>Are you referring to formal immigration requirements, or the job market?
This was my perception as someone (without a degree) looking for a job that would have required going through the immigration rigmarole. A potential employer would have to want me enough to help me (or at least wait for me) to get through the government stuff, so... both.
Come to think of it, the closest I came was some startup in Israel who wanted me; Their interest level dropped a lot after they found out I didn't have any Jewish relatives (and thus would not have an automatic 'in' during immigration; I don't think this was racism on the part of the company; it was just the extra work they'd have to do.) I mean, I might have been able to get the job anyhow if I tried hard? but turns out wages in Israel are less than half what you expect in silicon valley, and I had this idea that I could make /more/ elsewhere, (which I now think is... pretty unrealistic.)
>Degrees are good, but not critical. They're seen as good in part because there's no tuition, and in fact you get paid a stipend while you attend school to cover living expenses.
It's harder to do immigration formalities without a degree, no disagreement there. Although I believe that's somewhat true in the U.S., too: while many Valley companies will hire someone without a degree, my impression is that there is a higher bar for hiring someone foreign without a degree. E.g. Google is more likely to sponsor a German degree-holder for a U.S. visa than a German non-degree-holder. The world of good tech jobs without degrees is a lot easier to unlock (in both the U.S. and Europe) for permanent residents / citizens.
Yeah, I wouldn't leave the Valley if you want to make a higher salary, unless it's a jump to some kind of high-level management position. The Valley has pretty much the highest tech salaries afaik. Switzerland might come close.
You might come out ahead in some places in lifestyle after cost of living, but it depends on your lifestyle. A nice thing about Copenhagen is that, while it's expensive to live in the city, it's not NYC/SF levels of expensive (or Paris/London, for that matter). It's maybe $1500-$2000/mo for a nice centrally located 2bd... rather than the $3000+ my friends in SF pay. And you can buy a condo for maybe $300k, which last I checked was completely impossible in SF.
As far as private universities, there aren't any: only state schools are accredited. There are some private professional institutes, like an animation school and a film school, but they aren't allowed to give degrees (instead they give their own certificates), and are seen as a different kind of thing.
The time limit for the student stipend is the regular length of the degree, with possibility in some circumstances to get another 6 months. So, 3 years for the bachelor's, plus 2 years for the master's. A hard max (after both degrees and extensions on both) of 6 years.
Typically students will do the two together as one five-year program; you can stop after the bachelor's, but the traditional Danish first degree was a 5-year degree (called a candidature), which is still sort of expected. The 3-year bachelor's/2-year master's split was introduced in 1993 to harmonize with other EU countries' systems, but a bachelor's on its own is still seen as not quite complete education (may change as memories of the old 5-year candidature fade).
>It's harder to do immigration formalities without a degree, no disagreement there. Although I believe that's somewhat true in the U.S., too:
Oh yeah; from what I understand, it's even more true here than anywhere else. But I was born here, so it's not a problem I deal with directly.
Your university system sounds like some kind of socialist paradise. Jesus. Do you know how good a 3 year vacation sounds to an American? (And yes, if I went to school, I'd likely study history, and that can't be rationally counted as anything but a vacation.) Even the top 10% jobs only give you 4 weeks a year of vacation time. (we get another 9 days or so of holidays, usually, which are on fixed days, and, of course, weekends.)
This was my perception as someone (without a degree) looking for a job that would have required going through the immigration rigmarole. A potential employer would have to want me enough to help me (or at least wait for me) to get through the government stuff, so... both.
Come to think of it, the closest I came was some startup in Israel who wanted me; Their interest level dropped a lot after they found out I didn't have any Jewish relatives (and thus would not have an automatic 'in' during immigration; I don't think this was racism on the part of the company; it was just the extra work they'd have to do.) I mean, I might have been able to get the job anyhow if I tried hard? but turns out wages in Israel are less than half what you expect in silicon valley, and I had this idea that I could make /more/ elsewhere, (which I now think is... pretty unrealistic.)
>Degrees are good, but not critical. They're seen as good in part because there's no tuition, and in fact you get paid a stipend while you attend school to cover living expenses.
Really? There are no good private schools?
Is there a time limit on the stipend?