International Students Face Uncertain Job Market at Home, in US

01International students in the United States are concerned that technology job reductions will make it hard to get a good return on their education.

02For the last three years, technology companies, including Amazon and Google, have greatly reduced their workforce.

03The Tech Layoffs Tracker on Crunchbase.com says that 54,000 tech workers in the U.S.

04have lost jobs in 2024.

05That is in addition to nearly 300,000 in 2022 and 2023.

06As a result, international students are now competing for jobs against experienced workers, including native-born Americans and those who already have work permission in the U.S.

07Aniket Bhatt of India is one of those concerned students.

08He is studying business analytics at La Roche University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

09Bhatt also points to another concern, that thousands of Indian students currently studying in the U.S.

10will need to return to India if they cannot find a job.

11He wonders if the economy in India can support so many returning students.

12Based upon the most recent Open Doors report, there are 268,000 Indian students in the U.S.

13And a Reuters study in April showed serious concern about unemployment in India.

14Bhatt will finish his business program at the end of 2024.

15Because his study program is within science, engineering, technology, and math, known as STEM, Bhatt hopes to train and work in the U.S.

16under the Optional Practical Training, or OPT, program.

17If Bhatt can find work, he can stay for three years after his study program ends.

18In recent years, the number of students under OPT has also dropped, although the number of international students in the U.S.

19is about the same as it was in 2019.

20Sarah Spreitzer is a Vice President for Government Relations with the American Council on Education.

21She said, We are missing about 20,000 OPT positions, despite the overall low unemployment in the U.S.

22Bhatt said, There is intense competition for internships, work experience programs for students who are still in school, and OPT jobs.

23Bhatt said, He hopes to get an OPT job and then find work with a company that will sponsor him for an H-1B visa for specially trained workers.

24Without a visa, he must return to India or find a job in another country.

25Yes, obviously there is some kind of competition in U.S.

26as well, but not as intense as India, obviously due to population reasons.

27But international education experts like Spreitzer remind students that there is no official pathway for a student to remain in the U.S.

28after they complete OPT.

29So we do not promise our students, we do not say to them, you know, come here, do your studies, you will get a job.

30Because that is not the purpose of their visa.

31And again, if they express that when they're talking to the consular officer, their visa will be denied.

32A study from April 2020, produced by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, noted that most students pursuing advanced STEM degrees in the U.S.

33want to stay after finishing their studies.

34Jacob Feldgoiss helped write the report.

35He pointed out that President Joe Biden, in his executive order covering artificial intelligence at the end of 2023, included the need to train and hold on to skilled workers who have expertise in critical areas to study, stay, and work in the United States.

36A concern, Feldgoiss noted, for students and workers who would like to see faster progress from the U.S.

37government on skilled worker permissions, is that it's a patchwork of systems, and they're not fully aligned in a variety of ways.

38Although ACE centers its work on student concerns, it recently alerted U.S.

39government officials that some skilled students are choosing Canada and Great Britain for their studies because they have better work opportunities, and that hurts American universities, which have fewer students than in the past.

40Earlier this year, ACE urged the U.S.

41Department of Labor to make it easier for companies to hire skilled STEM workers.

42However, the number of new H-1B visas available for skilled workers is set at 85,000 yearly and unlikely to change.

43Just following the rules, such as not mentioning the intention to stay during the visa process and working hard in school, is not enough.

44Students have to be outstanding, and even a little bit lucky.

45Megan Mankarian-STEM knows many international students, due to her past job as director of international student enrollment at Creighton University in Nebraska.

46She feels sad for them when they cannot find a job that will permit them to get an H-1B visa.

47It's a struggle for anybody to find a job right now.

48Bott said he is starting to think that coming to the U.S.

49and following the rules was the wrong choice.

50If we were in 2011 or 2012, I would definitely suggest that my friends come over here, Bott said.

51But as we are in 2024, I think it doesn't make any sense, because already companies are outsourcing their work in Mexico, Vietnam, and India.

52I'm Dan Friedel.

53And I'm Jill Robbins.