Overseas Education Post COVID (Saumya Pradhan Risk Analyst II at GM Financial , Dallas , Texas https://www.linkedin.com/in/saumyapra/ )

 

Your advice to students planning to do MS/ MBA from US or other countries.

With every risk you take, there are rewards. There will be challenges but with that there will be new experiences worth cherishing all your life. My advice to the students would be to make the most of it, not only by studying but also by taking advantage of the diverse culture that you will be exposed to. Life is all about experiences. While you will be working hard to excel in education and your career, pay equal attention to making a lot of friends from different educational and geographical backgrounds. It helps you develop a broader understanding of how the world operates.

The best country according to you for Indian students for pursuing Higher education in terms of quality of education , ROI and quality of life after MS/MBA from abroad .

While I just have experience of being in India and the US, I feel the education is best in India if you choose to study from good colleges. But there is cutthroat competition, the opportunities are limited and return on Investment is lowin India. On the contrary, if you make a little more investment, the ROI and the quality of life is good in developed countries.

Your experience and challenges in your career path so far

There have been challenges but living in the US is worth the effort. With Donald Trump trying to make America “great” again, Indian students are struggling to maintain their status and work on the student visa first and then get it converted into a work visa. When students look for jobs, they are rejected more than half of the times just based on their visa status.

I have enjoyed my time in the US. I took coming to US as a challenge and it has been a thrilling and fulfilling experience for me. I am proud of my accomplishments. I met people from various geographies. Got to know them personally and got to know how we are all the same and yet different. I have started to love my life and live it for myself and not think about the society which brings you down if you want to excel or do things differently.

 

how higher education from US has transformed you as an individual and shaped your career ,

Higher education from US has made me more confident and independent. It has given me the confidence to face and handle any challenges that life throws at me. There have been upsides as well as downside to my career after my education here.Upside being, I get paid more as compared to what I was being paid in India. I work just for 8 hours and don’t have to slog which I did when working in India. The downside to it is thateven after working for 4 years in India, I had to join at a lower level position because the firms here did not consider my experience in India.

what's your advise from your learnings to the aspirants in India .

With your hard work, you can have a good ROI and lead a quality life in the US. Do not assume that the struggle ends after youstudy and get a job. You might have to facechallenges in order to maintain your work status in the US. If you are willing to take that chance and want to have a learning experience abroad, it is totally worth it. Do not be under the impression that after completing 2 years ofeducation, you will have sorted life. The struggle of being a non – immigrant in the US continues till you get your Green card if you are planning to be in the US for a long term.

 

What's the future of higher education from Abroad now and after COVID-19 Crisis is over .

A lot of it depends on who is elected in the presidential elections and what is their policy for students in the US. Students had a lot of uncertainty due to Covid & classes going online. Trump administration made it even harder when they said international students will not be able to enter back or will be deported if their college is online only to try to force colleges to open in person to give optics of all is well. This has impacted lots of students from India. Trump administration walked back that threat when several Ivys threatened to sue them. Given that Trump administration is making the rules for H1B more stringent, it will be more difficult for the students to get work visa. On the other hand, if democrats win the elections, it is very likely that they will make policies in favor of foreign students in the US.