Don't Come to USA, If You Are Highly Educated and Successful in Your Life
Following Comment posted by Chandru.
I debated, if I should be posting this comment. So, I posted the following question in Facebook Fan Page.
I’m debating if I want to post this article – Don’t Come to USA, If You Are Highly Educated and Successful in Your Life (shared by a reader).
Following were the responses
- Jayasudhan Thalal Jayachandran – Totally post it. I believe it is true…
- Prateek Gupta – well..If you are highly educated and successful..no need to come here..but if you are not, u have a chance to reach that stage…
- Abhishant Guleria – Only few educated persons is successful in India..
- Punam Ghimire – Yes I also agree. Please post it. If you are educated and successful than stay where ever you are and work there.
- Kabir Joshi – Please post it. USA is not the only place to be successful.
- KR Hande – I think there is nothig bad in posting…coz it may be gud article. So reading never makes any harm..n it catalyize the process of thinking..!!
- Nitin Goyal – yes, dere is no need to come USA if they are already succesfull, not all the top billionaires are in USA and we can call them sucesfull for sure…
- Nikhil Tiwari – i think you should post it coz its an opinion not a fact
So, here is the actual comment shared by Chandru
Don’t Come to USA
I see most of you are highly educated, experienced and successful in life. DON’T COME TO US!
I know grass is greener on the other side, but believe me when I say this – YOU ARE BETTER OFF IN INDIA !!
If you are middle class in India, you will be middle class here too.
Nothing will change, you wont become rich in any number of years.
Yes, you will be driving more expensive car, living in a more expensive house when you convert $ into Rs but that does not make you rich in American terms either.
You will have a mortgage to pay, student loan for your kids, credit card bills, medical bills etc..
And if you loose your job and go without salary for 2 months, you will be back on the street the next month.
I know the feeling when all your friends leave India and send you pictures of them in nice places (backgrounds), you feel you are missing out.
The truth is its your friends who emigrated from India that are missing out on the fast development in India. If you want to come to US, don’t immigrate, instead save money and visit here.
Don’t ruin your career and risk you family life, skip friends affection and miss things you have taken for granted for so many years in your native land.
I know I can’t change everyone’s mind here in the forum, but I sure hope I helped at least one person ‘See the reason in my argument’ and affected their decision.
*****
Let me share my opinion on following 3 facts (as pr above comments)
- Fact 1 – If you are middle class in India, you will be middle class here too.
- Fact 2 – You will have a mortgage to pay, student loan for your kids, credit card bills, medical bills etc..
- Fact 3 – And if you lose your job and go without salary for 2 months, you will be back on the street the next month.
Middle Class
That is true. But the definition of Middle Class is different and quality of life is different (this is debatable too).
For single income IT professional, you can expect to be in middle class, but you will have more savings working few years in USA.
Also, this is based on your spending habits and other expenses.
If both husband and wife work in IT, then one income is complete savings for you. If you both are earning say 80,000 and 120,000.
You can expect to save $50,000 to 80,000 per year. Is it possible to save 25 to 45 Lakhs in India per year working in IT?
Bills to Pay
Everyone has bills to pay.
If you are going to spend only the money you have using credit card, then you will do just fine.
If you earn $5000 per month and use credit card to spend $2000, you can pay off the monthly credit card bill.
If you are going to spend $6000, then you will have credit card balance.
This is completely your fault of failing to manage your finances.You need to cut down on additional expenses that you can avoid.
Job and Salary
If you are in H1B and get laid off, you typically have to leave the country right away.
Some companies will give 2 months time for you to find a job.
So, the facts you have mentioned are debatable based on your way of life, financial habits, medical history, etc.
All the above factors will vary based on individuals and families and your opinion is debatable to greater extent.
But, I don’t agree to your view.
How about you?
![How I Got Two Full Time Job Offers After MS in IT – Interview with Bindhu [Master Class]](https://www.happyschools.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Bindu-thumbnail-data-analytics-job-offers-masters.jpg)
Hi HSB.
I have been in USA for past 2+ years. Life is very comfortable. No everyday hussles, good standard of living. Off course not comparable to India.
