Market condition for IITians in the US

Hello Junta,

I wanted to write this email for quite sometime. But kept putting it off but finally decided to just sit down and get it done over with. This email will be a honest review of the present economic conditions and job opportunities in USA for Indian students (read IITians) I will fully touch upon the present life of Indians in general and IITians in particular in USA. A lot of the treatment will NOT be my opinion but based on my numerous IIT and non-IIT friends in USA who have been here ranging from the last five to just a year.

IT/Software is down and out in USA. Unless you are a CS/Information System grad, you can never hope to "even compete in applying" for a software job. Your resume will simply not be accepted. I attended the career fairs here and the software situation is bleak. Just yesterday one of my seniors from IIT was given the pink slip. There is a glut in the software/systems market now. There are more professionals than jobs. And no new radical technology is foreseen for the next few months at least which can shore up demand for workers (I am saying that there is nothing radically new like Java, etc which can generate demand requiring a new skill set)

Next, because of the recent terrorist attacks, there is a marked animosity towards foreigners in general. Employers are reluctant to recruit or even take foreigners for practical training. For example, I met the recruiters of Booz-Allen and Hamilton and IBM today and they confessed that they would double check before recruiting international students. Quite a few of my friends from Texas, Austin and other places are contemplating returning home to India because of the job crunch. Many of them are finishing their Masters by December or have already finished it. They are just hanging around till the term of their student visa expires. IITians in USA are now so desperate for jobs that they are even applying for GE, Bangalore and other Indian companies like Infosys.

The situation in traditional engineering is also no good. Nobody respects just a Masters anymore (Note: I have talked in detail about this to many people all over USA here and these are NOT just my observations) Unless you are a PhD (doesn't matter which univ, you just need a doctorate) technical jobs will be hard to come by. If you have a PhD, employers would take you but then getting a PhD in life is a BIG decision and a commitment for minimum four years (I have seen guys literally cursing their PhD advisors here.) Take my word. Doing a PhD changes you as a person. Also, since a PhD is a long time frame, lots of changes in economy will take place by then. Nobody can predict what can happen a year down the line. But it seems clear that WORK IS MOVING OUT OF USA. Especially in software where they are outsourcing all the work to developing countries. This was evident from a series of editorials about the economic condition in USA newspapers. Even technical work like engineering design, simulation etc (all those work where the end product can be transmitted in bits across the net)

Not only that. Any cheap good which you come across in USA, from scissors to watches to shoes to microwave etc., every such item is manufactured in china. You will see Made in China labels in almost all common products. I went to buy a pillow in the supermarket. It said "Made in India; Packaged proudly in New Jersey, USA" I felt like banging my head in desperation.

You will hardly come across a cheap product which is actually made in USA. What I am trying to say is that the manufacturing base in USA is dwindling very fast. The rate has increased further in the last few years. SO if you are trying for a job here, your work should be that of a cerebral professional, who is given a job based on his knowledge, technical acumen and not based on the market condition. What I say is that you should get a job because you are well qualified and you will be an asset to the company in the long term, not because the company has a need for skills in the short term and they want to fill it up as soon as possible. All such jobs are cut when the going gets tough, as it has happened now. The software industry is a prime example. Note the difference between the words "knowledge" and "skill". Knowing 'fracture analysis' is knowledge but being conversant with Database Administration in SQL is just a skill. Most Indian students in USA live a desperate life (new comers to USA will contest this statement of mine, but leave them aside, they are yet to gain experience !)

There are two categories of IITians in USA. 1) The "Muggu" kind, who is intent on doing his PhD and research, cares a damn about jobs and is finally looking at a teaching position in an university. He is introvert and keeps to himself 2) The second one is the freaku kind, who does just enough work to please his guide, is actively looking around for a job (and does not get any in this present situation) Having squandered his paycheck in buying a car and travel trips within USA, this is a panchi who realizes that he is sticking to his Univ because he does not have any choice in life.

The harsh reality is that non-IITian desis are much more clueless than IITians. At least IITians have the confidence to talk and walk their way through while non-IITians are a confused lot. Let me tell you. The exposure which we got in IIT is a lesson for us all for life. It makes a difference. Many non-IITians who came in here during the peak boom of student visas to USA from India are now holed up in sidey research work, are being laid off or just barely managing to make their end meet by enrolling again in the Univ mostly by extending their thesis work.

The future promises to be VERY difficult, at least for the next one full year. Despite all talk of economic recovery, the stock market is going down everyday. Even if the recovery starts tomorrow, it will be many months before the situation is felt in the recruiting process. With war seemingly imminent in the near future, all money is being channelised into war efforts. This country has surely gone into recession, a period of negative economic growth. Contrary to popular beliefs, college is not a safe haven to be in this economic condition. Unless you are well entrenched with an assured assistantship, things are difficult. Many Americans who are laid off are coming back to college. Eg. I am teaching a 50 year old man Advanced Heat Transfer in my lectures. I see working professionals coming back to college. In one of the courses I attend, half the men are bald.

Also, the student community has been invaded by Chinese. We Indians have built up a bad reputation for NOT doing our PhDs in spite of promising the professors that we would when we join. But the Chinese work hard and a majority of them go on to complete their PhDs even if it takes 5 or more years. I was talking to a Chinese who did his PhD for 6 long years and then joined here as a post-doc. Most Indians don't have that kind of commitment to research.

In short, all that I am trying to say is this.

Take a deep look at your life. Ask yourself whether you really want to spend the next 2 to 5 years of your life in an university with little or no freedom (I will write in detail about this freedom aspect later) Ask yourself whether you want to do an MS/PhD because you are interested in research or because you want to come to USA ? And then decide whether to app and come to USA. Mind you, life in USA sucks. Contrary to what people would say from here, take my word. It sucks big-time.

Material comforts in life doesn't make one happy. I would infinitely prefer having coffee any day with Mipa, Sastry, DC and all of you sitting in IIT coffee shop rather than sipping star bucks here with shallow surface talk with highly individualistic guys here.

One big thing I found in USA is that hardly have IITians made any new long lasting friendships here even after staying many years. Most of the still existing friendships are those which have been made long back at IIT or India. People here prize privacy, individualism ...yada..yada...It is difficult to expect other people to help you. Everything happens here in a clinical professional way. In short, it sucks