Sophia's now at Red Bull Racing, but there’s more to her story than the exciting companies she has worked for. Her journey to becoming settled in the UK is instructive to say the least, so for our latest blog, we’ve asked her to share it.

Over to you, Sophia! 

I’m a New Yorker who recently obtained my Indefinite Leave To Remain in the UK—also referred to as ILR or Settlement—after living and working here for ten years. Along the way I’ve had to navigate four different VISAs and spent over £15,000. This is an account of the process I went through, and how that experience informs my thinking when I hire in-demand STEM candidates in my current role at Red Bull Racing.

I grew up on Long Island and from the start had a passion for cars and motorsport that I shared with my dad, who in turn got his passion from his grandad. He was a catalyst in my early interest in cars and that bond shaped me. My dad didn’t have a son—I was one of two girls—so he was happy that I shared his interests.

As a kid I had no idea that you could go to school to work in F1, and when I was looking at universities, motorsport wasn’t as big in the States as it is now. So when it was time for me to start thinking about my future, my family and I started researching universities and what you had to do to get in. It occurred to me that maybe I could enter that world after all. We visited a lot of UK universities and settled on Oxford Brookes, where I studied Motorsport Engineering as a BSc. That’s where my visa journey began: I had to get a student visa, and thankfully my parents were able to pay the fees.

Early days in the UK

Coming from the US, I didn’t realise what a big deal it was to live somewhere else. My time at Oxford predated the graduate visa scheme (where international students can stay in the UK for two years to look for work after graduating). I did a placement at Mercedes HPP for a year, which was my introduction to F1, and then completed my final year at university. That last year was one of the hardest of my life: I had no job lined up, no prospects, just a looming sense of imminent unemployment. Who wants to hire someone who, after graduating, would need a visa, when there are fresh UK graduates?

I’d also met my now-husband. The thought of leaving the life I’d built over four years of studying and working was gutting. I’d invested so much and felt like I had nowhere to go. If I went back to the US,  getting back into the UK would be harder, more dependent on sponsorship, family, a partner...it was a really tough time. I had two choices: go home and accept defeat, or find a way to stay.

I decided to continue studying so that I could remain in the UK as a student. I got a place at Cranfield University on an MSc course in Motorsport Engineering. It’s a prestigious, highly regarded institution and course. I made it halfway through and realised I didn’t want to do more school; I wanted to work and build my career.

Enter: partner visas

Luckily, I’d been living with my partner for two years, which meant I could apply for a partner visa instead of relying on student status. He was working and had done the same course I did, so he encouraged me to stop putting things off and apply for a partner visa.

The graduate visa scheme I’ve described wasn’t an option then—it came in two years after I finished my bachelor’s. For both my bachelor’s and master’s, the process was the same: secure a university place and pay a health surcharge along with visa admin fees and university fees, and prove you can support yourself. It was pretty standard.

I applied for my partner visa halfway through my MSc. One of us was earning nothing and the other had a graduate salary, which for engineers isn’t amazing. It was a huge expense, but thankfully, I was granted the visa. That started our five-year partner visa journey towards ILR, which is the most expensive thing my husband and I have ever done.

Starting work

In 2020 I got a job at SST Technology, making bespoke exhaust systems for motorsport and automotive applications. I loved it, and was employed there during COVID. In hindsight, I’m glad I stayed in the UK. I’m not sure when or if I would have come back otherwise.
I was at SST Tech for nearly a year, and then Gerrell & Hard found me an opportunity at Polestar. I worked there for just over four years, joining as a junior engineer and eventually working in the thermal systems department. It was such a refreshing place to be, especially for a woman in engineering: I felt completely accepted, the people were fantastic and the work was exciting. I grew a lot as a professional in a traditionally male-dominated industry, in a culture where that didn’t seem to matter at all.

The challenging process of settlement (ILR)

As my career developed, it got easier to afford the visas I needed to stay in the UK. My partner visa lasted for two-and-a-half years, so I renewed it before getting married in 2022. To apply for ILR, you have to be on a partner visa for five years continuously. It’s not cheap.

I’ve lived and worked in the STEM industry in the UK for ten years now. In that time I’ve never had a say in anything, and there have been some challenges getting here. The previous government raised visa fees massively, and the salary threshold for self-sufficiency jumped from around £18,000 to nearly £35,000 almost overnight.