But does only material comforts make you happy?
“pleasure and comfort are misunderstood as happiness”
I am fine here, but not happy…
One is really happy by following his/her dreams…Settling in USA cant be the aim of life. Three things are necessary to be happy..
C=Competence (yes I have done it…!!!)
A=autonomy (Yes…I have done it without anyone’s help)
R=relatedness (My near and dear ones are around me & supporting)
Money and comfort (in USA) cant make you happy….Its high time to return back than to trapped here for the rest of your life..since kids are the basic reason people cant go back….I would suggest that return to India, spend some time with parents, share the experiences of elders…trust me, It will make you happy…
Life in USA is “cut and dried” type…even Indians do not meet each other as in India…social interaction is limited to facebook (photo sharing) and a desi get together in 2 months….24×7 husband and wife are lietrally alone….its no more privacy, but loneliness…
going to same walmart, going to same desi grocers, meeting same 3 families, for the rest of your life….
you can spent rest of your life comfortably in this pattern..
But this is what life is not all about….!!!…Life is not about experiences…get the experience of USA ,….no doubt about it….but get the exposure and play big with your life…many of my friends have dream of being an entreprenuer (including my spouse ..!!)…but they are too afraid to move out of their comfort zones…..they fear taking risk and leave the comfort…
yes you came to USA, achieved enough for your need and luxury…Is that the aim of your life??? trust me…this cant be…try to intrsopect what you really want to do….what is the aim of your life….spending days, weeks, years in one same way for the next 40 years of your life cant be your purpose of life….
consider 2 scenarios:
(1) a person got into IIT in first attempt…came to US for MS (age 23 yrs) and then H1B, green card and citizenship…worked with the same company…got married, had children, india trips almost nil now…
(2) person 2, got into IIT, campus placement into PSU, then realised Civil services is my cup of tea….cracked the exam two times…in the mean time got married , stayed in USA for 3 yrs…and went back and worked as a bureaucrat…and in future may resign the job, and start something of own…..opportunities are endless….
so whose life is rich in experiences??offcourse person (2)….I would not like to live the life of person(1)….some people die at 23(yrs) and buried at 80…rather I would like to be dead until I die….
Dont play too safe with your life……Dont regret when time is out of your hands….do everything, life is too short to play safe….
“On your death bed, you will not regret the things you have done, but those you did not”
“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for..”
Find your passion and go for it..USA is a good exposure and can be a tool to achieve your purpose of life…only few lucky ones are fortunate enough to get this….and most people out of these misunderstand this as the end of life….don’t stop and trapped in this country or you will regret rest of your life….5 years or 15 yrs in USA….F1 to H1B to Green card to Citizenship….its all the same..there is no best time to move back,….best time is now…..go ahead with your decision…
dream big…achieve big
Good luck
I converted your comment to a blog post to reach wider audience at
http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/life-of-indian-family-in-usa-unhappy/
My Dear Civil…Hats off to you…
I may not be fully convinced with you on few specific areas of your comment. But overall it is amazing.
I like the way whole comment is narrated…. WOW!!!!
Thanks Sam…:-)
Dear Civil,
I completely agree with you. But I feel there is a middle path as well in this whole living in USA or living in India debate. Like in one of the earlier blogs, for those who missed out on the IIT education or from other premier institutions, going to USA is a second chance which they should definitely risk.
But at the same time, there should be a commitment to self that they are not there to settle down. I know its very difficult to leave such a place especially when you get used to all the amenities and life styles.
Most people who are in USA say, life becomes routine and monotonous and after a few years nothing new is left as you must have almost all visited all the places there are to visit.
That’s when I feel the middle path can be taken especially when the kids are still young ( say less than 5 -8 years) old. People can come back to India with a rich experience of about 7-8 years of work and life in USA. Such people are in great demand in India and they get great life styles.
One more point to what Raghuram said about saving money in India, to the tune of 25- 45 lacs per year. He is forgetting one basic thing, a good decent villa/ apartment in a city like say Hyderabad costs about 75 lacs to a 1 crore rupees, whereas he has to shell out a 1 million USD and more for a similar house in USA. Also, they might be saving money of one spouse but what is the use if most of the time either of the spouse end up working less than 12 months. I mean, if one spouse is always searching for job and only one is earning where is the saving then?
