Jobs in India after MS in USA

When you are planning to pursue higher education like MS or MBA in USA, you would need to first think of Why you would like to do MS in USA then decide your goals for doing MS in USA . Along the same lines, if you plan to return back to your home country, which is India in this article context, you need to also consider your job prospects in your home country.  I have worked in both the countries for a good amount of time and will share my thoughts and facts based on my conversations with my friends in recruiting and general job trends in India.

How do people perceive your  MS or MBA degree from USA ? Is it considered Fancy like degree from IIT or IIM ?

I did my MS and MBA from reasonably decent state schools…when I returned to India after MS and MBA, I was under the impression that my degrees would be valued decently. I was NOT expecting that people value it on par with IITs or IIMs. But, I was wrong, they are not perceived as of decent value, unless you have a degree from Ivy league or Stanford kind of top 10 schools.  Your MS or MBA is just equal to yet another M.Tech or M.Sc from an average school or any university India.  So, if you are going to be under impression that MS in US is of great value and will get me job here without any hassle, wake up !

How are the Job Prospects in India after MS in US ? What are the Job opportunities in India after MS in USA ?

If you are a freshly minted MS or MBA graduate from a US university looking for a job in India without any prior experience, you are out of luck. Unfortunately, you will be considered as a Fresher with M.Tech or M.Sc Degree holder in India.   Your job opportunities as a fresh MS degree holder from USA are just like any other M.Tech or MCA degree holder who could not get job in on-Campus selections and struggling to get a job off campus.   Also, most of the top tier companies, select freshers  by on-campus recruitment and you will not have the option to get picked by top tier companies, because you did not go to school in India. Another bad part is that you do not have any network of friends, who are freshers in India, who can help you with walk-ins and other information on job search…you are on your own. You need to just rely on online job application and personal references.

In a nutshell, your job opportunities in India after MS in USA, without any experience as a fresher, are very limited and you are up against a large crowd. It is not the best idea to compete against such large pool of Masters degree holders in India.  Also, if you are under the impression that I worked on-campus, here is another thing to consider…most of the times, your on-campus employment is not really considered as real work experience by many companies in India as you were studying full time. When my cousin included his RA/GA experience in US as work experience in his resume, the company just took that 1.5 years out of the overall experience and told that you were studying full time and we cannot include this experience. It is ironical, but that’s the fact.  Some small companies may consider, but many do not take it, just be cautious… In any case, as a fresh MS degree holder from America, you are just like another fresher here… So, what do you need to do ?

How to get a Job in India after MS in USA ?  What is the best way to increase your odds?

In India, getting a job is all about work experience…to be more specific, it is relevant work experience in that field that you are applying to work !  Recruiters just look at number of years of work experience in a particular field.  For instance, if you are applying for an IT job as a Developer or Tester, the recruiter would look your experience as a developer more specifically developer of that technology like Java, C++, Android, etc…  So, what should you do to get Job in India after MS in USA ?

During MS or MBA, you would have CPT, consider working on full time CPT in Summer and part time during school as well, it will add up as experience ( of course, you may need to convince them during interview) . After MS in USA, you would get either one year OPT or for 29 months, if you are from STEM Degree , you need to utilize that time and work in US for that 1 year or 29 months to get relevant experience that you can put in your resume. It is best if you can work for 29 months because you will be out of danger zone in India.  Most of the fraud resumes in India are of students who have under 2 years of experience.  Also, you should get certifications done in your field… in IT industry there are many certifications offered by Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, etc. Pick the one relevant to your field and complete it, you can possibly use that in your job search.  Also, if you can do any courses in your area of experience, it will help as well. Many small companies are interested in hiring trained candidates with one or two year experience, you can easily crack the interview and get a job in such cases.