I'd be very interested to find out more as I always understood that there is no path to GC from E3. Others have also suggested that entering the GC lottery could jeopardize E3 renewal as it demonstrates an intent to become a permanent resident.

I am also on an E-3 visa, but as far as I understand there is no path to obtaining a green card. The intention of the E-3 is that you will not remain permanently in the US and so it is not possible to become a permanent resident.

This is incorrect. There are many articles on the topic that you can easily search online.

I wonder how many tech executives don't use email?

I've got a feeling Tim Cook doesn't use a computer, maybe just an iPad with a carefully curated list of messages and financial reports for him to browse.

In my experience I have found it more difficult to work less days and take holidays as a contractor. The company that is paying for your services expects complete short term dedication on delivering the project, and that is what you should provide. You can take longer breaks between contracts but again I have found that not to be the case as you always want to have more work lined up for a steady income stream.

I can understand that. You do need leverage to negotiate such a deal - a niche skill, or familiarity with an existing codebase.

Can't you just redirect any response to /dev/null? At least that way you have given the candidate an ack and they can move on.

Interesting idea, it seems a bit harsh! I just ignore any negative response - figuring they are showing their true colors and that I made the right choice.

At least that is some form of response. My experience with big tech firms is either a request for a phone screen or tumbleweeds. I'd prefer the courtesy of a one line email rejection instead of the application disappearing into a black hole.

As for me, I'm still waiting for a response from the SouthWest Research Institute. I know, I know, most people would have given up by now, since it's been 25 years, but the initial interview went so well....

[Edit] Holy shit, I'm old.

I have always loved this article and I remember it posted on the wall of the CS break room. I enjoyed it so much that it was the first thing I searched for when AltaVista was released. I think it influenced and introduced me to the hacker ethos. Although I don’t qualify as a real programmer as I graduated with Pascal, C, COBOL and Haskell under my belt with no Fortran.

As an Australian living in the UK I had always assumed that all countries had a day of remembrance for the sacrifices, futility and horrors of war.

I was quite surprised when a German colleague saw the wearing of red poppies around November 11 as unusual and something he could not grok.

Or if you are Australian you can get sponsored on the E-3 visa

The book depository is owned by Amazon