Also, I have seen people even in IT those who work on projects, dont get full 12 months employment. They have to live out of their savings for the period when they are jobless. That takes out the savings drastically. Now the figure become more reasonable compared to India. In India. If both the spouses are in IT and earning salaries of close to 12 lacs pa each which is about average salary here, they can easily have a decent life style live in a villa, have 2 cars and all and still save about enough money to have foreign holidays.
All in all, the reason USA should be an option is to just stay there for a few years preferably before starting a family, so that you can get that work experience and will be a preferred candidate at most jobs back in India.
That will raise your profile and also get you a good package. USA option is like the Nitrous Oxide booster to your career is great when applied in small dose but not for a longer period of time.
I THINK IT ALL DEPENDS FROM PERSON TO PERSON .US IS THE ULTIMATE OF EVERY CORE SECTOR . TAKE EXAMPLE “SPORTS”,””EDUCATION””AND MUCH MORE
WE NEED TO THINK THAT WHAT WE WANT TO DO IN LIFE.THOUGH THERE ARE MANY OBSTACLES ,HURDLES IN LIFESTYLE IN USA YET IT IS 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 FOLDS BETTER THAN INDIA AND IT WILL REMAIN SO.US IS US AND INDIA WILL ALWAYS LAG BEHIND FROM US DUE TO ITS FOOLISH ,STUPID CORRUPTED(THE WORST QUALITIES) GOVERNMENT
I am Saptarshi, I have been admitted to Utah State University with a tuition fee wavier and a stipend of $1200 per month for the first year and RA for the next year. Now, I wanted to know what are the suggestions from people about going there as the university is not a very high standard but I guess in USA after rank 30 every other school is same. I have not got any other admits. So please suggest what I should do, whether I should go there this year and work hard or whether I shall drop one year and apply next year about which I am not sure that I will get a better school than this.
Hello,
I am in great dilemma of my life. I am working in Singaore in I.T company who develop mobile software. I am saving around 3000 SGD[[2500 USD]. My birth year is 1988. I did BCA. Now i am confuse that should i try for master now or i should continue working as i am doing it for last 4 years. I want to develop product to change the way people do something. can some one give me some suggestion ?
@HSB – First of all, thanks for posting my comment. It was nice to see so many varied and wonderful responses to this post. I just wanted to clarify a couple of things about my original post.
***DISCLAIMER****
When I originally posted this here, I did not realize this blog served future students that were intent on pursuing higher education in US. For those I tell you, US is a very nice place to get higher education. Also, if you want to strike rich or make a global impact, US is the land of opportunity. Yes, this is the land where the likes of Vikram Pandit, Indra Nooyi and many more have skirted success and you very well can be the next one. I didn’t mean to discourage anyone that considered US as their destination. It’s a nice place to live, you should definitely give it a try. If you are a student, embarking on your life to work and live and have fun, then read no further. If you are someone that is already living comfortably and see nothing but peaceful prosperity in forthcoming years of your life in India, then read on.
********
First of all, money is not the only thing I mentioned about in my original post. I mentioned other important things like losing touch with friends, separation from family and missing out on developments (not advancements) at your native country. I am not saying you should never emigrate, in your quest for adventure and success, just be aware that you are moving away from things that are near and dear to you.
I would like to address the $200,000 income potential. That’s what it is – a potential – no promise, nothing etched on a rock but a figure that is achievable when all things go as planned. I know a few that make that much $$$ and more, but not every Indian household in US makes USD $200,000 per year. If they did, I would not have written my original post. Even if they made $200,000 per year – there is no way anyone could save $50,000 – $80,000 per year unless they never paid mortgage or rent, never felt sick, ate only bread and black tea every day and most importantly never paid tax, social security, Medicare, health insurance, dental, vision and child day care expenses. It’s not realistically possible. If there is such a household, then I recommend they publish a book so people like me can read and benefit from their methods. Anyway, I am not talking about households that draw 6 figure incomes.
