Realistic Chances for foreigners

[jerrykantrell]

Hi All,

I was wondering: How easy is it to get a job once you are done with your MBA from that 'top school' ?
I have heard that it is tough for foreigners to get placed there in the US. Could someone who has better information on this, say whether this is true or not ?
As we all agree that spending loads of Cash\Time and passing out of that dream school is of no use if you can't get employed after completing your course.
I am Indian and fear that what I've heard may turn out to be true and dampen my hopes of an MBA from the US or elsewhere.

Could some kind soul enlighten us on this ?

Thanks in advance to all.

JK

[beatthegmat]

Hi All,

I was wondering: How easy is it to get a job once you are done with your MBA from that 'top school' ?
I have heard that it is tough for foreigners to get placed there in the US. Could someone who has better information on this, say whether this is true or not ?
As we all agree that spending loads of Cash\Time and passing out of that dream school is of no use if you can't get employed after completing your course.
I am Indian and fear that what I've heard may turn out to be true and dampen my hopes of an MBA from the US or elsewhere.

Could some kind soul enlighten us on this ?

Thanks in advance to all.

JK

I'm definitely not an authority on this subject, but I do have a lot of international friends working in the US. All I can say is that it seems pretty hard to get a job in the US as a foreigner. You have to get a company to sponsor you to get an H-1 work visa.

I work at a large silicon valley company, and I know my company's policy is that they will not sponsor you unless you are an engineer.

I'd definitely be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this though...

[jerrykantrell]

Hi Eric,

As always I see a reply from you!

I am an engineer albeit a mechanical engineer , so that is something out of the way, what I would like to ask is, would it make a difference(read easier) if you graduate from a higher ranked school(top 10) as opposed to say: something like (10-20) ? Or are the odds unchanged due to the fact that you not a citizen of the US ?

Thanks

[beatthegmat]

Hi Eric,

As always I see a reply from you!

I am an engineer albeit a mechanical engineer , so that is something out of the way, what I would like to ask is, would it make a difference(read easier) if you graduate from a higher ranked school(top 10) as opposed to say: something like (10-20) ? Or are the odds unchanged due to the fact that you not a citizen of the US ?

Thanks

Haha--mechanical engineers are always in high demand.

I don't know whether it makes too much of a difference where you went to school. Finding a job is such a individual process, and it depends on your skills, experience, and other qualifications.

That being said, it never hurts to go to the best school possible!

[aim-wsc]

I'm definitely not an authority on this subject, but I do have a lot of international friends working in the US. All I can say is that it seems pretty hard to get a job in the US as a foreigner. You have to get a company to sponsor you to get an H-1 work visa.

I work at a large silicon valley company, and I know my company's policy is that they will not sponsor you unless you are an engineer.

I'd definitely be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this though...

Eric,
The thread starter is concerned about MBA degree. Are you saying that you UG degree matters (ie engineering) even if you have PG degree as an MBA.

well here back in India Engineer-MBA's are preferred than a commerce-MBA. What's scenario there? I think (thought) the system is different their.

Dear JK,
I think it's all about how you put your efforts in getting a good job.
Obviously you are not going to get a decent pay job in, say real estate if you dont have experience in that field. If you want career shift, it might be difficult & then Big name MBAs helps. This applies to everyone. (foreigners or natives)
& I believe if you're a good candidate, & done MBA from a reputed university; I'd not mind you giving work visa. Why wouldn't I?

[jerrykantrell]

Hi Eric

Pardon my paranoia(and the male bias in my pronouns) but would I be accurate in saying this statement:

That there is no invisible 'Wall' per se which blocks any and all chances of employment there, due to the factor of citizenship. If one equips himself with the right skills, learned during the course of his study, he should not face any issues due to nationality or any such issues ?

Thanks

P.S
I can't believe you've been thanked just thrice! there must be some mistake right ?

[beatthegmat]

Hi Eric

Pardon my paranoia(and the male bias in my pronouns) but would I be accurate in saying this statement:

That there is no invisible 'Wall' per se which blocks any and all chances of employment there, due to the factor of citizenship. If one equips himself with the right skills, learned during the course of his study, he should not face any issues due to nationality or any such issues ?

Thanks

P.S
I can't believe you've been thanked just thrice! there must be some mistake right ?

I think you're correct--if you have skills that are in demand, then there should be someone here to hire you. C'mon, it's America, the Land of Opportunity!

Thanks for your thanks.

[jerrykantrell]

I'm definitely not an authority on this subject, but I do have a lot of international friends working in the US. All I can say is that it seems pretty hard to get a job in the US as a foreigner. You have to get a company to sponsor you to get an H-1 work visa.

