| Let me TRY and keep this under 6 pages! About 3 years ago I decided that I
wanted to return home (despite that my wife is a Japanese American and my
father's dire warnings - he's also lived there.) So I contacted the Suchnut
to get some addresses of high tech firms (which they provided). I went home,
and spent a considerable ammount of time and money going to all these places
(which will remain nameless). NOONE appart from one firm (out of 15!) gave
or was willing to give me an offer in writing. It was well "OK, no problem
let us know when you arrive". So I decided to take the one where I got an offer
in writing (which took 4 months since the secretary sent it with an internal
Israel stamp...it therefore arrived by camel). I went through 6 bitachon
sessions (security clearance) and if any of you went through one in Israel; it's
not over in 10 minutes. At the first one they wanted me to convert my wife first
The thing to understand is that until you get THAT clearance you can't start
work. So even if the employer agrees that is far from final. Not receiving any
news I called (...many, many times) to Israel. I finally did things the israeli
way and used some "vitamin P". I then found that my "file" had been lost. One
then reapplied some vitamin P and the file miraculously reappeared. That was
3 years ago, I still haven't heard anything. The whole thing was chantarish
(bullshit). The suchnut should you go though them, DON'T. Use the yellow
pages you'll probably have better luck. The beaurocrary is not an art but a
science! This thing about "they need qualified people". Sure they do, but
don't get carried away, they will do their best to cure you of any want to
go and live in Israel. Salaries. As far as I can determine they are far and
above what the average israeli makes (400 dollars a month). If you do
contract work for the army (out of the question for the first 6 months to a
year after arrival) the pay is very good. I tried to keep this so brief that
it may sound disjointed. Sorry about that. In any case, my experience was a
disaster!
As far as DEC is concerned, I know they are looking for some network people
in Herzlia. Also a couple of months ago they were looking for people in
their VLSI plant in Jerusalem. Any other inquiries are welcome at R2D2::greg
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| I'm sorry to hear you had such a rough time in Israel, Greg. I believe (want
to) that you had it exceptionally rough, although, being an Israeli I can't
attest to that. Judging from another note, Greg, it's high time I started
my own travel agency, right? :-)
To the issue, I work for DEC-Herzliya and part time for the VLSI plant in
Jerusalem. The Herzliya office is a field office, similar to other DEC
field offices throughout the world, so you'll know what to expect. The VLSI
plant does chip design and is a Hudson (SEG) extension.
Both are hiring now. If you're interested in more details about the Herzliya
office, you're welcome to mail me and I'll forward it to the appropriate
managers. For applications to the VLSI plant
contact JEREMY::AVRAHAM, he's the manager.
The net salary, by the way, is more than $400, but that isn't saying much
without going into the cost of living analysis.
Shalom - Ady
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| Thank you both, Ady and Greg, for your responses. Greg, yours is not the first
horrible experience that I know of in dealing with the bureaucratzia in
Israel. In order to become a citizen I had to produce a mismach proving that
I was Jewish, and the generations of my family were Jewish. Someone suggested
that I walk into the misrad hapanim in Jerusalem and pull my pants down to
prove that I was Jewish.
The bureaucracy in Israel is a curious mix of Levantine and Eastern European
cultures, where baksheesh is the rule rather than the exception.
Now that I have an idea of what kind of living I could make in high-tech, maybe
I can now work on my wife's case. She will be receiving her doctorate in
Psychology this Spring (Inshallah!). What kind of opportunities could she
find in Israel in her profession or is this the correct forum? Will I have
to go to the sochnut about this?
David C.
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