GRADUATING UNEMPLOYED: What happens? How to navigate? Cases discussed

Question

Disclaimer:  
  The incidents discussed here may have been based on real events upon my discussion with a couple of people whose situation got bad. While this entire article is based on a lot of negative talk (that is literally the topic of this article), if you are someone who has issues with it, this article may not be for you. But this article is for every MBA Candidate who is looking for a realistic picture on what will happen if you fail to secure employment upon graduation. I have also discussed some solutions at the end. The problems may or may not apply to you and I can say the same for the solutions. But it might be worth reading to see what alternatives you can have to help yourself. I have aimed to write in a voice than in a formal boring tone.... There might be instances where the grammar will seem off and the words might seem made up but you’ll get the point. Some part is speculative and I have kept it anonymous and generalized in buckets but it will give you an idea.

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/978b0c_d2947dfd70554168b55d6dc9cd710cdd~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_2500,h_1330,al_c/978b0c_d2947dfd70554168b55d6dc9cd710cdd~mv2.png

If you look at the MBA Employment reports of all the Amazing MBA programs of the top 25 schools in the US, one thing has been pretty consistent- “a decline in the number of people getting employment since 2020” (an exception can be seen in class of 2022- a batch with the least number of international students: COVID made a lot of people defer to class of 2023). I will be releasing a new employment report summary of the schools by taking into account factors that you may have missed, but that is a topic for another day. One thing that has also stood out from these reports is that the international students have had a hard time in the US looking for a job. This does mean one thing-    there might be about 20%-25% of international students per school (depending on school) who will graduate without any form of employment based on the pattern    (actually more if you account for the contract jobs that international students are forced to take up). With the news emerging about the international student SEVIS getting cancelled for such petty reasons as minor traffic errors as not stopping on a red light, a good chance still exists that some will be deported (the number of those is not as high but that should serve as a warning to be extra cautions of the rules, which as I have been told by many people with an attitude problem, "Yaas Yaas, Rulesss channngeee"- never done anything good for anyone but will line up to starve others but that is a topic for another day)

CASES OF PEOPLE WHO COULD NOT FIND A JOB (AND WHAT THEY DID TO EXIST)

Case-set 1: Had to return to the home country

I spoke to a good number of people between 2023 and 2024 who had to return to their home countries after realizing that they didn't get a post-MBA job. 
 For the most part, one thing stood out- the people who went to institutions that had a decent reputation back in their home country- M7s, Ivy Leagues (the original ones) etc. had a brand advantage. Some people also got decent PE/VC roles in large funds. One of the bigger upsetting factor for them was the pay scale and the level of work life balance- even other roles. They had noted that one of the reasons they didn't want to stay is because the work culture was not sustainable and highly demanding which would not have been the case in the US (and that's despite the fact that even in US we're trying to fix a lot of it)

Some others for whom the problem arose was due to their home country's culture-

1. Vulnerable individuals:    For the vulnerable individuals (including but not limited to those coming from toxic repressed backgrounds, abusive families, war torn locations and people who are made to depend on abusive people for their livelihood) the situation became dire as due to the market forces- recession- they could not find a job and the people they were made to depend on attempted coercive tactics to put them in even more vulnerable positions where they are made to make an impossible choice. In India, forced marriages are not really a distant memory and there are other forms of coercion that the families attempt on their children. Some are constantly being treated like vermin- reminded about money every time they try to take a bite out of their meal, every small thing is accounted for and on smallest of the things- getting shouted at brutally and mistreated. My speculation is that this is partly because of the contempt some families grow towards the member who is in a lot of MBA Debt and is trying to take support from the only source he can trust. Due to such pressures, such people have taken up freelancing work and are trying to make ends meet somehow but given the kind of dependency, they are barely staying alive. And some of their entrepreneurial pursuits are going in vain as they are not getting any form of investment from families into marketing the venture- which I can assure you from my own experience- is a requirement if you are to succeed as an entrepreneur. Such cases have been one of the more brutal ones I have seen where they somehow manage to suppress someone who is already in a bad position.

