Obtaining a US education is a prized experience for students all over the world, which is why the US has the largest cohort of international students in the world.
While there are numerous advantages to obtaining an education in the United States, it is also well-known for being among the most expensive in the world. According to a new Interstride survey headlined “Is studying in the US worth it?” foreign students are finding it difficult to justify their pricey education owing to a lack of work opportunities in the US after graduation.
According to the report, there is a distinct “value gap” between students’ pleasure with their academic experience and their prospects for future work.
“We have international students who value the US study abroad experience, drawn to the country by the stellar reputation of US colleges and universities,” wrote Anna Esaki-Smith of Education Rethink, who was commissioned to conduct the study. “But what we offer in terms of tangible value to students through the lens of career outcomes is not as clear to these students.”
In a study of 1,087 students from 100 countries, 84% stated they would recommend their classmates back home to pursue a US degree. Only 49% thought that the return on investment of an American degree was worthwhile.
Working in the United States was a “priority” for these students, according to Esaki-Smith, and 41% expressed interest in working in the United States for several years after graduation before returning home or relocating elsewhere.
Furthermore, a startling 71 per cent of respondents stated they would stay in the US to work if post-graduation employment opportunities were better. The survey also looked at the importance of career centres in universities and colleges and discovered that while 53 per cent of students found them useful, they were actually underutilised, with fewer than a quarter of them crediting career centres with helping them achieve their career goals.
Although the global ranking and reputation of US universities is the primary reason why foreign students are drawn to study in the country, Esaki-report Smith’s found that nearly half of the respondents did not completely grasp the American job market, leaving them woefully underprepared for the intense competition that lay ahead, made all the more difficult by visa regulations.
International graduates can currently stay and work in the United States through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, which is a temporary job arrangement directly related to one’s field of study at university. The OPT can last up to 12 months, however, graduates of specific STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses can seek a 24-month extension.
Following the conclusion of their OPT period, international graduates can continue to work in the US under the H-1B visa, but there is a catch: the application must be completed by an employer. The H-1B visa is frequently the first step toward acquiring a green card; yet, without sufficient network ties, the pathway is unattainable to many international graduates who have a strong desire to pursue their careers in the United States.
“No matter how broad OPT gets, the enormous hurdles overseas students confront while seeking to secure employment remain substantially unchanged,” Esaki-Smith stated.
According to the report, the top two barriers cited by international students seeking employment in the United States were American employers’ reluctance to hire foreigners, as well as the students’ own reluctance to the network due to cultural understanding gaps and the pressure to assimilate for career mileage.
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