Moving company work vs programming: which is more in demand in the USA?

The USA is an attractive destination for tech specialists who emigrate. The average annual salary in the field runs from $80,000 to $150,000 and beyond, depending on the role and the experience. Management positions and specialists in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity earn more still. In neighbouring Canada the average for comparable positions is $60,000 to $120,000. In the UK it is £35,000 to £70,000 a year.

Let's look closely at how relevant moving work is in the USA, what income it offers, and what a programmer earns there.

Moving work in the USA

As soon as the subject of finding work in America comes up, moving is the first thing almost everyone thinks of. It is essentially uncomplicated work requiring no special skills or training; basic language will do, and sometimes not even that. But is that really the case? And what does moving work pay?

What you can earn in the field:

• as a helper, roughly $10–12 an hour;
• a driver earns around $15, which is considerably more over a month or a year;
• a truck driver can expect $17 an hour.

Moving is hard work. Yes, you could say you travel around the country and get to know the customs and daily life of ordinary Americans, which is a real plus for anyone who has just arrived. But picture hauling the heaviest, bulkiest boxes, furniture and appliances for 10 to 12 hours a day. Not everyone can manage it: a couple of hours into a shift you can strain your back or pick up another injury. Doing it day after day leaves you seriously worn out. And a day off is not easy to get, because moving work is relentless and the companies want the jobs done without interruption.

Moving is a reasonable answer for new immigrants still finding their feet. Over the long run it is a doubtful choice for most people, though there is no shortage of vacancies at moving companies in the USA. Some people will certainly find the work and the pay suit them.

What does a programmer earn in the USA?

Average salaries for programmers and developers in the USA now sit substantially above the American average. You have probably heard what programmers earn, but in America there are also bonuses and other factors that shape the final figure.

Let's start with programmers in the classic sense — the Computer Programmer title. We will look at the salary annually and hourly, as is customary in America:

• hourly, a programmer in the USA earns at least $30;
• annually, at least $55,000 — though there is effectively no upper limit, and experienced programmers can earn two or three times that.

Research shows that with five to nine years of experience you can earn around $90,000 a year. But income also depends on which particular niche you work in and in which city.

Demand for programmers in the USA

Programming work in the USA varies enormously: some people build neural networks, others write simple database applications and work with data. That is what shapes what a programmer earns starting out.

The vacancies most in demand this year:

1. Java Developer. Java remains popular thanks to its versatility, particularly in enterprise applications and systems. The pay ($40–70 an hour) reflects the constant demand for Java developers to build and maintain large systems. Knowing the surrounding technologies, Spring or Hibernate for instance, is a plus.
2. iOS Developer. As Apple's ecosystem grows, demand for iOS programmers is high. What matters here is not only Swift and Objective-C but a grasp of UX/UI principles and work with Apple's APIs. A rate of $88 an hour is justified given Apple's popularity in the USA.
3. PHP Developer. PHP is sometimes called a language on its way out, but it remains highly relevant because of the enormous number of sites running on it. Web development requires frameworks such as Laravel or Symfony, and the annual income can reach $110,000.
4. Neural networks and AI. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are fast-growing fields. Developers here have enormous prospects, particularly in data analysis, automation and computer vision. Companies are actively looking for people ready to learn TensorFlow, PyTorch and other tooling. Competition is still lower here, because the field is harder to master.

Programming, then, is no less in demand in the USA than moving work. And what matters is that programming knowledge opens excellent prospects for you. Owners of serious companies hire people from the former Soviet states without hesitation.

Your main task is to get professional training at the PASV programming and testing school. With it you can find decent, well-paid work wherever you are.

Here you will find qualified instructors, an individual approach to every student and affordable prices. Choosing PASV opens possibilities that were not available to you before.