I am talking about households that have one spouse with H1B and the other with H4 – so he/ she can’t work. It’s not just a financial inconvenience, but more of a psychological frustration and self-esteem issue for the non-working spouse that once used to be a productive and successful worker, admired by colleagues and rode high on professional pride and sense of achievement who now has to stay at home with their most productive years ahead of them withering away while waiting for the ever elusive Green card to arrive at their doorstep.
I am talking about a household where the sole breadwinner lost his job and unable to find another suitable job, missed his payments, lost his home and started working multiple same day jobs at Wal-Mart, Grocery store and Car Sales Lot just to be able to put food on table for his family. And a personal tragedy befell on him that was indirectly related to his financial woes.
I am talking about a husband that left his wives and kids back in India and he saved all his hard earned money while living in a shared accommodation for months and years, begging his roommates to give him a ride to the doctor whenever he fell sick and to the grocery store for food. He fought the freezing rain, blowing snow waiting for the bus ride back and forth to work so to be able to save enough money while sorting out financial, legal and immigration issues back home in India before he could bring his family to the “Promised Land”. The separation and anxiety that this family went through took a big toll on him and his family. When his family came here eventually, they left within 3 months because they could not adjust to this new country.
In all the three household types mentioned above, all of them were well educated, earned well and spent responsibly. They had to make hard decisions, sacrifices, undergo mental, emotional and physical discomfort and they achieved what? In the end they were not better off than when they started in their home country. Sometimes things don’t go as planned and when you are starting your life in a foreign country there are too many variable and it becomes more complicated. So, the moral of the story is “If things are going good for you wherever you are, let it stay that way. Enjoy it. STAY THERE!! DON’T COME TO US”
“You say this is not me. I have planned my life perfectly and there will no surprise. I will live an absolutely fabulous life.”, then I say Good luck to you!
@chandru, yeah thats all really sad. But this is painting too sad a picture. I dont know the family involved, but this all could happen in our own country too. People do get laid off jobs and have to manage finances on the edge, here in india too. These example, don’t really elucidate how moving to america turned as a bad decision. Same thing could happen be just moving between different cities, like people often do in india.
Come to US for short duration (couple of years)…Even if you are successful in Education and career. You can’t count every thing with money you are earning at single point. 60k rupees/month looks big at some point of time and even 600K rupees/month may become small with in year.
Coming to US and establishing your life in this socity is life changing event. This is called experience. You can’t understand it unless you experience it irrespective of countless discussions.
Ive read a lot of the comments on this post and Ive found some common running themes amongst the comments that in essence, hold views opposite to those posted by the blogger. Summarized, they are:
1. In India the only jobs that engineers graduating from any branch get, are in the IT industry.
2.Salaries in the US are a lot higher and a person can earn much more money in a lot less time than he/she can in India.
3.India is not a developed country and because of reservations, non-encouraging business atmosphere and society, nobody who is talented, skilled and passionate can fully really realize their potential.
Well, let me tell you, all these are conventional, pre-conceived and fast becoming obsolete notions which are essentially false. They probably applied to India, 20 years ago before globalization, but trust me, they apply no more. Let me tackle each issue one by one.
First, who told you that in India that you can get opportunities only in the IT industry? That there are no core engineering industries?Do you know that in Bangalore(so called IT hub) there are tons of semiconductor(VLSI) companies? Along with San Jose and South East Asia, Bangalore also is a global semiconductor hub, and all global players including TI, Intel have IC design work done by engineers here? I chose this industry as an example because I am an Electronics engineer, who is a part of this industry and I got into this industry and I do core semiconductor work without getting a MS from US or for that matter anywhere abroad or India. (Infact I have no masters degree but I did a dedicated IC design course in Bangalore). I DONOT do IT work or for that matter any kind of outsourced work. And I am no exception. There are many people like me who work in core companies all over India and I can vouch for the fact that a majority of them donot have fancy MS degrees from universities abroad. This perception about India being just about IT or BPOs is a perception spread by mainstream media and certain American sitcoms, TV shows and movies . There are core opportunities in India too. Of course, the number of openings in core is not as much as IT, but so is the case in America. Its a globalized world. Which means that if some rule about some industry applies in America so does it in India. Core jobs are always niche and finding a core job is harder all over the world as compared to finding an IT services job.
