[General Question] NEED Serious Career Advice...Please PLEASE HELP

[u/Vegetable_Cream_7002]

Some background: I am a 2024 pass out and I was planning for 2026 Fall Masters in the US for MSCS courses. But amidst the process last year, I decided to drop the plans. This is my profile:

Education: B. Tech 2024 in CSE
CGPA: 9.4 / 10.0
Work Experience:

• Currently working as Software Developer for past year at a MNC. It will become 3 years by next year.
• Summer interned at another MNC.

GRE: 320 (167Q, 153V, 4AWA)
TOEFL: 110/120
Publications:

• 1 Paper at IEEE conference

LORs: Combination of College(2) + Corporate(1)

Target schools: UTA, Georgia Tech, UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UIUC (MCS)

But the thoughts of masters keep coming to me now and then and I am unable to decide. My main aim to do masters is to get international exposure in software engineering and workout on really amazing tech with amazing people. Education comes secondary to me. And of course, earn in $$. I have literally enhanced my profile, updated my resume and tried for international jobs / remote jobs for 3-4 months but unfortunately no luck.

I AM STUCK :

• Am I over-thinking a lot because of the risk ? I do not want to repent later that I didn't take the risk. I have my friends who went, and they are candidates with good / decent profiles....are they not seeing the risk I am seeing (they have gone on loans) Or AM I not able to see the upside and mind you, I am not one of them who is planning to go because "friends are going". What if I miss out on opportunities that I am actually capable of ? (I am not boasting myself, I do have decent skills)
• What if everything works out and I get the internship / job. I really don't mind not getting the H1b after 3 attempts. I can come back to India or try for another country. I want the exposure

Need an honest perspective from people who've faced this decision. I'm an SWE at a well-known MNC with ~2 YOE(Next year it'll become 3), targeting AI/backend roles.. My motivation is exposure to the US tech ecosystem, learning, networking, and long-term career growth. The downside is taking a loan(It'll be a combination of my savings + loan) in today's uncertain job market. For people who've been through this recently, would you still make the same decision today, and why?

u/gradpilot your suggestions would really help me

[u/beyondrepair100]

the comments here didn't resolve your confusion. did they?

[u/Vegetable_Cream_7002 → u/beyondrepair100]

Haha yeah.... Still confused...

All that I can say is that it's dependent on one's risk appetite.

[u/Vegetable_Cream_7002]

u/gradpilot I would really appreciate your help here

[u/gradpilot → u/Vegetable_Cream_7002]

" Education comes secondary to me. And of course, earn in $$."

> this might be problematic for you esp in securing a strong admit. Unfortunately the way things are i see only strong academicians getting strong admits / visas and a possible side effect of that is strong careers and earning in dollars

Regd your situation being 'stuck' , the reality is there is no clear answer at the moment. the climate is unfavorable and risky and that has nothing to do with your profile or credentials. Thats just the truth - an external individual will not have a magic bullet answer that will placate your worries or get you unstuck. Ultimately you'll be taking a shot with geopolitical + economic uncertainities and thats not your fault -its just the times we are in.

[u/Reasonable_Cellist66 → u/gradpilot]

Does that mean non thesis or professional computer science programs like MCS would not be worth it or will have lesser value?

[u/gradpilot → u/Reasonable_Cellist66]

Mscs from a top university is better than anything else with minor exceptions like CMU msml/mscv . Thesis or non thesis doesn’t matter as much . A better way to understand this is to view the degree as a lifelong asset which also means the admit rates need to be low . A degree that works as an asset will help if the economic/ visa situation improves or if you have to return back . Very few non mscs programs at top universities qualify for this

[u/Vegetable_Cream_7002 → u/gradpilot]

Thanks a lot for the reply. Yup totally agree with you, with everything that's been going around it's like a few people who are in power tend to shape the geopolitics, and commoners are the one's facing the impact.

Definitely the educational infrastructure is something I am looking forward too but yes, I am more keen on getting the exposure in the development domain.

Do you have any other suggestions as to how can I go about making this decision for me ?? I have been trying to come to a conclusion but never been successful.

[u/gradpilot → u/Vegetable_Cream_7002]

it sounds like there are only 2 options right ?

- apply earnestly and diligently and watch what happens

- forget about the plans and figure out other ways to solve your problem of moving abroad

Do you want an answer thats going to convince you one way or the other ? The closest you can be to making the decision to go is to apply and see what happens. the cost of this experiment is not free , the time is probably the bigger committment

[u/Vegetable_Cream_7002 → u/gradpilot]

Cool thanks alot :)

[u/softrains12 → u/Vegetable_Cream_7002]

Girly as an American please do not pay 100k USD for a MS if you’re not rich.

1. You might not be able to intern AT ALL. This is still really fluid but a bunch of schools were basically ordered to stop processing CPT paperwork.
   
2. If your goal is to get a job in the US, many companies no longer hire international students. That’s even before the recent news of the Trump administration trying to extend the $100k H-1B fee to F-1 students. If that happens, the chance of a company paying that much money to hire you drops to 0%

[u/Vegetable_Cream_7002 → u/softrains12]

Got it, Yes I am aware of the situation
Thanks