What are they doing to survive?  
 Some vulnerable individuals are aware that there is no way out of their misery as the MBA debt of $250k (~$300k+) is not payable as they are not able to find a high paying job and the currency exchange rate difference is already making them anxious. This get worse than living from paycheck to paycheck as they have to take up multiple freelance jobs and even work in an entrepreneurial capacity (The money doesn't come sometimes and this can adversely affect their credit score so they have to rely on their families sometimes and many people's families don't have the necessary funds for it).

Your situation:   If you are someone who has a decent family support so you can tolerate the losses for a few years- let's assume about 1.5-2 years to get a stable income, you can easily navigate this period. So when looking at your runway, please take this variable into account. Think of it like making a sunk cost investment into a company that will yield results later ( assuming you are not blocked away from recruiting ) and you want to ensure that while you get that investment back, you don't drown yourself in the debt you owe.

NOTE-  This is one of the situation where the people have had to tolerate a lot of humiliation from their families, friends, and even the people who they thought they had good relationship during the program. The people do start looking down and that breaks many from the inside. Many of the people in their network who had good functional relationship with them start dodging their messages (ghosting), the people they work with on freelance start asking why are they freelancing despite a prestigious degree and some people who enjoy watching them in misery start eliminating their options to get money- be it any Whatsapp group or https://gmatclub.com/chat channel they used to help themselves (by filing false complaints without evidence).

2. Human rights issues for some individuals:  
 Many people have left their home countries because of human rights issues. This is another new perspective that helped me understand more challenges. It gets darker as some members of the LGBTQ+ Community who have left their home countries in search for settling down in a country where they "would be able to breathe" (the exact words) could neither get the benefits of diversity orgs such as ROMBA (because it is for Out Members and allies and the individuals had to keep their identity undisclosed for the safety of their family in the society) and had to return to their home country. So as you can see that adding this to what we just discussed above makes this situation difficult to navigate. Another group where this was seen was the people who come from underrepresented sections of the society (not the US underrepresented- actual real underrepresented- with no rights). Some of these groups had a harsher time even getting a job in their home country.

What are they doing to survive?   
 The people have tried to apply for Canadian PR, Australian PR AND others, but some of them have not been able to get it as they don't meet the points requirements of these countries. Some also tried applying for asylum but I recommend getting a lawyer and talking about the pros and cons of this strategy if you need. The ones that didn't have started applying for more master's degree programs to get out of their home countries but the $250k debt is already looming on their head and they are having a hard time navigating this situation. The other things are common with the ones discussed above in depth.

Your situation:   If you belong to a country with human rights issue, there is not much I can recommend but please understand that there are some options available for you if you can discuss this over a free consultation with an immigration lawyer or an expert on this matter.

Case-set 2: Those that got a contract job

This one is probably the most optimistic thing you will see in this post.

Contract jobs allowed some of the students to stay back in the US for a couple of more months than their usual period. As your OPT will allow you to work for one year and STEM OPT for 2 more years, this option was perfectly acceptable to people who had no money trouble. Yes, the contract roles are either low paying or "no paying" (told you I will make words up). Even when I analyze the employment reports, I look for people who have reported the base salary (generally differs from the total employed- see for yourself).

Here's a little heads up, we're releasing the "Real" MBA employment report with such parameters very soon.

Coming back to the point! The people who have families in the USA, the people whose families are able to fund their deficit while they stay for 3 years in the US without a job, looking for an opportunity- are the ones that take this option in general.

Some contract roles pay enough that you can sustain yourself for the short-term as well.

So some optimism for you! But the roles are limited and it is highly unlikely you'd be able to pay your debt with these. Not to forget, your school will mark you as employed after graduation even though they had nothing to do with it so.... congrats and welcome to the world of business.