Next about salaries in India. India and America are economically disparate nations. So when a currency conversion rate is as high as 50 rupees to a dollar, you cant just multiply the salary people get in the US by 50 and compare them to Indian salaries and tell that the American guy or his standard of living is far better. Its not that simple. If a guy makes $5000 which is Rs.2,50,000, a month, even his expenses will be in the tune of lakhs. Tax rates, cost of living, apartment rents, insurance premiums are all insanely high in the US as compared to India. Simply put, the real buying power might of the US dollar is seen when it is spent in countries which have much lesser currency values than the US dollar(Like India).So, I agree a person is far richer if he/she earns in dollars and spends in rupees. But if they earn in dollars and spend in dollars?Well, not so much.
Lastly, about the unending bashing India gets (ironically by Indians) about it not being developed as much as the US and the Indian business environment not being encouraging for a start up. First of all when we say that India is not as rich as the US, implicitly, we are comparing the Indian and the US GOVERMENTS, not the people. We are talking about the limitations of the Indian PUBLIC sector as compared to the American one. Yes, the Indian government and its public sector suck big time. In the 64 years of Indian independence, the Indian government has done absolutely nothing for India or its people. If anything, it indeed has impeded development by sticking to a useless reservation system, which has led to a loss of talented Indians to other countries(Read US).But, if on a global scale India has some sort of standing today, its because of the private sector. Yes, the private sector even today consists mainly of IT service companies and foreign MNC’s, but it is in our hand, this generations hand, to set up Indian PRODUCT companies. How many people in this forum who complain about India not having any start ups or quote Mark Zuckerberg as an example, have the chops to stay in India, not runaway to America and start their own companies? You can if you have the will. If any, this is the best time to improve India’s private sector. Dont depend on the Indian government, it will suck for eternity. But you dont need the government to start your own companies. How many companies in the silicon valley in America depended on the American government to help them? They had the passion and the zeal to think original and indigenous and they set up the silicon valley. Do draw an American parallel, do you think the American government or its social environment helped Steve Jobs to set up Apple in the 70s? Banks refused him loans because they didnt know what a computer was! If a bunch of Americans could overcome their government’s or their societies inflexibility, to set up the silicon valley, Indians can too. Basically, the opposition to new ideas and new thinking is there everywhere. Not only in India. Previous generations of our country decided to either whine about it or move to the US. We can do the same or be different.
I want to go to US this year to study there but I really don’t know what to do,after I read all these messages I kind of change my mind because many people have told me for the difficult life there.My question is ; If I study computer science can I make money in US or not
If you study in the US, you will have about 29 months on OPT (I said about because you can get a few more months as cap gap). As long as you can land a good job (good means fulltime with a direct employer, not a desi consultant) you will have a great career and life.
Don’t go H1 with a desi consulting during your OPT, go H1 only with a real company even if its a 5 people startup.
Well whether getting a job or not will depend on ur grade, Reputed university & d kind of research u have done during ur course cozz in US education system Grades are alloted with kind of research work u belong to,,,Americans dont want us to grab dere job so u hav to prove them that ur unique. It will happen only through strong dedication and hard work towrdz the subjects,,,If u belong to Reputed univ dat with excellent grads definitly opportunity will knock ur door.
Regards
Akhil
Well the fact is Indian Education system don’t have much excellence in core field,,, yea as quoted earlier IITs offer good research work during ur courses but if the student want to continue d research work(Job in research related area) he/she don’t get the same platform as provided by US univ,, I have read that 70 to 80% students in IIT opt for MBA juzz becozz of lack of opportunity in( Electricl, Mech, Civil area),,
If not MBA in their final year studentz would b preparing Aptitude test from RS agarvl juzz to crack INfy, Axenger &&& few IT cmpanies round juz to get a JOB,,,,,, so if any student has got interest in any core related field nd wish to pursue a carrer i it then US is the best option to grab it cozz the kind of exposure provided over here is much better than IIT,,, specially for those who cnt make in IIT juzz cozz of being from OPEN category
Take a example of Facebook owner Mark Zukerberg,, he got an idea nd he did it juzz becozz of suport from USA… Franklyy their are many genious in INDIA who r simply ignoring their talent and Skill juzz coz of lack of exposure……..
