Maybe Virginia Tech will be easier for him to find internships in USA. I’m sure it’s much harder from HK. But the question is can you afford it? If not, then pick the HK school.
@panpacific, um no, I meant just an undergraduate degree in the US vs. a graduate degree in the US. My understanding is that both undergrads and grad students from abroad would have to go the OPT route, but employers prefer grad students for OPT.
So if the goal is to find a job in the US, looking with just an undergrad from VTech would be more difficult than undergrad at HKU+grad degree in the US.
My understanding is that it is very difficult for internationals who go to undergrad in the US to find a job in the US. Most have to go back home/elsewhere.
Most of international graduates I know stay in the US after graduation. My company just hired 2 international graduates.
An international who goes to undergrad in the US likely would still need a grad degree in the US to get sponsored. So if that’s the case, why not just go to undergrad at HKU?
It’s not easy but not impossible either, especially for high tech majors. A U.S. Degree compared with a foreign degree for someone without much work experience is an advantage. A graduate degree with work experience would you in a much more advantageous position.
I meant to say the odds of finding a job with a BS degree in CS related majors are a little better compared with other majors. I’d suggest otherwise if the kid was to pursue a different major. Of course, to grab those few spots opened up for new graduates from a foreign country, you need “every” advantage and that includes receiving your undergraduate training here and earning a U.S. Degree with strong academic records. A lot of companies hiring their IT people heavily relyon testing during the interview. If he’s good at what he is looking to do, he may get that chance. However, if he’s physically outside U.S., it’s unlikely companies would reach out to someone that far away for an entry level job.
@panpacific, if he goes to HKU, the plan would be to enter grad school in the US, and an international graduating from a US grad school would have a better chance of getting a job in the US than an international graduating from a US undergrad program.
BTW, what’s your background? Are you a student or a working adult? American or International?
I think if he can’t get a job after undergraduate, then grad school in US is the next logical. You get second chance if it doesn’t work out the first time.
My daughter works for 2 Indian guys in high tech and for some reasons they kept asking her if she has a Master degree. I’m think it’s a common path for internationals to go to graduate school in US to get jobs.
Thank you all for the replies .
What i understand from the discussion is that - Under Grad from US is definitely an advantage, plus he may have a better overall growth as person.
Also, doing Masters seems a necessary/desirable requirement.
Then, what are the chances of getting a full funded Master’s for both cases - UG from VTech vs UG from HK? (from a good university of the likes of - UCB, UCLA, Georgia Tech, Stanford etc ) .
The assumption here is that my S stays in the top percentages in his class.
thanks
Masters are not funded. They are a profit center for the colleges. Any masters program at those Universities, will be entirely on your dime, which is another really good reason for your DS to go to HK instead of VT for his UG years.
PhD’s generally are funded, with a low paying stipend[ hence the term “poor graduate student”]
but they last from 5-7 years and are suitable only for those students committed to academia or research. .
Though some opt out of PhD programs with a Masters after 2 years. However, PhD programs are generally tough to get in to. Also, some Masters programs are funded, but there aren’t as many of them (and as you can imagine, tend to be tough to get in to).
As an International would likely need to get a Masters to work in the US anyway, I do not see the sense of paying a lot more for VTech.
Note that a Masters in 1-2 years would cost less than 4 years of undergrad.
^^^^ Exactly. A cheap undergrad from HKU, possibly with a bit of work experience, followed by a one or two year MS Eng progam in the US makes a lot of sense. It will cost a lot less money, and the jobs available to him with an MS Eng rather than a BS will be more interesting. He will have the same amount of OPT for either degree, but the MS degree will make it more likely that he can find a permanent position (if he wants to then) when the OPT ends.
I think you really need to consider the option that after all of the schooling, your son may not be employed in the US, so you need to plan for that.
My dd is an EE grad getting her MS degree in CS. She is being sponsored by her company to complete that degree so that they can transition her to management. She has indicated that she can’t hire international candidates because they don’t qualify for US clearances.
Have a back up plan just in case.
It really depends on the company. Some require at least a green card. Some are willing to sponsor.
Put yes, it make sense to have a backup plan or look outside the US as well.
Post 26: are you asking about MY background? Why do yo need to know? I am sharing my knowledge like anyone else. I wasn’t aware of a qualification vetting was needed to make comments on CC. Please back off.
It does appear that most tech employees on work visas have graduate degrees. This may be because being an international graduate student is a much stronger signal of academic achievement than being an international undergraduate student. The latter may be more of a signal of family wealth if one attends one of the majority of schools that do not give financial aid or scholarships to international students.
@panpacific, I’m wondering if you actually know just how difficult it is for an International who just has an American undergrad degree to get sponsored in the US. If you have actually gone down that path, that’s different than, say, if you haven’t.
Just as I would give more credence to what someone with an econ PhD says about Keynesian economics than someone who’s only taken Econ 101. Or just as I would put on weight on the words of someone who has actually fought as a solder in a war zone (when it comes to how worthwhile war is) than someone who hasn’t.
@ucbalumnus, from reading CC, it seems that there are more types of work visas available to grads of grad school programs than those with just an undergrad degree.
Clearances are usually for government and government related stuff. The two Indian guys that in my daughter’s group apparently have PhDs. So maybe it’s best to apply for a funded PhDs then apply for jobs all along. My friend who was accepted at to a PhD program at Stanford never finished it. He finally got an MBA at Berkeley.
That too… it is easier to argue for the work visa that a graduate degree holder has some sort of exceptional talent or unusual skill, compared to a bachelor’s degree holder. Also, why would a company that is not an outsourcing company* want to deal with work visas for new bachelor’s degree hires when there are plenty of US citizen and permanent resident new bachelor’s degree graduates?
*Unfortunately, it does seem that outsourcing companies are hogging most of the H-1B visas: http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2014-H1B-Visa-Sponsor.aspx . Note the difference in pay between the outsourcing companies and the companies that are hiring employees to do their own work. The pay levels at the latter indicate that it is unlikely that many new bachelor’s degree holders are getting those jobs (as opposed to the lower end outsourcing jobs).
@“aunt bea” Thanks .
The plan is one year OPT, then work or Graduate School. If either doesn’t work out, come back to Tokyo for work( We are permanent residents, so work visa issue in Japan).