Indian Students Are Joining American Universities in Increasing Numbers

US UnivData released by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement indicates a recent surge in the number of Indian students seeking to study in American universities. According their report, there has been a “31.9% increase in the number of Indian students studying in American universities since 2014”. This bucks a trend that goes back almost a decade:  from 2008-09 to 2013-14, the number of Indian students studying at American Universities was a fairly flat 1,00,000 annually. In 2014-15, this figure jumped by around 32% to 1,32,888.

This increase is part of a rise in the number of international students studying in the US. In 2015, that number was up by about 9%. However, a staggering 76% of these were from Asia. So, the fresh influx of students seems to be a largely Asian phenomenon fuelled perhaps, by the robustness of the pan-Asian economic scene.

In this overall picture, students from India accounted for about 13.6% (or 1,32,888) of the 9,74,926 international students who enrolled for undergraduate (Bachelor’s), graduate (Master’s) & doctoral (Ph. D.) programs in the US in 2014-15. A full 31.2% or 3,04,040 of these students were Chinese. One possible reason for this is that very large numbers of Chinese students have started enrolling for the undergraduate courses where the intake is larger while, the majority of Indian students join graduate courses which tend to offer more funding but have a smaller intake.

Another noteworthy trend is that Indian (and more broadly, Asian) students show a heavy preference for courses in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – especially, computer science. Currently, there are 10,54,045 international students on F and M visas in the US. Of these, 4,05,314 students are studying courses in STEM fields and of these in turn, 80% of them are from Asia. As many as 81% of all Indian students are studying STEM fields – this is the highest percentage for any country; and California, Texas and New York have emerged as popular destinations for students studying courses in the STEM category.

If these trends are any indicator, we should see a few more Satya Nadella’s and Sunder Pichai’s emerging in the coming years; If you are an engineer, a student from the field of computer science or one from the STEM category more broadly, this could be your opportunity to make it big in the United States. Even Donald Trump has said that, should he become President, he is willing to welcome bright young minds from India because he knows they contribute to America’s economy – and if Trump says so, the doors must definitely be open!

24-Month STEM OPT Extension

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending it F1 non immigrant visa regulations on Optional Practical Training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) from US institutions of higher education.

OPT is a period during which undergraduates (BS/BA) and graduate students (MS/MBA) with F1 status who have completed or have been pursuing their degrees for more than 9 months are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work for 12 months on a student visa towards getting practical training to complement their education. On April 2nd 2008 DHS announced a 17-month extension to the OPT for students in qualifying STEM fields to be eligible for the 12-month permit. Any degree in any field of studies is valid. For the 17-month OPT extension a student must have received a STEM degree as listed on the USCIS website.

DHS is now amending its rule regarding OPT under STEM category to extend the OPT period to 24 months. This 24-month extension effectively replaces the 17-month OPT extension previously available to certain STEM students. In short, a student can now work in America for up to 36 months after completing degree even if he doesn’t qualify for H1B visa during that period. This rule will be effective from May 10th 2016.

The rule also makes F1 students who subsequently enroll in a new academic program and another STEM degree at a higher education level eligible for one additional 24 months STEM OPT extension. In other words, a student can get 36 months OPT after undergraduate education (BS) and also after completing a graduate degree (MS) from STEM category.

The rule also permits an F1 student completing a non-STEM graduate degree to use a prior eligible STEM degree from a US institution of higher education as the basis to apply for a STEM OPT extension. For e.g. if a student has completed MS in STEM category and now completes MBA which is a non-STEM degree is also eligible for the 36 months OPT extension.

To improve the integrity of the STEM OPT extension, the rule limits eligibility only to students with degrees from schools accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education.

Keep yourself updated on our next blog on E-Verify requirements and Cap-Gap extension.

Mechanical Engineering Jobs in America

Facts about the Field

  • Job Prospects – according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) 11,600 jobs will be generated for mechanical engineers in the United States by 2022 (the unemployment rate in the field is just 2.7%)
  • Employment Growth Rate – the BLS also predicts that employment in the field is expected to grow by 4.5 percent between 2012 and 2022
  • Salaries – the median salary is $80,500 with the worst-paid earning $52,580 and the best-paid earned $123,340.
  • Job Satisfaction – upward mobility in mechanical engineering jobs in America is high, flexibility is above average and stress levels are about average
  • What the Work is Like – many mechanical engineers work out of an office on a 9-5 schedule but if your job demands it you may visit sites like oil rigs or skyscrapers
  • Top-paying metropolitan areas – these include Anchorage, Alaska; Taunton, Massachusetts; and San Jose, California.

