packed glorious whole day filled with sun-and-fun, party–late, goose-bumps-and-all graduation. The MS in US books never seem to cover the day after the graduation. My plan was different, since I had already decided to return to India as soon as I was done with my Master's. However, I wanted to experience the job search process in the US and also the amazing group of friends made during the course of my Master's did not allow me to leave immediately, and so I decided that there was no harm in staying a few more months, enjoying the Chicago summer, celebrating Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha along the way, which in itself was an amazing experience. And so the journey began; my friends and I returned to reality the morning after graduation. As I stepped inside the job hunt zone, I felt like an astronaut touching down on an unknown world. I would conquer this new domain. Since I was jobless, I immediately began the "conquest". I remember editing my resume and asking myself for the first time, what if the world doesn't need engineers anymore? I could be in a crisis, already. I knew I was applying to companies whose employees were known as super-experienced and I was wondering if my education could ever measure up to theirs. Graduated only 48 hours, and already I had begun to feel intimidated. And then another fear struck me. What if the companies preferred some things which were beyond my expertise of engineering skills? However, let's rewind: It's all great in the beginning: New places, pleasant weather, snowflakes, Spring break in Miami/Vegas, work on campus, internships, summer break, visiting India and spending like a king, as $1= 67 rupees and the minimum wage in the US is $8.25 an hour. However, all this comes crashing down if a student doesn't have a job offer in hand before he graduates, because once you are done with graduation celebrations, you are left wondering: What's next? This is the time when students are made to realize that their Master's degree is worth much less in comparison to a Green Card or US citizenship due to the lack of direct jobs in well-known firms for students who are on a visa, and this is the time when you rue the fact that your ancestors weren't from the US. And after two to three months of unfruitful job searching, when returning to India and working in your family-owned business seems a better prospect, at this point, some guys even start looking for potential citizen brides and make a lot of compromises on their otherwise lavish demands as the girl would be doing him a favor. And some other times, out of the blue you get a call from one of your uncles or aunts in India inquiring about your joblessness, as if not getting a job was the end of this world. This is followed up with examples of Sharmaji's son and Khansaab's daughter and how they have already secured a job and have no thoughts of returning to India. When some decide to leave for India barring all odds, the girlfriend pressure comes in. With a low paying job, potential in-laws find it difficult to accept the boy. Parents need to understand that a good job might not always be there, but a guy with good character will. These things set the trap. The sad part is that our society has come to such a low that some parents even decide the place where the guy has to be settled. If the guy is from the place that they are looking for, they don't even ask if he is a good or bad choice, they just get behind and start buttering him up until their daughter gets married off. This doesn't mean I'm suggesting that America is a terrible place; rather I would say it's a great place for education and tourism, but not exactly to live the great American dream barring a few exceptions. Students needs to judge themselves during their Bachelor's degree and ask if they are intellectual enough and really need a Master's degree? These questions need to be answered. If that's the case then the US is heaven for you, as education is great. This comprises almost 10-15 percent of the students who come here for research and serious study. The second group of students includes my case to an extent; we follow the herd and come to the US. The third group are the ones who have their goals set on doing part time jobs, and have plans of converting it into full time after graduation. Some five percent of the lot get lucky or have references in companies and get in directly, while the remaining waste time trying for direct jobs getting inspired by the upper five percent. After spending enough time waiting, and when it looks like all doors are closed, they join a consulting firm that is almost 80 percent run by Indian expatriates who were once students. Now what these consulting companies do is train the students in different technologies and give proxy interviews on Skype where the candidate just lip-syncs and the professional consultant answers all the questions and gets him the job. The student and consultancy firm agree on two to three years with a 70 to 30 percent salary sharing contract. While some of them get fired as they have no knowledge, the 70 percent who survive earn the basic salary which is meager in comparison to the cost of living in most parts of the US. It takes about eight to 10 years to completely settle in. With citizenship issues and the unpredictable nature of getting the next work permit approved, most of them forget to support their parents, siblings and relatives with their presence, if not financially. Financial support isn't everything, our society needs to understand that. They never go to India even for a vacation because the thought and fear of not being allowed back in the US kills them from inside and they feel that it is better to forget their family instead of getting their work permit revoked. My case was completely different: I took two trips back to India in the summer and winter and then my family came over to attend my graduation at the end of spring 2016. I guess I can't think of being away from family. America is great for tourism and education but besides that it's a place where people have debates on which toilet needs to be used by which gender and much more crazy stuff. Weird things get more attention in the US than real life problems. And then you have a retarded presidential nominee who wants to divide people with racial and religious discrimination, and is taking the whole country apart by proclaiming to ban entry to all Muslims and calling Mexicans rapists, and the funny thing about this is he claims to "Make America Great Again" if he comes to power. To sum it up, Americans need to pull up their socks. It is also said that the US is a kind of a vicious circle which eats up a person's most productive years in the fear of clearing the next work permit. By the time an individual becomes a citizen, his age is around 35 to 40 and he has a lot of roots which include a house on mortgage, kids and a wife which indirectly prevents him from exploring other potential opportunities besides the usual 9 to 5 job. This calls for wise decisions on the student's part and having clear plans before joining the bumpy ride. The last time I was in India, I saw that India has developed a lot and has joined the world superpowers and has a lot more opportunities for jobs and businesses. Being an Indian and looking at the huge Indian population based in the US, I would like to make them realize the importance and potential of our nation. It is a treasure. "Heera hai Heera" just needs a little more refinement which I guess isn't easy without us! Jai hind. Zubair Iftekhar (A soon to be returning graduate.)
