Job Placement- International Students

Question

Could someone tell me what does "Job Placement" mean for international students, and whether international students are included in these career placement reports that are published at business schools websites? as I've heard that it's not allowed for non Americans to work in US after graduation!

P.S. I'm talking about the top 20 US business schools.

Thanks,

P.S. I'm talking about the top 20 US business schools.

Thanks,

3underscore · Answer

OK, firstly - you have been told complete lies. 99.99% of MBA students can work for 12 months on Optional Practical Training (OPT) at the end of the degree. The only ones that can't have already used that right at the Master's level from a previous degree.

Job Placement is what jobs they get. It can include H1-B and OPT only based roles, dependent on whether the firm is prepared to process for H1-B (an expensive, convoluted and demanding process).

warrak2000 · Answer

OK, so international student can work for 12 months (if we assume that he/she finds a job immediately after graduation), well that's fine... and then what? resign their job and leave the country after 12 months!

I think I'm missing something here! I really want to know if there is anyone who got a job placement outside US with a direct support of his business school?

Negative answers are welcome

highhopes · Answer

I think 3underscore's answer in the majority of cases assumes that a company will sponsor you in the future. There are very few companies that are going to hire you for a year - that's not a good investment for them.

For example, I did recruiting and in our pre-screens (before we would bring anyone on campus to interview), we would always ask, do you now  or will you in the future  require sponsorship, because we would only sponsor for some positions. You can imagine that if you say yes, your resume pretty much gets thrown out at that point.

Now, there are companies that will sponsor internationals, so it's not correct to say that you can't work in the US, but it's definitely not a guarantee.

warrak2000 · Answer

Thank you highhopes I got some information here... So if job placement is not guaranteed then why international students struggle to get a bank loan and pay 100k for tuition fees? isn't better for them to study somewhere else where finding jobs is more guaranteed? unless if you tell me that my business school will be supporting me outside US... 
I'm just trying to understand why a person would invest around 200k between tuition fees and living expenses during this financial crisis while many senior members in this club -and many other clubs- have clearly mentioned that job placement for international students is not a piece of cake !!!

gurpreetsingh · Answer

nice discussion !!

highhopes · Answer

Well no one is guaranteed a job, even US folks are taking somewhat of a risk (and I indeed met one the other day that didn't get a job).

There are companies that sponsor international students & most large corporations also place people internationally. The chances of getting a job in the US are not zero, but it is harder than for US students.

3underscore · Answer

OK

- loans only became problematic in 2008. This is a temporary issue I would expect.
- The visa problem will also become easier - the big reduction in jobs for internationals was around 2007

The reason you do it is because the schools in the US are better and have a much more established course and access to jobs. They have European recruiting, where getting a work permit is easier. Maybe people want to spend two years in the US?

Sure, nothing is certain. it would be ridiculous if spending 200k on business school guaranteed you a job in the US. People are prepared to face that challenge. The reference of the 'in this financial crisis' is looking at an MBA in very much the wrong perspective. That is like saying it was the smartest thing ever to go and start an MBA in 2000 or 2007. It certainly wasn't, but you learn to get by.

BlueRobin · Answer

I have to say that in the light of recent changes, europe (uk,france) as far i know, getting a job even if you have a work visa, is difficult, i cant really go into detail ebcause that might discourage others, but the work visa process has been tightened in U.K, the work visa was always difficult in france, but i wouldn`t suggest an international candidate to do an MBA in europe hoping they would be sponsored.

Now the people i am taking about are (career changers, less experience) so on. Highly experienced people will not have a problem with sponsors, there will be some.

I didn`t know that the situation for international students was still the same in USA, i was under the assumption that people are now able to get into Morgan S, so on and get sponsored.

But that`s my opinion, europe gives a great environment for studying and if you dont mind the visa, then you dont need to worry

warrak2000 · Answer

Thank you BlueRobin. That raises another question; don't you think that targeting domestic business schools is more practical during this critical period, specially if you're aiming to secure a job in a short time after MBA?

syed2011 · Answer

Thanks for the post.

sanlitun · Answer

It will be good if some international student who has graduated or is just about to graduate to provide details about the difficulty to get companies to sponsor . Are companies clearly stating their preference ? Are most of the jobs open to international students or is it the other way around ?

Rux10 · Answer

This is interesting alright. Not to detract too far from the topic but does anyone know whether international students have a  much  harder time securing an internship? I would imagine that companies would be reluctant to invest a whole summers worth of resources in a candidate that will inevitably have trouble attaining a visa (past year 1 post-grad).

For unlucky swines such as 'career changing internationals' (Aka: Moi), will getting decent interviews/internships be ridiculously difficult? So difficult to the point of not being able to rationalise borrowing $130K? It seems like intl's are paying much more (out of state tuition/moving costs/student visa costs etc) for a relatively reduced set of opportunities. I know real success in these areas will depend on the candidates background, abilities, luck, networking, charisma and potential employers hiring policies, etc etc but its very difficult to assess the ROI of the whole thing even in ball park figures when these factors are taken into consideration. I know I want an excellent MBA and the US is one of a few places in the world that offers them. You also get what you pay for in life. But there's a difference between paying through the nose for the best of something and not really getting what you paid for. I'd be more content if the official websites addressed the issues international students will face and how it could affect their choice to do an MBA. Caveat emptor!!

Also, on most mba sites, interntional student salaries seem to be 20%-ish lower than their domestic peers. Is it because the international students are returning to their home countries and accepting lower paid positions, or are internationals getting paid less for the same work in America?

Sorry for the rant up there! This is coming from someone who has been looking for visa sponsorship for the past 65 days and has received nothing but static due to my citizenship status. I have plenty of industry experience and have done solid networking with C level family friends in well established financial services companies and things fall to pieces when the 'V' word rears its ugly head. My experience has led me to become more skeptical and really question an internationals experience with MBAs and subsequent employment opportunities.

sanlitun · Answer

Good post .. Rux10 ..

Do the European MBAs with 80-90% international students provide a more level playing field compared to American MBAs ?

When I completed my undergraduate degree , I had a huge loan weighing on my shoulders and that affected my job search . I was ready to take the first job I could land after searching for a job for a month. Now if I add that to a drastically reduced set of job opportunities, the whole experience will be hell. I can understand the reduction in job opportunities for internationals , the question is how much of reduction should we expect when we search for jobs ? 5%- 10% - 50% ?

BlueRobin · Answer

Rux10, i assume your spanish with the bull and all, kidding.

Anyway, you can get an intership in U.K. its possible, employers are more receptive there, i dont know about usa.

But when it comes to a visa sponsorship you can get a student visa after completing studies for 2 years which many employers dont mind. They will employ you, but except for companies like JP, Morg Stan, other employers would want you to get your own visa because there is a lot of heat on the market. lol i liked that movie by the way.

I think LBS is a great place if you can get admit like warrak icon mentions and it will open a lot of doors for you, i wouldnt say everybody needs to try and fit into LBS.

You can get into other schools as well and you will get opportunities but you need to get your visa and employement which means there would be some competition.

BlueRobin · Answer

Yeah sure, thats the most practical thing to do.

Job Placement- International Students

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