As quoted earlier dat “if you have money Sucessful career then ,dnt come US” instead it shuld b ” If you think that i want to do something special in my carrer wnt to become a entrepreneur in my field then USA is the best place”
Thankyou
Akhil
hi can u suggest me which are the best universities in us to do ms???
awesome
excellent and absolutely true
it also depends on individuals’ idea how he or she perceives their life,struggle is every where and you wont get anything just sitting,you will have to make efforts either in india or any where else
well said & true facts about life in USA. Well described also. Looks like Author has taken a lot of time & care to personally put his experience.
It depends…When u live here, you want to live your life like USA and when you go abroad, You will miss your social circle.So it depends on person to person what he wants. That’s my opinion.
India is growing… Just re-think about it.
Everyone of you seeing the corruption. In fact, this corruption does not exists at the high level, it exists at each and every level. In fact in IT companies too. After certain experience (after 10 years or so) in IT, your pay will increase but after that 90% of the time people will be busy in IT corporate politics not with the actual work. We are faking our self stating that we are economically grown. But is this the fact. People who are drawing more than 5Lakh/10Lakhs/15Lakhs salary also struggling for survival.
Even the IT employees (RICH CATS In India) drawing hefty salaries and paying hefty taxes to government today, if they lost their job suddenly there is no social security for them even we are the born citizens of India.
On top of all, “Dignity of Labor”. Even anyone ready to work any thing they can not do in India as society will label based on your job.
Yes there are hell lot of issues in US. In fact if a US citizen enters into India he will also face lot of problems as he is an alien here.
People relationships in India becoming plastic day by day. Everything linked to money.
Ofcourse this is all because of the people who are becoming selfish day by day.
Fact is fact, getting a job in US is tough along with the H1B for the folks in India. But I don’t know how the stress level in US for the job holders. But in India after 10 years of experience, if you don’t know politics (or at least knowing the tips to escape from others politics), you are out of the game irrespective of what technical skills you are holding.
COST of living in INDIA increased a lot. There is no formal govt. support if any thing goes wrong for an individual who was paying lakhs of income tax. Created a very high demand on the REAL ESTATE which further increased the COST OF LIVING. People who are having hefty financial background (from parents) can make a better life. Otherwise, every one has to count their rupees to clear of all the debts at the end of the month.
People don’t have time and interest to be part with “Anna Hazare”, to come out of this situation. But people have enough time & interest to spend complete time in front of the TV when IPL matches are happening. Then how India can come out of these BAD elements?
There is nothing wrong with USA work style. You will have at-least some social support. Ofcourse, when you go with H1B status, we need to be prepared for the pains as we are aliens.
Well said dude..:)
very true.
Like..!
Hello HSB,
I see from the above posts that success of a person is defined by the salary that he gets. But, my simple question is why is that so? I have been in US only for 8 months now as a student. As a student my salary is meager, but the learning process over the months is incredible, both in conventional class rooms and by interacting with people of various cultures. I am pretty sure this is an asset and this should define my success.
Although, the article is well written, sometimes I think it is the frustration of getting away from the protective cocoon that we have in India, is shown here.
Thanks,
Rashmi.
He talked about ‘people who are already successful’ should not come to US… and for those who want to reach that high-stage, US is a good platform..
You are a student.. you are developing your career there…
I don’t want go deep in to the discussion .Personally I feel living in US gives you a upper hand over your college mates that lead their life in India . We can lead a far better life if you lead a Indian life in America . I know a relative of mine who bought a bed worth 9000$ with his credit which I think is reckless spending .But at last it depends on a persons priorities.
He said the same thing…
the definition of success is different for every person. If a salary of 10 lakhs per annum is being successful for anybody then its better he should stay in India. If he needs more than that then going to USA is the best option.