Advice on Getting a Job

  • Explore different jobs in America and specializations when you are in your 20’s – it may take you until your 30s, to figure out what you actually want to do in the field
  • On your first job find a company that lets you continue to learn – that’s more important than location or salary
  • Multidisciplinary engineering is becoming increasingly important in the industry, so familiarize yourself with related disciplines: electronics, control systems and chemical reactions are some you could consider.
  • Sustainable design is also becoming important since we are running out of resources and design has to take this into account
  • To get a good job after graduation you need to convince prospective employers that you can help their business to be successful. This means you have to have the organizational and management skills required to successfully complete a project. To acquire these skills take project-oriented courses in college and get practical experience in summer internships.

(Source: US News)

 

Success Stories of Indians Who Made It Big in America – Ajay Bhatt Inventor of the USB and Other Achievers

If you use a desktop, laptop, mobile phone, tablet or external hard disk drive, it’s impossible not to know about the USB (universal serial bus) port. The news is that this port, used to transfer both information and power between devices, is now about to become more versatile – there are plans to make it flippable and also able to deliver the power required by larger networks. But did you know that the inventor of the USB port is an Indian? Well, it’s true and his name is Ajay Bhatt.

After graduating from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Bhatt went on to The City University of New York, where he received his master’s degree. In 1990, Bhatt joined Intel Corporation as a senior staff architect on the chipset architecture team. Currently, he holds thirty-one U.S. patents, and several others are in various stages of filing. Some time ago IEEE Spectrum did an interesting interview with him about how Intel made the USB truly universal and other things like an ‘all-day’ computer project he is working on (read: a computer that you can use all day on a single charge) and some of his past achievements (click here to see “Ajay Bhatt: Intel’s Rock-Star Inventor”).

However, despite his ‘rock star’ inventor status Bhatt is only one of a highly talented group of Indian movers and shakers in the field of technology in the US. Here are few of the many other outstanding achievers in the list:

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University Application Deadlines For Spring 2014 Semester

Deadlines for the Spring SemesterThe application season is on, June is just round the corner …and university deadlines are coming up soon. So, here is our much awaited blog for university application deadlines for spring 2014 covering 107 universities with application deadlines from June to December for the Spring 2014 semester. At the end is a section on universities with rolling deadlines (click here to find out what is meant by rolling deadlines).

Remember that American universities update deadlines on their websites at different times during the academic year so, we will update this blog to keep up with changes on their official websites.

Presenting the first of our deadline alerts.

Important Question: “Do you know which university you should apply to?”

A deadline is of use only if you know what university you should apply to. For those of you who are not too clear, here is how to decide:

1. Talk to seniors and decide which specialization you should apply for (examples: Networking, Data Bases etc. for Computer Engineers; Digital Signal Processing, VLSI etc. for Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers; MEMS, Robotics etc. for Mechanical Engineers)

2. To find out which universities or colleges offer the specialization you want, go to online.dilipoakacademy.com and look up your college or university in the University Information feature. All you have to do is select a university from the list of the top 220 provided (these have been selected by Mr. Dilip Oak) and you will get a list of departments and courses available. Click here to see. Registration is free and is open to all! (For more details on how to select a university see our Selecting the Right American University for Your MS in the US blog)

3. To plan your application process, check the general deadlines given in this blog. This will give you an idea of how much time you have and how to go about applying.

4. For the exact departmental deadline click the URL at the bottom of the University Information page for that university in online.dilipoakacademy.com. This will give you a more precise idea of how to plan your application process (see our Application Timeline for Spring 2014 blog – to be released in December – to see more specifically how you should go about applying)

Good luck and if your university is not in the list provided, keep looking for it. We will be updating this blog.

Related blogs:

Also see:

Deadlines in June

  1. University of Maryland, Baltimore County –1 Jun
  2. Texas Tech University –15 Jun
  3. University of Tennessee, Knoxville –15 Jun

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Web Development Skills: Engineers Read This!

In March 2012, we had put up a post advising ECE students, about job opportunities in the US. Today, let’s talk about something related but slightly different: while you are waiting for an admit or preparing for an MS, you can use the time to build useful skill sets. If you are an engineer who would like to explore options in software development, you could think about the area of web-development and related technologies.

Web development specialization: Making an educated choice in operating system technologies and related skills

If you are a wannabe web developer, picking the right skill sets is key to a successful career. Once you have chosen the web development skills you want to acquire, there are many ways to develop them:

  • extra “private” courses or certifications
  • regular college and work-related project work
  • ad hoc additional projects at college / work

(The latter two will also allow a hands-on tangible demonstration of your skills.)

The question is “what web development skills should you focus on?”

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