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Did you start your career after the set back of being on H4

Discussion in 'H4 Indian Ladies' started by lollywolly, Apr 30, 2015.

  1. lollywolly

    lollywolly New IL'ite

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    Hi IL’s
    Hope you all are doing well. I wanted to share my scenario and seek help from you or your suggestions. If any of you are in the same boat then I would love to know what are your plans. If any of you got out of such a scenario and are successful now then please do share the path you took.
    I came to the USA 10 years ago. Since childhood, I was a very dynamic go getter and got success at everything like extra activities, sports etc. I did my engineering in CS and MBA. Got married to my husband who had done his masters in the USA and was working. Since I was so well qualified, I had no doubt that I would get a job in the USA. Everyone in India before marriage kept telling me – USA is a land of opportunities and for your qualifications, you will fly even further in your life. With all those dreams I came to the USA on H4 visa. When I landed here reality hit. Tried very hard to get jobs, but no luck, especially since getting H1B visa was so tough.
    Life has been like a prison, sitting within 4 walls for so many years. Upon that, betrayal from both sides family for no reason of mine. Do not wanna even get into telling of any of that what they did. So, I have lost my self-confidence. I do not feel like telling people that I have done such good degrees.
    Now I have my green card. I do not know where to start at this point. I want to work in management field since I have MBA. What would you suggest ?

    1. Do I have to do some masters again in the USA ? to get a job ?
    2. 2. Would doing MBA again in the USA get me a job ?
    3. I am also interested in Accouting and Finance. Will doing Masters in those areas get a job ? The area where I live has lots of banks and financial firms.
    4. Or do I start working in administrative jobs to eventually proceed into management ?
    5. Or do I start working at retail stores like Macy’s, Target, Walmart etc ? Working here can I get into other companies eventually ?
    6. I think about starting my own kids clothing business some times.
    I am sure there will be so many people out there who have gone through this phase in life and might have done something to emerge themselves out. Please share your experiences here and advice me what would be the best path to begin my career from ground zero.
    Appreciate you all reading my post.
    Thank You.
     
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  2. butterflyice

    butterflyice Local Champion Staff Member Platinum IL'ite

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    Welcome to Indusladies!

    Which university did you do your MBA from? If its not the IIMs and you are keen on getting into management right away, then its probably worth your time and money to get an MBA from here.

    If you need to get into accounting, enrol in MS Accounting and appear for CPA exams concurrently.

    Finance and accounting are 2 different worlds in US. To help you decide which field you want to enter, you might consider volunteering with a CPA/YMCA.

    I guess you can join in administrative jobs right away without studying here but it would be a long ride to reach management levels.

    Since you have a degree in CS, its probably the easiest (and lucrative I daresay) to enter this field directly. I am curious to know why this does not figure as an option for you.

    Kids clothing business - I have no idea. I love Zulily though :)
     
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  3. lollywolly

    lollywolly New IL'ite

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    Hi Butterflyice,

    Thank you for responding to my post.

    No, i have not done my MBA from IIM's. I do not mind studying MBA, but I am scared if it would guarantee me a job here. MBA degree is not less expensive. I see so many indians who have done MBA here either staying at home or have returned to India or have joined IT consulting companies. Not sure if employers prefer the American accent for management jobs or MBA jobs. Not that I have a bad english, infact I speak 90 percent in American accent.

    Yeah I have done my engineering in CS. The reason I am not considering that as an option is coz, I do not know of any path to get into the IT field after the years in gap. There are Indian consulting firms, but I do not want to get into their process of how they get you jobs by preparing all sorts of resumes. I hope you got I am trying to say.

    If you know of any ways to start a IT career other then consulting then please let me know.

    Thank You.
     
  4. preethi91

    preethi91 New IL'ite

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    Re: Did you start your career after getting your Green Card ? - Plz read on

    If you are really interested in start up a carrier in management,U dont need a master degree from US.U need some experience working in management field.I hope you will be in the following states new jersey,new york and california.There will be plenty of jobs available in those areas.since you dont have experience in US,start applying for jobs in small companies like summer internship,unpaid positions,low salary.Doing MBA in US will not give you a job but it will be a plus in your resume.Since you are currently enrolled in some colleges,you will get internship easily in small companies.Then you will proceed to a full time job.why dont you try in IT field as business analyst or software tester?I would suggest you to contact a consulting company which will gives you training and placement.since you have green card so the consulting company dont have to sponsor H1b sponsor for you.You have been in US for 10 years so you will be good in communication and interacting with people.If the consulting company or internship jobs doesnt work for you ,then go for administrative jobs on a temporary basis.I know one of my friend who started her carrier very lately as a administative assistant and now she is working in IT field as a QA tester.
     
  5. butterflyice

    butterflyice Local Champion Staff Member Platinum IL'ite

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    @lollywolly,

    Getting jobs in non technical services is a product of business cycles and the reputation of the university that one goes to. I am not sure if the cases you mentioned did MBA part time or full time. My experience is that full-time MBA from a reputed university usually land good jobs.

    We do lack on communication/presentation skills compared to Americans and this becomes very apparent in non technical jobs. But I do not think it will hamper getting jobs, a lesser starting salary perhaps.