My husband and I both work full-time now, but if we were starting out today on a graduate salary, we wouldn’t have a chance. My final partner visa renewal (before ILR) was due to cost around £1,600, but jumped to nearly £3,000 by the time I applied. Naturalisation used to cost about £800. It’s now double that.

I’ve been through multiple visa applications and each one is an invasive process. For the partner visa, you have to prove your relationship: photos with each other’s families, joint bank statements, records of holidays, biometrics. You get used to being treated as if you’re trying to con somebody and learn to keep records, statements and documents for absolutely everything, because you’ll need to prove it all again. You live life differently. You plan for visa renewals. Big expenses like houses and weddings get balanced with saving for applications. Somewhere in the middle of this process, my partner and I got married, and I started a new job right before applying for ILR. Over ten years, we’ve spent about £15,000 on visas alone, and more on expenses peripheral to the process, like travel. It was exhausting, but we got  used to it. I finally got my ILR earlier this year, and as I posted on LinkedIn, it was one of the best days of my life!

The value of international candidates in STEM

In a country that is crying out for STEM graduates and expertise, I think we can do more to help people who want to work and provide valuable skills to the UK. When I applied for jobs after university, I got called for interviews, and then dropped as soon as people learned I wasn’t British—despite stating openly on job applications that I’d need sponsorship. I’d get calls, then get rejected as soon as recruiters or HR considered the implications. One individual even hung up on me when I reminded them I’d need a visa.

It’s not just government bureaucracy. Many employers still don’t want to sponsor applicants. It feels to me that government, employers and further education could do more to work together to bridge the gap that so many international students fall through. UK universities pride themselves on their diversity and intake of international students, especially in STEM. They bring students in, but don’t always offer a path forward. I know doctors who have trained here and faced the same struggle. I spent four years building towards a career in F1 and was repeatedly turned away for something that was out of my control.

Now there’s a graduate visa scheme, which helps. But back then, the thought of having no prospects here loomed over me and ruined my final year at university. I was unhappy and aimless, when all I wanted to do was apply my skills for the UK economy.  

Using what I’ve learned

Happily, I’m now in a position where I’m able to use my experience for the betterment of others. I’m well-versed in bureaucracy and practically an expert in visas (as I recently said to a colleague in our visa team!) Being in R&D, I get to work on recruitment from a technical angle, advising talent acquisition teams and bridging the gap between engineering and HR.

I came to the UK to work in F1, and now I get to help others aspire to do the same, while still doing it myself. I’ve come full circle and it means I see things differently now. When someone from outside the UK applies for a role, I look at their CV a little longer. I think harder: could they be a fit? Could we make it work? I remember how desperate I was for a foot in the door.

My current employer, Red Bull, is great at sponsoring people and nurturing them. The R&D department recognises the importance of this, the value of the STEM sector to the UK and how important sponsorship is to help graduates onboard. That applies for any graduate, from anywhere.

Can STEM employers lead the way?  

But generally, employers could do better. Recruitment is getting so demanding that you see things like hiring teams saying roles are junior, then asking for two years of experience. That’s not junior, and it broadcasts that you’re not willing to invest.

As an industry, F1 often does things a little better. It’s niche and it can be a little bit about who you know, but it offers placements that really help. Candidates are able to get a foot in the door, and those who do often come back after graduation, as my husband did.

Not surprisingly, I’m passionate about student placements. In the US, we don’t have the same systems for this as I see with some employers in the UK. It’s obvious to those on the inside that employers benefit from offering placements: they’ve investing in someone and it gives them a known candidate for future roles. Even if a candidate stays in post for only a year, it’s valuable. We need to make it easier for people to get that first job, to be moulded into the professionals employers want, which starts with early engagement and training.

As I write this I’m still under thirty, but everything I’ve experienced over the last decade has shaped my passion for what I do now, and strengthened my resolve to facilitate employers and candidates helping one another.

You don’t find many foreign candidates who get through the entire visa process to get a job in the UK, and I’m grateful to Nick Gerrell and to Polestar for supporting me at the time. I also feel very lucky to be at Red Bull, whose attitude to student placements and onboarding is admirable—they’re exceptionally good at this, and it says a lot about the team’s attitude to acquiring and developing talent.

Next up: my British passport! 

Thanks Sophia for sharing your amazing, challenging journey and for your inspiring take on it! There are a lot of lessons here for employers in the critically-important STEM sector, and elsewhere.