Graduates of US universities have a 3-year work permit under the STEM OPT system though, so they are also much easier to hire. You’d definitely have to find somewhere that all these graduates didn’t want to work to make it worthwhile for a college to think about sponsoring a work visa - which also makes me wonder if that somewhere would be somewhere OP would be interested in going, considering the colleges tagged in his original post. Would seem to me to make more sense to get a teaching position in Europe first at least, where he could also think about exploring research options etc without having to try figure out a work visa.
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Hi everyone,
Thank you again for your valuable insights! I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I’ll respond to some specific points raised in the discussion.
I’m interested in gaining work experience in the US or Canada to enhance my future employability in France or internationally. I believe a combination of studying abroad and working there will give me a competitive edge.
I don’t know.
I might be. The plan is to get to work for two years more or less in US or Canada. Then settle down in my home country with a better position than if I tried to climb the ladder the normal way in a big corporation.
Less than 5 this year with my job. Could you give me a range while in a PhD?
It was course-based. Does it have an impact ? This is the first time I hear about this term.
I have work to do on my selling speech I agree.
I deeply appreciate the remainder.
My research interests currently lean towards logic and symbolic systems. From my studies and feelings with my professor, it might be a good lead.
To the best of my knowledge in France, it’s common for research programs to have subject areas. I found an example here univ-larochelle:fr/wp-content/uploads/fiche_admis_2023-2024_S2.pdf. Does this approach exist in the US/Canada as well? A friend secured research funding and a supervisor right after graduation through Inria.
Unfortunately. I am aware of this situation. Plan B would be to switch to the industry. With experience in the field, I expect to be employable enough.
I hold a Master’s degree (not a “Master Grande École”). I didn’t attend a “Grande École” or participate in a CMI program during my Licence studies. For privacy reasons, I won’t disclose my university name here.
WES Evaluation
WES evaluation services cost around €300. My university confirmed that most students use WES for application purposes. It seems like a straightforward process. Can you confirm ? Did you have any issues with them ?
I would be interested with certifying my own translation. Can you confirm how it works with a Notary ?
My university also shared with me this ressource https://www.annuaire-traducteur-assermente.fr/
@thumper1 mentioned that programs might accept and potentially offer financial aid to attract students to their graduate cohort. Could you elaborate on this point? Does this apply to specific universities or programs?
The best paths for you would be
- apply to several lower ranked US CS/CS-related PHD programs, then use OPT for 2 years if the PHD alone’s not enough to secure a position (academic H1Bs are not under the regular H1Bs restrictions because the salary is low, especially compared to industry salaries, and in CS particularly there’s a dire shortage of CS instructors).
- apply for a WHV (PVT) in Canada. Work there (if you’re willing to live in Chicoutimi or further North you’re guaranteed a solid position with a very good salary) and use these credentials to attend a Masters or PHD program at a Canadian University. Waterloo in particular is topnotch.
France’s current problem is that, due to a loophole, businesses get huge subsidies if they hire students as “apprentices”… including students with Bachelor’s or Masters degrees. The program was originally designed to help HS drop outs or students earning a first vocational or professional credential up to an Associate’s, but with the loophole there’s no limit, so finding an actual entry level position has become difficult for graduates and even harder to have a career.
Companies can pay the “apprentices” as low as $900 a month with their first year’s expenses fully paid by the subsidy. After 2 years the subsidy stops so they ‘hire’ new apprentices. Fake/for profit colleges have sprung to help the scheme (because this didn’t use to exist there’s no law against it, but they now represent 50% higher education offers). The current government promised to rein it all in but it’s made difficult by the fact people involved are from their same party and left in the past 2 years for that venture.
In addition, there’s a distinction between a University Master’s degree and a Grande École degree, where only the latter can deliver the title of “Engineer” which is needed for some responsibilities and commensurate salary. Basically the ‘title’ is very useful to required if you want a career in some companies.
However experience abroad can help a young graduate climb the career ladder, including by gaining them access to a 1-year grande école program that will let them be awarded the ‘title’.
To sum up, the situation is not easy for OP.
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Wes is a solid service. You’ll probably need the course-by-course evaluation but each university program will tell you exactly.
Students admitted to a PHD usually get tuition waiver + a stipend to help them pay their rent/food, in exchange for duties such as seconding a professor in teaching. For internationals, this means high TOEFL and TSE scores.
You can check out…
https://cs.mst.edu/graduate-degrees/phd/
You would have to apply to several programs.
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Hi everyone,
I recently connected with a mentor on UStrive who suggested another way : finding a job that would eventually fully cover the cost of college. What do you think of this approach? Has anyone here had experience with it?
If so, what advice can you offer? Are there specific industries or companies I should focus on? What challenges might I face along the way?
Thanks for your insights!
If you mean a job in the US with tuition benefits- yes, great idea. But invest ten minutes in learning about how a French citizen can work legally in the US before you get ahead of yourself.
And don’t even THINK about coming to the US on a tourist visa and then finding a job “under the table”. Those employers aren’t even paying payroll taxes, let alone providing tuition benefits (the former is a legal requirement, the latter is a “really nice to have”).
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Finding a job in the US? The main challenge you will face is finding someone prepared to sponsor you for a work visa with the level of work experience you have - and the pool shrinks even further when you try find one who will also be prepared to eventually pay for further academics down the line. If the job is outside academia, you face the further constraint of the amount of visas (H1B) being limited per year which results in a lottery application, so even if you find someone to sponsor you you may not receive one. These visas are not limited if the job is in academia but I think we had that discussion further up thread.
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