Hello, I have a degrees in Mech Eng and am Canadian. I plan to apply for Software engineering positions in USA in the next 3-4 months. More specifically, positions which involve designing software for engineering specific applications (autonomy, motion planning, trajectory optimization, robotics etc.). From my understanding, I will have to apply for the TN Visa under the 'Engineer' category for sure and not Computer Systems Analyst (CSA). Am I correct in assuming so? Being a engineer in the above categories does involve using mechanical engineering concepts as well (vehicle dynamics, controls etc.). So my degree is somewhat related to the job although not completely, is this acceptable?
I have read many cases of individuals being rejected under the CSA position, especially those with non CS / SE degrees. I also am aware my degree is not CS or SE or EE. This is the reason why I may not even bother to apply for other software engineer jobs such as full stack web engineer or similar. Or should I still try anyways?
Another potential issue is the programming part of the job. Don't software engineers and programmers both technically write code all day? I am fully aware that CBP officers will reject my application if I even mention the word 'programming' during the interview. But to be realistic, being a software engineer for a hardware type of role such as (robotics, simulations etc.) does involve writing a ton of C++ code. It's probably 20% of the job and the other 80% would be design, research, testing etc.
I did have an offer in US 3 months ago from a large insurance company but later on they mentioned that TN Visa holders were not eligible and rescinded the offer. I later understood this because that job did not have the word 'engineer' anywhere in it. Moreover, the specific duties of the job involved testing in Jenkins and not the 'engineering of software'. The job was more on the IT side of things.
I have read many cases of individuals being rejected under the CSA position, especially those with non CS / SE degrees. I also am aware my degree is not CS or SE or EE. This is the reason why I may not even bother to apply for other software engineer jobs such as full stack web engineer or similar. Or should I still try anyways?
Another potential issue is the programming part of the job. Don't software engineers and programmers both technically write code all day? I am fully aware that CBP officers will reject my application if I even mention the word 'programming' during the interview. But to be realistic, being a software engineer for a hardware type of role such as (robotics, simulations etc.) does involve writing a ton of C++ code. It's probably 20% of the job and the other 80% would be design, research, testing etc.
I did have an offer in US 3 months ago from a large insurance company but later on they mentioned that TN Visa holders were not eligible and rescinded the offer. I later understood this because that job did not have the word 'engineer' anywhere in it. Moreover, the specific duties of the job involved testing in Jenkins and not the 'engineering of software'. The job was more on the IT side of things.
