Companies around the world are eager to hire American tech talent, and Americans are making moves, too.
The United States has the second-highest number of technical workers working overseas of any country in the world, according to the latest technology migration report from global human resources and payroll company Deal.
It is located between India, which ranks first in terms of the number of expatriate technical workers, and the United Kingdom, which ranks third.
When it comes to where Americans are headed, here are the top countries hiring and relocating U.S. tech workers.
- England
- Germany
- Canada
- Netherlands
- Spain
By job type, U.S. tech workers who move abroad are most likely to work in software development, product, and operations fields.
International executives are eager to recruit U.S. technology talent from highly regarded universities, startups, and venture capital firms. “The same goes for the people who founded industry-shaping companies like Google,” said Marsha Sutherlin, head of immigration at Deel. She added that there is a “spirit of innovation” among U.S. tech workers, and world leaders are trying to bring that into their businesses.
Many U.S. technology employees have operational roles overseas, perhaps because they serve as specialists to support international expansion efforts or as a way to import best practices from U.S.-based companies. This means that they are likely to be employed as such.
Why American tech workers are immigrating
Sutherlin said the global market is experiencing less severe layoffs in the technology sector than in the U.S., which could motivate more layoffs and job-insecure tech workers to take jobs abroad. Point out. Immigration generally becomes more active after major political moments, such as the recent US elections or controversial Supreme Court decisions.
“When you combine this with the expansion of the digital nomad lifestyle and the abundance of digital nomad visas, it opens up a whole new working scheme,” Sutherlin says.
Highly paid American technology workers may not be able to command the salaries of elites overseas. According to Levels.fyi, the median total compensation for a software engineer in London is around $119,000, compared to $250,000 in San Francisco.
But consider, Sutherlin says, that American workers are often drawn to elements of an improved lifestyle. Think walkable cities where the cost of living is low (perhaps with a favorable tax system) and the pay is just that good.
Immigration to the US is also in demand
On the employment front, Spain, the United Kingdom and Canada will be the top countries hiring foreign workers from around the world in 2023, Deal said.
That said, the United States was the most popular destination for expatriate technical workers, based on visa applications received by Deal last year.
Highly skilled individuals such as entrepreneurs, business executives, and technology executives were particularly eager to work abroad in the United States.
Workers said their top reasons for applying for a visa are to secure a new job, secondly to seek a path to citizenship, receive preferential tax rates for skilled expatriates, and improve quality of life. He says it’s about improving and finally reuniting with his partner.
The need for American workers at global companies is not limited to technology jobs. The number of American workers employed by international companies increased by 62% last year, according to Deal’s recent Global Employment Report.
Do you want to get your dream job? take CNBC’s new online course “How to Win a Job Interview” Learn what recruiters really want, body language techniques, what to say and what not to say, and the best way to talk about salary. Use discount code NEWGRAD to get 50% off from 5/1/24 to 6/30/24.
For more, please sign up CNBC Make It Newsletter Get tips and tricks to succeed in work, money, and life.
