Please Help :: Should I pursue CS Masters in USA or remain in India to join Startups?
Hi, I am from India, and I (28yr) am in a career dilemma, so I sought your advice. Recently, I’ve been accepted into a Master’s program in CS at Ohio State University. However, I’m unsure whether to pursue this or not. I tried doing Master because company prefer US MS students. DILEMMA ------- I want to pursue entrepreneurship sooner rather than later(mostly in India). If I stay in India, I can start my journey this year rather than waiting until after my Master’s (also job market is bad). FEAR ------------- I fear if I don’t start working with startups soon, it becomes difficult as I get old (+family responsibilities). If I go to the USA, my next 5-6 years would be pretty much set in stone. QUESTION ------ So, I wonder if going to the USA would benefit my entrepreneurial journey. 1. Would it be more valuable to stay in India and pursue it here? 2. Would I feel difference in my career growth based on learnings in USA vs India? Because I saw people who went to USA learned a lot about startups (building, decision making) and I think I might have a FOMO about it. 3. Also, later if I want to switch career due to change of interest, would it be easy with US visa. Please let me know your thoughts and correct me. Thank you
Don’t try to be in two boats at the same time. You sounds confused
If entrepreneurship is the goal, the coming to the US won’t help you one bit. By the time you finish you student loan, it will be 4 years for you in the US with zero savings.
Thanks, buddy. Yes, I agree, it will take 1-2 yr to repay the loan, and I think I would have unnecessary tension of debts and Visas
Another perspective is. If somehow I manage to get into some startup after Uni, then parallelly I will be learning something? I am not sure how Visa and other things will affect me since I am 28 now.
If you’re goal is to be an entrepreneur stay in India if your goal is to be rich someday come to US
Thank you bro. Mostly, I want to learn skills as to how to build something. Since the US has a fully fledged ecosystem, so I thought it might be worth considering it.
Lol what eco system are u talking about. U can't do shit without a green card. Which you won't be eligible in the next 15 years provided u get a job or a visa
Remain in India
Yes bro. I am mostly inclined to that. I have a FOMO of learning from the best. But I think starting early from India itself will help :) Just curious, whats your thought on staying back in India
The only reason is you won’t get visa sponsorship in US. You will be wasting money on the colleges here
Sorry to say this. You seem to be confused. An entrepreneur should have really strong conviction to succeed in life. I you have FOMO I would advise you to go to USA and be rich.
I agree buddy. Since I am totally unaware of the internal functioning of the USA and Indian startup ecosystem, it adds a dilemma. I should start early and work with some of them to get hands-on experience. My main concern is if I missed the opportunity of working in USA ecosystem, would I lack knowledge when I am working here in India
A Master's program is only 18-24 months, not 5-6 years. If you think it's the golden ticket for permanent residency in the US, it's not. If you have to incur debt for the Master's, it is not worth it
Thanks Glinda for the insights. No I am not seeking for GC or anything. Its more like learning things from the best of the world. Certainly, it would be advantageous. The tradeoff is if I eventually have to return, is it worth spending money and time in the US?
I don't think it's worth it with India's growing economy. There is nothing you can get in the US, except a few years of living abroad, you can't get at home.
Why waste money and 2 years if it had nothing to do with your long-term goals? The job market in the US is getting difficult, and a lot of students here are struggling to get a single interview.
I completely agree on your point. Seems like I will be just wasting my time. Thanks @Bloomberg for the clarity. It's very helpful :)
Considering your entrepreneurship goal, post MS you would be working as an employee, there is no option for Indian citizen on opt/cpt/h1b visa to try entrepreneurship....ms will enhance your technical skills....if you have good amount of cash and like to return to India after ms then helpful..
Yes @Outseer, my main aim to join startup is to learn other things apart from tech. So, it seems like I will be mostly an employee there working on codebase only, which does not aligns with my goal. So, I will mostly stay here and try to start working on it ASAP. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback and advice. It's very helpful. :)
You could try to do the MS and work for up to 3 years in startups after graduation using STEM OPT. That way you know you are accepting positions that don’t sponsor for H/you don’t worry too much about not getting it. 3 years should be enough to pay off your loan and gain experience but not enough to make a lot of money. Since that doesn’t seem to be your goal, you should be fine. However, like others have mentioned, market is shit right now, especially for juniors (many places will consider you junior even if you had work experience in India) so getting a job in a startup might still be a challenge. Maybe try to do some informational interviews with startups in India, ask them the value of US experience to get started in the space and then decide.
Thanks @Oracle for providing clarity. I agree for learning 3 years would be sufficient. But I think right now even securing internship would be tricky in next year. So I am thinking to avoid these unnecessary hassle and focus more on the target. That way I will be aligned more. Surely, I will try to be in touch with startups here to get the general idea. I think that would be helpful. Thank you so much for shedding light in my tricky situation. Its very helpful :)
You’re welcome. Best of luck!
I too had MS CS good admits but I deferred it owing to the current market, high rate of interest and other challenges. Maybe it's FOMO, seldom it's ROMO (Relief of missing out?) Take the decision and make it right by working hard on it.
Thanks bro for the insights. Yes its another concern for me. It seems like even securing an internship is also tricky nowadays. Who knows about jobs? It seems a bit risky. My PhD friends are facing a job crisis there, which is sort of demotivating me to move to the USA. ROMO aligns with me ig :) Best wishes for your future bud :)