I work at a large silicon valley company, and I know my company's policy is that they will not sponsor you unless you are an engineer.

I'd definitely be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this though...

Eric,
The thread starter is concerned about MBA degree. Are you saying that you UG degree matters (ie engineering) even if you have PG degree as an MBA.

well here back in India Engineer-MBA's are preferred than a commerce-MBA. What's scenario there? I think (thought) the system is different their.

Dear JK,
I think it's all about how you put your efforts in getting a good job.
Obviously you are not going to get a decent pay job in, say real estate if you dont have experience in that field. If you want career shift, it might be difficult & then Big name MBAs helps. This applies to everyone. (foreigners or natives)
& I believe if you're a good candidate, & done MBA from a reputed university; I'd not mind you giving work visa. Why wouldn't I?

Hi,

I spoke to a few friends doing their MBAs abroad, not necessarily the US, and they said that it was a 'fight' for foreigners to get jobs. Yes that was the exact word they used 'fight' and that has got me, well... paranoid.
So I wanted to make sure, though I intend on getting back to India after the course, I would like to work there for a while, and get back some of the money invested, so That I might repay 'em loans ASAP.

Thanks

[jerrykantrell]

Hi Eric

Pardon my paranoia(and the male bias in my pronouns) but would I be accurate in saying this statement:

That there is no invisible 'Wall' per se which blocks any and all chances of employment there, due to the factor of citizenship. If one equips himself with the right skills, learned during the course of his study, he should not face any issues due to nationality or any such issues ?

Thanks

P.S
I can't believe you've been thanked just thrice! there must be some mistake right ?

I think you're correct--if you have skills that are in demand, then there should be someone here to hire you. C'mon, it's America, the Land of Opportunity!

Thanks for your thanks.

"C'mon, it's America, the Land of Opportunity! " - Right you are sir.

Oh and Thanks for your thanks for my thanks.
We could go on forever huh ?

[beatthegmat]

Eric,
The thread starter is concerned about MBA degree. Are you saying that you UG degree matters (ie engineering) even if you have PG degree as an MBA.

well here back in India Engineer-MBA's are preferred than a commerce-MBA. What's scenario there? I think (thought) the system is different their.

I probably should be more careful about what I say because I'm making a lot of assumptions without much research/data behind them.

Let me try to frame the issue in a more simple fashion. The reason why I think it's more difficult for foreigners to get a job is that you need a company to sponsor you for an H-1 visa. It's just more paperwork for the company than hiring an American citizen.

However, that being said, it's really all about the individual when it comes to getting a job. If you have skills and can convince your employer that you could add value, you can probably find a job here.

My comments about how my company prefers engineers refers to more pre-MBA people. However, there are definitely a lot of middle-to-upper management folks (non-engineers) at my company who are foreigners with MBAs who have been hired.

[youngandrestless]

A few years back getting employers to sponsor H-1B was not all that difficult. Now, the H-1B cap for for-profit cos has created problems. you still get a 1 year work auth. based on the degree,however need a H-1B or PR card after that. The Co. may be willing to apply but the quota is only 65k and last year the USCIS did a lottery system which meant that whether you are HBS MBA or No-MBA your chances of getting H-1B depended on the lottery if you were to work for for-profit corp.

If you plan to settle in the US after that I would definitely suggest taking a stock of current legal immigration issues before you make that choice.

[jerrykantrell]

is there a 7% cap on individual countries ?
because that would be really cruel.

[smar83]

No, there is no 7% cap. If you are from Chile or Singapore then you have a small % quota to get your H1-B. If not, then there is a fight in general quota for h1. They are assuming the h-1 process to go in for lottery again.

PS: They have 20,000 additional h1's for individuals having Master's degree earned in the US. Even there seems to be a rush for it.

[jerrykantrell]

Well, then the high costs of Schools in the US may effectively be a deal breaker for many people from my country (Alas! I am Indian)
Getting back to India with a debt of 50K-80K $ will take forever to pay off.

Maybe, I could pass the debt on to my grandkids if any.

Any suggestions anyone ?



Thanks
JK

[parore26]

Hi Jerry,
I think this is a very valid concern. Your best bet is to email the admissions office asking them how current and past Indian schools at their university dealt with the debt situation. One thing to note is also that the average annual salary of students graduating from the Indian School of Business is reported to be $155,000 by Financial Times. So, while this concern of returning to India and not being able to shoulder the debt might have been significant in the past I don't think it is of relevance now.