Hi, While discussing with NRIs here and trying to seek internship for my student at IIT everyone asked me what is the need for a foreign internship. They all came here to work forever or as students initially. I said that it is a trend at IITs these days and a third of IITians go abroad for internships. Many have tried to help. But I am begining to realize that if I was a rich uncle in America who has been stayinghere for long and hence developed long term networks it would not have been difficult for me to secure internship - or even pay for the stay if unpaid internship.
Indeed I have come to know quite a few uncles and aunts who fund or bear living expenses of their nephews and nieces and in some cases sponsor their H1B work visas so that they can work in their own labs etc. In all such cases the regional setup of India is reflected. Either the uncles and aunts are from Delhi or from Chennai or Bangalore. One girl who was my roommate for sometime was sponsored by her uncle in a rich area in DC suburb- she was from Mumbai, her father a senior Vice President at Godrej. I think this pattern is being reflected even at India's top educational institutions. There was perhaps a time that only nerds entered IITs based on their academics. It is true it is very tough to get in still but even upper middle class parents having gobal connections make their kids train hard and get in. I have known rich industrialists also eager for their kids to get into IITs -instead of going to some top liberal arts college like Oxford, Cambridge. Infosys chief famously remarked that his son went to Cornell because he couldn't get into IITs. But such well placed parents or relatives can also help secure global internships or fund them even in unpaid ones. Or later use their contacts land global level jobs abroad in US dollars. To some extent this class bias is in US univs also but those who face it are keenly aware of it before they join the univs. So are ready to face the challenge or ready to wait longer to reach the same level of "success." International students realize even when they come to study that job prospects will be harder for them since they are not citizens -- and thus they do not feel the social pressure or the heartburn that much if and when they find that their local US counterparts securing better jobs etc. In India parents and friends tar all IITians etc in the same brush and hence expect all graduates and students to achieve "success" (in quotes) at same time. Which is unrealistic? Umesh PS: Also it seems to me that IIT Alumni groups in USA etc are not for helping current students with internships or job advice but somewhat like "mutual Admiration Societies" or at best for fund raising to help IITs' financing. They don't even have email addresses seeking to help anyone who is not an alum. http://www.iitfoundation.org/msgboard/showmsglist.php?id=2 Perhaps they should atleast make support groups for IIT girl students (only 10% of IIT students) or those from marginalized groups or from remote areas having no access to cultural/social capital. Even western jobs are mostly through networking - 60% of jobs are through networking . Perhaps this trend is spreading to India as well - where positions are advertised only when you cannot fill them through networks of friends or family members. Umesh Sharma Washington D.C. 1-202-215-4328 [Cell] Ed.M. - International Education Policy Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Class of 2005 http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info) http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info) www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used ) http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/ http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/ --------------------------------- Yahoo! Answers - Get better answers from someone who knows. Tryit now. _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
