Bektur Celebes shared his experience of living in the USA. He talked about the difficulties and where he worked before becoming a programmer at LinkedIn.
Bektur Elebes, 28 years old, city — San Francisco, Apprentice Software Engineer on LinkedIn, @edelwejss
About moving
I left Kyrgyzstan for the education in 2011. Four years later I returned back, lived in homeland for two years. In 2017, there was an opportunity to visit States, and I took advantage of it.
About adaptation and difficulties
You should always be aware that in the USA there is high competition. The best of the best come here to find their place. According to the happiness index, the country is far from in the first place, but people still come here. It's like a Major League.
There are two difficulties that immigrants may face when they are moving.
The first is financial problems, because life in the USA is much more expensive. But it is easy to cope with this, since you can always find a job here.
The second difficulty is moral and emotional, when you miss your family and friends. And it's much harder. When you go abroad, you must understand that you will be there alone, without support. I have a lot of friends in Bishkek, so it was difficult for the first time in another country. I'm not used to it.
I advise those who are planning to move abroad not to avoid the community of compatriots. There are a lot of them in, and many of the people who moved before you can share useful advice. Thanks to such communities, you can avoid many mistakes and make new acquaintances.
About development and career
In the first year of my arrival, I had a goal — to see all the big cities of the USA. So at first I just traveled and found side jobs. First I came to Chicago to a friend who sheltered me for a couple of months. After that I decided to go to Los Angeles, because I had a dream to see Hollywood. There I passed casting and worked as an actor of extras. I have starred in several TV series. Later I moved to San Francisco, where worked as a taxi driver. The next city was New York, where I worked as a food delivery man.
After a year in the States, I returned to Bishkek for the duration of the pandemic. I even wrote a book about my experience of living and working in different US cities. Sold a small print run of 100 books.
Today, the most popular and promising direction for working abroad is TECH. Therefore, if you doubt that you will find a job, start learning English and programming.
I took Coding Bootcamp programming courses in New York. After training, I looked for a job for four months, passed many interviews, received refusals.
Then I found out that LinkedIn has programs for people who do not have a university degree in programming, but who would like to work in this field. There was a big competition for the program, but I successfully passed all the stages and got a job.
Now I work in Silicon Valley, as a programmer in the LinkedIn Learning team. I engaged in digital product development.
LinkedIn is known for its work culture. There is a good work-life balance here — employees have the opportunity to competently combine work and personal life.
How did the move affect
I began to appreciate life more, I realized that it was short. And I began to appreciate my family even more.
