I’ve seen this tech bro corpo slave labor H1-B mechanism in real life for a long time, it’s always been disgusting.
I talked to an H1-B coworker at my going away party when I was leaving a toxic tech corpo job, and she remarked, almost in tears, “I’m so glad you get to leave!” I remarked to her, “well, if it’s so bad, why can’t you just leave?” “They’d send me back to India.” That particular job had one working 7 days a week rather frequently throughout the year to meet always unrealistic deadlines. The H1-B employees basically lived at the office.
I also remember talking to a new coworker that came from India at one company and he explained to me that this particular company was used as the easiest path to get from India to America. Probably more stories I’ve forgot off the top of my head, because there were so many.
One of those employers also had a greater-than-zero suicide rate of employees.
Time and time again the corpos claim they can’t find the talent they need domestically when there’s plenty. (Which is the legal mechanism they use to apply for or increase H1-B employees.) They just don’t want to pay domestic salaries to workers that may actually be able to push back on their rights as humans.
I have lots of stories related to H-1Bs. I remember interviewing after one of my layoffs and it was a particular wing of a gigantic cable news company.
The hiring manager, an Indian, was making it very clear that he expected “his” staff to work over and beyond 40 hours. I let slip I had a recent child, and that was clearly a mistake - I think the interview was basically over at that point. I should not have offered that as it’s illegal to ask about it on their end. Anyway, they went through a few more motions for the “interview” after that and I spoke to more people. Everyone else I spoke to was Indian and practically genuflecting to this guy. They were clearly scared of him. I learned from someone in another department at the same place that nearly everyone in that job was H-1B, but not the manager. This other person figured they wanted to hire someone like me as the new token citizen, as they had a few before, but left for greener pastures. One was fired for being too unruly, apparently. Iron-fisted dictator in middle management expected people to be on-call 24/7 and one of the citizens was not having it.
Seems I dodged a bullet. After that interview, another one came up the week after for a MUCH better job and they had absolutely ZERO H-1Bs, thank Pan.
If you can find the right place, there are still pockets where it has not been completely taken over by the “techbros” (sigh, I hate that term’s implications - it’s really MBA-type douches, not so much the tech people themselves).
Sadly, they usually don’t last too long. It’s like constantly trying to find a TAZ or something. Sooner or later, some seagull manager is given free reign to fuck it all up, destroy any good culture that anyone managed to make and so you have to move on…the places I’ve seen it turn fastest is where some MBA genius thinks they need to “save on human resources” by abusing the H-1B system. If you are lucky enough to be at a place that has no H-1Bs, and then they start getting added, start getting your things in order and GTFO if you can, because it’s likely to turn into a toxic wasteland.
I was an H1-B around Y2K. I was at a good company, until we sued IBM and they gaslit the shit out of everyone. They actually kept the H1s around so we didn’t get kicked out of the country, or until we could find new jobs and go home to a job instead of being homeless – and even then, they manufactured reasons to give us a lengthy severance and hand-over, like they gave the naturalized employees. I left before I was at risk, for other reasons, and worked from my home country until the lawsuit costs ate my job too.
I’ve seen this tech bro corpo slave labor H1-B mechanism in real life for a long time, it’s always been disgusting.
I talked to an H1-B coworker at my going away party when I was leaving a toxic tech corpo job, and she remarked, almost in tears, “I’m so glad you get to leave!” I remarked to her, “well, if it’s so bad, why can’t you just leave?” “They’d send me back to India.” That particular job had one working 7 days a week rather frequently throughout the year to meet always unrealistic deadlines. The H1-B employees basically lived at the office.
I also remember talking to a new coworker that came from India at one company and he explained to me that this particular company was used as the easiest path to get from India to America. Probably more stories I’ve forgot off the top of my head, because there were so many.
One of those employers also had a greater-than-zero suicide rate of employees.
Time and time again the corpos claim they can’t find the talent they need domestically when there’s plenty. (Which is the legal mechanism they use to apply for or increase H1-B employees.) They just don’t want to pay domestic salaries to workers that may actually be able to push back on their rights as humans.
Fuck tech bros.
I have lots of stories related to H-1Bs. I remember interviewing after one of my layoffs and it was a particular wing of a gigantic cable news company.
The hiring manager, an Indian, was making it very clear that he expected “his” staff to work over and beyond 40 hours. I let slip I had a recent child, and that was clearly a mistake - I think the interview was basically over at that point. I should not have offered that as it’s illegal to ask about it on their end. Anyway, they went through a few more motions for the “interview” after that and I spoke to more people. Everyone else I spoke to was Indian and practically genuflecting to this guy. They were clearly scared of him. I learned from someone in another department at the same place that nearly everyone in that job was H-1B, but not the manager. This other person figured they wanted to hire someone like me as the new token citizen, as they had a few before, but left for greener pastures. One was fired for being too unruly, apparently. Iron-fisted dictator in middle management expected people to be on-call 24/7 and one of the citizens was not having it.
Seems I dodged a bullet. After that interview, another one came up the week after for a MUCH better job and they had absolutely ZERO H-1Bs, thank Pan.
I put myself in the firing line in front of an H1-B I had taken under my wing when the sales started slipping under the new VC installed “execs.”
At least we both got some solid severance, and freedom.
He’s doing great in a new job and I’m enjoying my hobbies and trying my hardest to stay away from tech.
Good move, tech is such a toxic industry.
If you can find the right place, there are still pockets where it has not been completely taken over by the “techbros” (sigh, I hate that term’s implications - it’s really MBA-type douches, not so much the tech people themselves).
Sadly, they usually don’t last too long. It’s like constantly trying to find a TAZ or something. Sooner or later, some seagull manager is given free reign to fuck it all up, destroy any good culture that anyone managed to make and so you have to move on…the places I’ve seen it turn fastest is where some MBA genius thinks they need to “save on human resources” by abusing the H-1B system. If you are lucky enough to be at a place that has no H-1Bs, and then they start getting added, start getting your things in order and GTFO if you can, because it’s likely to turn into a toxic wasteland.
I was an H1-B around Y2K. I was at a good company, until we sued IBM and they gaslit the shit out of everyone. They actually kept the H1s around so we didn’t get kicked out of the country, or until we could find new jobs and go home to a job instead of being homeless – and even then, they manufactured reasons to give us a lengthy severance and hand-over, like they gave the naturalized employees. I left before I was at risk, for other reasons, and worked from my home country until the lawsuit costs ate my job too.