Case-set 3: Those that decided to go for a PhD   
 This is not really an optimistic view but rather a dangerous situation. Generally, some people realize that the employment is not happening for them (yeah I know weird way to say it, stay focused on the sentiment not the grammar).... they just apply for PhD and some of them make it in (there is a rigorous process for it too), they get about $40k a year, depending on the discipline and school. This is obviously gonna go for about 5 years and as you can see, not sustainable when you are in a debt of $250k (By the way the repayment period is 5-10 years). So this is not a great position to be in but I have seen people with a healthy amount of scholarship go for it. Like if they have 70%+ scholarship, the rest can be paid off easily, and this also allows you to stay back in the US, possibly even get a huge 8-10 years of stay with a decent low paying option. (There are on-campus jobs available to them as well so that can help with the food and stuff)

Case-set 4: Those that decided to start their own venture   
 Most dangerously volatile territory to be in if you have zero funding (and I am sure a lot of people on this forum will agree with me)

This option has been looked at by a few people. A guy had reached out to me trying to humiliate me and comparing me with some other dude who was getting funded by his uncle- from his living arrangements to his startup costs. But, while he was humiliating me, he gave away valuable information that was enough for me to know that this option is the most viable for the people who have contacts and who can sustain themselves for 3 years in the USA with OPT (And I also understand the work authorization nightmare and if you have an extended family in the US, this part can be navigated very easily). Not to forget, you are not allowed to own your own business unless you meet a very high bar (as an overrepresented Indian man who has already worked way too much to get into business school, this pissed me off and I wrote straight to the linkedin post of the governor). Still, if you can meet the criteria for an entrepreneur visa or other, you can stay beyond your OPT.

This period is very vulnerable for people who have no one for them in the US. Many predatory attacks happen on the venture and the volatility of business never helps you sustain. There is the survival crisis problem (I personally could not feed myself for two weeks, had a major dental issue with exposed nerves and constant bleeding every time I ate- more than 12 months of pain endured   (4 meals a day for 52 weeks for 12 months- ~1460 times bleeding excluding random bleeding episodes. Developing a GI bleeding because of not being able to feed myself for weeks)   just because I could not afford dental or flying back and forth between countries- and it was not even the worst part of my experience! Imagine that! What I have said here is an over simplified version for easy understanding). Not to forget that this is all the while trying to defend my company from predators who later also attempted to eliminate my sales channels. Vertical integration is not easy when you are a nobody with nothing but a laptop with a decent internet connection. And not to forget, most of these people were the types whose incentives lied in enjoying the misery of someone. When the support truly came, these people had already done enough damage to go back. Their words, "It is important to completely break you down" still remind me that the lack of the right kind of support will remain a distant dream. And of course, that never happened in 4 years as an entrepreneur. Fortunately, I had chosen to go with the scholarship but even that was not enough- a merit that went unrecognized. I ended up earning a little respect from the ones I was doing all this for, but they didn't have much to offer me other than words. And in a way to maintain the dignity of the people I wanted to do things for, I decided to develop a little attitude myself, not out of ego- there really isn't much to be proud of, but as a symbol of the dignity of an entire demographic.

So, this rant aside, I have given you a snapshot of two different situations when you decide to go down the entrepreneurial path. You can choose for yourself based on your circumstances.

WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW TO FIX THIS?

There is no doubt that the above cases can be scary and even absurd but instead of falling for the sunk cost fallacy (look it up), you can reflect and understand your current position.

Brands can be tempting but I can repeat the words of a poor man who once told me, "Pair utne hi phailaao jitni chaddar ho" (A poor man can only dream within his limits). I am not saying you are poor but I believe that given the market forces, managing your financial risk is in your hands for now. You can negotiate a higher scholarship from the institutions you want to be a part of! Yes there is a process for it and it is not as straightforward, you can check it out below. Speak with your family and get some assurance by showing them the cases above. See if you will get the help you seek from them.

Try to negotiate a higher scholarship-   Link

I will try my best to bring more optimistic posts out to give you something better but for now, this is all I had to offer. Please take care of yourself! Vulnerability gets taken advantage of and people will stop at nothing to beat you down just for minor personal gain- learn this from my experience so you don't have to learn the hard way as I did!

GRADUATING UNEMPLOYED: What happens? How to navigate? Cases discussed

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