Saturday, September 20, 2008
Some Recent Questions
Sorry guys I got some questions recently and could not post the answers immediately. Also a lot of your questions were buried deep inside the posts. I am starting this new post to give some visibility to the your questions.
Question 1) Posted by Esha Gupta on September 20th, 2008
hi,
i 've got an opportunity to study in the University of Florida for the last semester of my computer science engineering.I will be going as the University i am studying in right now has a tie up with the University Of Florida and they allow students to study there for their last semester with a certain extra fee.The irony is that they do not provide any sought of scholarships for students and one has to entirely go in his\her behalf. As the fee is a little high and not easily affordable i will be taking a student loan and then pursuing my studies in Florida......now there is a lil' confusion in my mind regarding wherether i shd accept dis offer or nt as I've no clue abt the future prospects in terms of job opportunities for a b-tech student. If i m a lil' sure of the fact tht i'll get a decent job out there just being a plain b-tech i might den ponder over dis offer again.Though i have to go for higher studies later on and do my mba but mba from U.S. will cost me abt $10000 which is again nt affordable!! So i plan to do my 8th sem from Florida ,do a job,repay my loan and come back to India.this will surely giv me an edge over the others,exposure,work experience and a new kind of environment with people pouring in from all parts of the world. This is my tentative plan.....bt i just wan't to get a clear picture of the current scenario out there, for job prospects for engineers with an average score in b. tech and the approximate starting salaries one gets per annum.The dates are almost over so will have to take a decision soon.
also i'll be getting an f1 visa so will i be allowed to work on an f1 and what are the job prospects for an average student doing b.tech from an average university --jaypee university of information and technology
sir,i m in real trouble with this decision plizzz help me out.
eagerly waiting for ur reply.
Answer 1)
Hi Esha, you have asked quite a few questions in your one post. Let me try and answer those one by one.
(a) Regarding coming to Florida and getting some exposure, I agree with you it is a great idea. Since I came to the US I have learnt a lot and come to appreciate many different things. The exposure especially when you start working here is amazing especially in the high tech sector and places like the Silicon Valley.
(b) Regarding taking student loans and working to pay them off is a very good question. I am not sure how closely you follow US news but there is quite a crisis going on in the financial markets here. If you are planning to secure a loan in the US it will be very hard and on top of that you will need a US citizen to guarantee your loan. If you are planning to get a loan in India for your studies in the US and then come here it will be a lot easier.
(c) In terms of working while on F1 visa (student visa) that is quite tricky. You as a student in any US university are allowed to work only 20 hours a week. Additionally you can work only on the campus. If there are large number of Indian/Chinese students in the University finding those jobs can be hard as well because everyone is trying to offset their expenses. Also keep in mind the money that you will earn while studying will generally go towards paying for your food, books and lodging. There is no way you will be able to pay off you loan by working part time on the campus in one semester. However if you can totally afford the loan and not worry about it, then the venture is worth considering
(d) The job market in the US is pretty bad right now and lots of people are losing jobs even though there is a requirement for engineers the macro economic conditions are not very conducive. My suggestion to you is to complete your bachelors in India and give it your best shot. Find a job there, work for a couple of years and then plan to come to US for your master whether it is an MBA or MS. One thing you do need to keep in mind is that H1 visas are limited every year and for the last couple of years all visa numbers are used up the very first day of those becoming available. That can cause issues as you have only 1 year to get an H1 visa if you want to continue working in the US after your masters.
(e) Finally regarding salaries for an engineer in the US - it is a very wide range and depends on your specialization, university, GPA etc. I would say you could expect a salary in the range of $45K-$60K per annum. The hard part is finding an employer ready to sponsor your work visa and then H1 visas being actually available.
I hope I have answered all your questions. Good luck.
Question 1) Posted by Esha Gupta on September 20th, 2008
hi,
i 've got an opportunity to study in the University of Florida for the last semester of my computer science engineering.I will be going as the University i am studying in right now has a tie up with the University Of Florida and they allow students to study there for their last semester with a certain extra fee.The irony is that they do not provide any sought of scholarships for students and one has to entirely go in his\her behalf. As the fee is a little high and not easily affordable i will be taking a student loan and then pursuing my studies in Florida......now there is a lil' confusion in my mind regarding wherether i shd accept dis offer or nt as I've no clue abt the future prospects in terms of job opportunities for a b-tech student. If i m a lil' sure of the fact tht i'll get a decent job out there just being a plain b-tech i might den ponder over dis offer again.Though i have to go for higher studies later on and do my mba but mba from U.S. will cost me abt $10000 which is again nt affordable!! So i plan to do my 8th sem from Florida ,do a job,repay my loan and come back to India.this will surely giv me an edge over the others,exposure,work experience and a new kind of environment with people pouring in from all parts of the world. This is my tentative plan.....bt i just wan't to get a clear picture of the current scenario out there, for job prospects for engineers with an average score in b. tech and the approximate starting salaries one gets per annum.The dates are almost over so will have to take a decision soon.
also i'll be getting an f1 visa so will i be allowed to work on an f1 and what are the job prospects for an average student doing b.tech from an average university --jaypee university of information and technology
sir,i m in real trouble with this decision plizzz help me out.
eagerly waiting for ur reply.
Answer 1)
Hi Esha, you have asked quite a few questions in your one post. Let me try and answer those one by one.
(a) Regarding coming to Florida and getting some exposure, I agree with you it is a great idea. Since I came to the US I have learnt a lot and come to appreciate many different things. The exposure especially when you start working here is amazing especially in the high tech sector and places like the Silicon Valley.
(b) Regarding taking student loans and working to pay them off is a very good question. I am not sure how closely you follow US news but there is quite a crisis going on in the financial markets here. If you are planning to secure a loan in the US it will be very hard and on top of that you will need a US citizen to guarantee your loan. If you are planning to get a loan in India for your studies in the US and then come here it will be a lot easier.
(c) In terms of working while on F1 visa (student visa) that is quite tricky. You as a student in any US university are allowed to work only 20 hours a week. Additionally you can work only on the campus. If there are large number of Indian/Chinese students in the University finding those jobs can be hard as well because everyone is trying to offset their expenses. Also keep in mind the money that you will earn while studying will generally go towards paying for your food, books and lodging. There is no way you will be able to pay off you loan by working part time on the campus in one semester. However if you can totally afford the loan and not worry about it, then the venture is worth considering
(d) The job market in the US is pretty bad right now and lots of people are losing jobs even though there is a requirement for engineers the macro economic conditions are not very conducive. My suggestion to you is to complete your bachelors in India and give it your best shot. Find a job there, work for a couple of years and then plan to come to US for your master whether it is an MBA or MS. One thing you do need to keep in mind is that H1 visas are limited every year and for the last couple of years all visa numbers are used up the very first day of those becoming available. That can cause issues as you have only 1 year to get an H1 visa if you want to continue working in the US after your masters.
(e) Finally regarding salaries for an engineer in the US - it is a very wide range and depends on your specialization, university, GPA etc. I would say you could expect a salary in the range of $45K-$60K per annum. The hard part is finding an employer ready to sponsor your work visa and then H1 visas being actually available.
I hope I have answered all your questions. Good luck.
