com.au ? Trying to do some comparisons for maybe moving over there in the future. Tried Google searching but it keeps pulling results to supply me a green card, which is not a stage I'm even up to yet.

Regards,

-Arg

A few of them. Back when I was between jobs, monster.com, careerbuilder.com (you might want some good anti-spyware for that one, but it's still good) and, in my case, www.twc.state.tx.us (Texas Workforce Commission) were a major help. There's also a lot of temp agencies (okay, some of them suck, but one or two of them are pretty reputable) to check out also. Nothing beats networking, though; If you know anybody personally in the States, ask them to keep their ear to the ground when you're ready to take the Pledge.

If you have a good voice please go work in San Francisco. I swear to god those people are trained to mumble into the damn phone as low as they can.

I'd recommend also checking out the situation with U.S. work visas. They're not easy to come by. Basically, you have to find an employer who's willing to hire you, plus sponsor you for the visa (typical cost about $3,000 - $4,000), and wait possibly several months for said visa to be approved. (Don't mean to discourage you, but think it's good to be aware of the facts. Immigration is a major ongoing issue to deal with throughout the time you'd be working in the U.S.) Browsing this expats discussion forum will give you a good idea of what's involved.

Edit: For internet job boards, I think indeed.com and careerbuilder.com are better than some others.

Why USA? Come to Panama!!!!! If you have a solid skillset in construction working, engineering, geology, topography or anything related to construction of civil project or maintenance you can find a job here quickly that pays in US$ Without the LOLRIDICULOUS taxes the IRS wants to munch off you. You can work for a bit, earn enough cash to apply for a loan and buy a small house in the beach on the Pacific or Caribbean side and retire in any of the expat english speaking communities there with the added bonus of being in a country that connects easily to any other in the world that has a lot of places to go on eco-tourism drives.

Panama is still raw and growing , lots of opportunities here if you know where to look for them!

You know what the going rate is for Civil Drafters down there?

Well, depends. Since you are foreign and apply from abroad, building consortium s here would pay for your traveling expenses, lodgings plus basic salary. The Company I am now has several people related to the building field and pay them from 3KUSD to 7KUSD depending on experience (me on the other earn MUCH MUCH less meh ). Bear in mind Panamas minimum wage is 400$ (around my salary, lol) and food and other basic necessities are calculated from that base income.

Only drawbacks here are that power and gas prices are on equal footing to the US and sometimes a bit more. But food is plentiful and of very good quality and basic services are good, like water and garbage disposal. Health is marvelous here, you can get treated for free or around 15 to 20$ per medical session if you have your working Social Security id (which you can get easily by coming to work here legally) or if you want faster or more specialized medical needs you can go to private clinics where the average is 60 to 100$ per session. Medicines are accessible too. If you want real hands down info on the day to day happenings of the country a US Army retired personality, well known in the media here, publishes a solid , english written webpage called www.panama-guide.com , his name is Don Winner and he even tours the country sometimes giving advice to potential english speaking expats willing to give Panama a try.

His page focuses on security issues for travelers and day to day happenings on the country,he has helped solve the rare criminal cases involving expats plus a plethora of info on people to hire for basic day to day activities like taxis, travel tours, hotel lodgings, services of all sorts etc.

I came here exiled from Venezuela and I really like the country.

Crime is low, it exists but is contained to bad neighborhoods, money down here is the US$ , and if you come with money you can easily settle here and get investor visas. You could apply for a loan here for a house and then turn the house into the main asset of a company you create to add the value of the house to the company, lots of people with money do that and get their investors visas. Also this is a relaxed country, things are sloooow, also in the legal department. This is a place to work , earn money and then retire. Tourism is a booming sector, and the govt is building a lot of improvements to the Capital. Also the construction market is in full force here, specially housing.

Lots of business opportunities here.

If you want more detailed info we can perhaps talk in private and give you a few tips, or come here and see the country for yourself! Panama is only 400$ away from Miami :D , so if you near the southern US, Panama is not that far.

We can meet on a weekend in one of the local malls and talk with some beers, you have to buy the beers though

Only 3.5million people here, this is a small paradise if you know how to circumvent the rough edges (and there are several, have to be wary for scammers, like eve hehe)

Anyway, cheers! Hope you at least give Panama a glance.

Edit: The only thing I heartily recommend is you avoid investing or even getting close to people associated with drug trafficking. Most of the gringos or foreigners than end up dead shot on the street here were usually associated with the drug maffia. Panama is a very quiet country and troublemakers are usually shot. Unlike Mexico where theres drug related almost total civil war in the streets Panama sees a heavy traffic of drugs being shipped north and lots of people see this as the easy way to money. I know its common sense, but never hurts to say it. Theres like a quiet understanding between mobs here that theres an imperative need to keep the peace in the country and you rarely see anything too violent except a couple killings that were usually paid hits or passion crimes.

Crime here, unlike Venezuela or Colombia for example can be categorized on petty theft and plain burglaries to hit killings. For some reason most tourists here think this is Disneyworld and get mislead and trust or invest their money with the wrong people, thats why people like Don Winner have their page, to show them this is a beautiful country but you have to be wary of people. To my Venezuelan eyes, used to seeing bullet shells on the street as common garbage, Panama is heaven.

And having lived in the US for a bit, I find it even safer than certain cities up there.

It should be noted that something like 70% of those who get non hourly jobs in the united states get them because of recommendations and your 'network'. I suggest you use LinkedIn and start building a professional network and see if people you know are hiring.

I'll give you some help: Don't move here.

Thank you to everyone who posted. I really appreciate the advice. I hadn't considered Panama but I'll be sure to take a look. It's gotta be better then Aus's situation right now. Our government is driving our country into the ground.....