Yes, its debatable. However, let’s ask the question: What level of education are u referring to? BA or BSc or M.Sc and what defines success? In USA, I have seen people push back the borders of success and then redefined success entirely. If u are a risk taker (remember, everything in life is risk!) and want to strive beyond ur comfort zone, then come over to the USA. But if ur are just warm blooded and love where u are and how it is over there, then remain where u are. Good article all the same
I some how feel that the writer has devoid of experience of Indian IT industry! Some one has commented that in USA u can save 25 lacks-40lacks per year in USA . In India perhaps when u are about to retire ur salary might reach to 25 lacks if u are extreamely talented + great politician (there are exception ) .forget about savings (by the time u starts getting 25 lacks per year the inflation will make you have same amount of saving what u used to do when u had 5 lacks sal and u were single) , after 10 years of experience also u will have to struggle to get an onsite, only if you get onsite then u would be able to save some money.That is the real picture . I am in Bangalore and working for IT . I personally know people who had been in the USA for 2 ,3 years and now in India ..they cry the most .I am not going in depth , otherwise people would be demotivated to work in Indian IT .
I have been in the US for quite sometime.
I am not trying to pick on anyone, but I have this feeling that we sometimes don’t compare apples to apples.
The guys who have to go through all the immigration pain are generally employees of so called desi consultancies. I know there are a few good ones but generally most desi consultants are primarily commission agents; nothing less, nothing more.
If you have a direct fulltime employment in USA, the life is easy and nice. Immigration in those cases is generally just a paper formality (Yes, I agree that there are emotional and family things that you can’t get in the US). Most of the times, the fulltime employments are stable and even in the cases of layoffs, most of the times they give you sufficient time to find a job.
I have been seriously thinking why do we have so many Indians working for these body shopping companies instead of finding a fulltime employment which will make everything much more easier. Possible reasons could be:
1. Body shop has filed their PERM and they don’t want to lose the PERM
2. They have contracts that they can’t work for the clients or can’t leave the consulting companies. I know of many engineers whose employers have held back a lot of their money and they make it very difficult for them to move ON.
3. Perception of the skill set of employees employed by consulting companies. Not all, but I know there are people who don’t think very high of engineers from consulting companies.
In a nutshell, I think that it’s actually Indians who are hurting other Indians the most in US and for that matter in any and every country.
it is difficult to get full time employment by american companies. they are reluctant to file H-1B for you. every year 100 000 indian students pass out in US universities-just see how many H-1B applications have been filed? even those filed, how many are of indian students who passed masters/Phd last year??? things are so bad that I saw a friend who has extended his Ph.D. for 7th year in engineering and he is working illegally in a gas station. even after H-1B visa, people are scared to visit india as visa stamping may be rejected.
The above post is 200% valid. Good job Chandru. If you are very successful in India, it is not worth to settle in US, both financially and personally. Of course I live in US, so I can understand the real intent. Unless you get $8000 to $10000 per month in US, it is not worth to leave a successful life in India and come here.
Entry level jobs salary after completing MS will not be 80,000 unless you have job in Facebook and few other companies. Salary is something that will increase over time with experience.
I know that. That’s why I am saying its not worth to come here leaving a very successful career in India.
Dear HSB, Tax is very high. people in India just multiply every dollar by 50 but they dont think that there will be federal tax, state tax, social security, medicare, medical insurance, car insurance etc. I give you one example- I had a friend who came to USA on a monthly assistantship of 1200 dollars. He told his friends in India that how will he spend 60000 rupees per month-2000 rupees every day. but after coming here, he realised he has to pay in state tuition/fees 3500 dollars per semester plus he need to buy a car for his research station as there is no public transport and he is literally struggling financially while sharing 2 bedroom house with 6 people. He repents his decision because he left his permanent job as a bank officer in nationalised bank which he got thru campus interview.
That’s part of student life and that’s how American students struggle too. They can get to work in any kind of jobs . Remember you said you have enough money to pay for your education to get i20 and visa. One should be prepared for worst case.
Expecting life will be walk in the park is totally wrong.
Manoj – Seeing you comment after long time. What are you upto?
Ya dude. I got little busy with work, thats y, but I have been following your blog daily. I will be joining MS this fall (2012).
Extremely interesting! The US will not provide riches for everyone, yet for some the experience may be worthwhile. Very few actually improve their socio-economic status, even if they are born in the US. US universities may provide options not available in India, but to my understanding there are excellent universities in India as well. We are glad you posted your opinion!!!
Excellent universities in India, yea, right.
Look around and you will see that the only thing that people understand as good/reputed/prestigious qualification from India is IIT.
Yes, I know that US recognizes almost every university in India and they accept the degrees as equivalent of US degrees but the same is not the case for employers. For most employers you have either “studied at IIT India” or you have “studied in India”
That my friend, is damn true.
@ HSB Why don’t you come back to India? and most importantly I want to go to the US for quality education not for money. There are plenty of shortcut techniques in India by which you can get rich rather than slogging in the US. Actually everything depends on ones’ attitude towards life. If you only have a profit and loss statement in your life things can work out any where in the world.
I second you !
@ HSB you are counting on money while you are talking about success in life. Irrespective of the class you belong if you find solace in only counting your money and not sanguine about the betterment of your life, any MNC or PSUs are better. I have read many blogs with the same underlined thought that please go for MS or Phd only if you are driven more by your passion than money.
For you drive and what you achieve in your career is important. For me I don’t want to just one one person who lived on earth, I want to create impact in others life along with making money.
We both are different have different priorities. Simple answer.
@ sohams – If money is not important, then why are universities in USA charging tuition / fees in thousands of dollars? why dont they have the passion what you are talking about? some people are happy just to be in USA-however unsuccessful they may be.
@munna we are debating about what drives people to study in US whether its money or passion and not how much money they r charged.
And of course one should feel happy staying in US if he/she feels that US is a better place than his own country, there is no dispute in that.
In my opinion immigration should not be mentioned or given importance at all on this website.The sole purpose of promoting US education here is to provide students with information and an unbiased view about the pros and cons of “Education in US”. In the above article it has been mentioned that people who go for MS miss out on the developing India but this scenario will exist only when one is staying back and working in US which i believe is at too long a distance to be thought about. We as student have been competing in this race to best education since childhood and most of us have been denied of this opportunity and the reason is lack of proper education system and population. Due to this most of the students who aspire to earn there living from the field which they love have to look towards US as they have the most number of Top universities.
I don’t really understand what this fuss is all about. It is ethically, morally and in every other positively possible way wrong to go to study in any other country with the intention of settling there. I guess this blog is all about helping students to pursue their dreams of higher education in USA by building their awareness….billions of people take billions of decisions. Build awareness by comparing and contrasting the quality of education, teaching methodologies, curriculum, prerequisite courses. There’s a hell lot of information that students would benefit from other than reasoning if its good to spend $6000 on a credit card or what defines a middle class family.
Hello HSB,
I completely agree with your view point. And i found your reasoning valid . It all depends on individual habits of management .
Simplest explanation:
If you are going to live a life with 100% white money (incoming and outgoing), move to US.
Otherwise, if you have a lot of black money stay in India.
Deciding to come to US has got nothing to do with education/success in life. Its about being ready to slog and stand on your own legs.
Why slog if khaandaan/parents has hordes of cash at home?
there is a sayingt i have heard: every one in US is middle class some are upper middle class and some are lower middle class and the living standard of a middle class of US is completely different from India in almost all terms.
Bill and saving: they are completely dependable on individuals. People can save to run their household for more than 6 months in US too.
For Job scenario, i agree its difficult to get a job in US rather than India but if you have the skills and the determination, i don’t think any type of recession is going to affect you at all.
I feel like, when we talk about Indian students in US most of the times we focus on IT as it has the dominant hand. But there is good number of other students to whom the above said factors apply completely. It’s definitely a debatable context and completely varies with individual cases. .
yes people often just say-so and so is getting 60 K – 70 K salary but noone talks about salary of postdoc in biology or job opportunities after doing MS in chemistry. The truth is that lot of indian students got jobs thru desi consultancy and after 2007-2008 recession, USA is strict in granting H-1B to such students. and there is a very long wait for H-1B to green card. so is it worth risk? for some people it is- for some its not. I pity those people who come to USA taking loans etc.