    I hear you about jobs in IT. I am not in that field, but what I have seen people who do not want to go the consultant route is to enrol in MS and then start working. It works very well in getting aid (since lab positions tend to be more in this area as opposed to MBA).

    For more ideas in IT, I am tagging the following posters for insight.

    @jskls, @VanithaSudhir, @Gauri03
     
  6. VanithaSudhir

    VanithaSudhir Platinum IL'ite

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    Hi Lolly,

    I don't think you need a Masters degree from the U.S to get a job. In fact here in in IT, I haven't noticed anyone looking at the degree either. They do ask standard questions like Highest degree of education, but most of the time the emphasis is on the experience and its relevance to the openings.

    With 10 yrs of gap, I am not sure how it will work out for you. Have you done any trainings or courses ? Even if you mask your experience, cracking the technical rounds might be challenging. Moroever you will feel lost on the job too. You will get minimum help with your work in U.S companies, unlike in Indian companies.

    To get into IT development job will be little difficult considering your gap. But you can always try for a Business Analyst kind of role in IT, since you have a MBA degree. I assume it is Finance, since you mentioned that you would like to try in accounting etc. Again the problem is experience. Even if you had 1 or 2 years of experience it would have helped you. Is it possible for you to get some trainings in SAP FICO or something related ? I have seen some folks getting training in QA (Testing) etc and working as an intern. You can try to explore these options as well.

    IMO, you don't have to have an american accent to work in Higher management in companies here. You only need the potential and drive. I don't speak in an American accent and was in management position. There are Russians, Chinese and even some spanish who do not speak as much English as we Indians do. But they are skilled in their job and I don't see English or accent being counted in for a job in IT.
     
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  7. VanithaSudhir

    VanithaSudhir Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks for tagging me BF. ( Butterflyice, I meant :)..
     
  8. lollywolly

    lollywolly New IL'ite

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    @Butterflyice

    I totally agree with you on the non technical jobs. Even though we might be excellent at communication, Americans still out stand us. And jobs like sales or marketing will have immense competition from Americans. Except if one does MBA from Harvard, Stanford etc, I believe we stand less chance to get into such roles. That being the reason I am a little worried if I would get a ROI after doing MBA here, although I love that field.

    True, I agree that doing MS will have more chances of getting a job here. Thanks for sharing about the financial aids for MS degree. I was never aware about that. Do you have any information or websites on how to find financial aids ?

    Since I already have done engineering in CS and MBA, not sure if I did MS in IT what kind of jobs I might get into. Any ideas? I was thinking maybe to change my field entirely and do MS in accounting or MS in finance so I can try for jobs at Banks or Financial companies since we have a ton of those in the area I live.

    @VanithaSudhir

    I already have been through the Business Analyst path and worked as a BA for 1 year. I was placed through an Indian consulting company. I did not mention that in my original post coz I do not want to get into that path of going through a consulting company again. Although I did extremely well in my job and Business Analysis is a perfect job for me considering my background in both Technical and Business. But at this point in my life, I do not want to go the consulting path considering all the pressure it brings during the application process, I hope you get what I mean here.

    You mentioned in your post that even a 1 or 2 years experience would help. How would my 1 year of BA experience help me now? Its been like 4 years since I worked. Please share your ideas.

    You also mentioned of people taking QA training and working as Interns. Have they done their training through an Indian Consulting Firm? Do you know how and where to look for such Internship opportunities ?
    Like QA would there be any Business Analysis training ? Like from an American college ? Would that help me start back as a BA ?

    I am trying to look for “Returnship” opportunities. These programs are for people who are out from work force for a prolonged period of time.
    I am also keeping my 1 year experience on my resume. But I am not sure If I should be applying for “Entry Level” Positons or “No experience required” positions etc.
    Such positions will mostly be in sales, or at stores or some small companies with pay like 28K, 35K etc.
    I do not mind the pay being less to begin with, but I am trying to find the best path for me to get into Management area eventually coz my skills are strong and I know I will flourish.

    Thank You.
     
  9. lollywolly

    lollywolly New IL'ite

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    Re: Did you start your career after getting your Green Card ? - Plz read on

    Hi Preethi,

    Thanks for your reply. I already have been through the Business Analyst path and worked as a BA for 1 year. I was placed through an Indian consulting company. I did not mention that in my original post coz I do not want to get into that path of going through a consulting company again. Although I did extremely well in my job and Business Analysis is a perfect job for me considering my background in both Technical and Business. But at this point in my life, I do not want to go the consulting path considering all the pressure it brings during the application process, I hope you get what I mean here.

    A little clarification, I am not enrolled in any college right now. I am looking at various options on what would be best for me.

    Thanks for sharing about your friend who started on a administrative job and moved to a QA role. Do you know if she moved to a QA roles through her progressive administrative role or did she go through a consulting company ?

    Thank You.
     
  10. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi @butterflyice thanks for tagging. I will share little I know. I went back to work after a long gap but due to family reasons I took a little easy path.


    OP, Based on what you want to do you can approach a college admission councillor and discuss the course you want to pursue and also you can get your current degrees evaluated for course credits. Not sure if CPA will be of interest to u. Whatever job you are applying for you should brush up/enrich your skills to match the requirements. Even after completing a financial course (for ex) workng as an intern in the required field will give you some experience to start. If you found BA stressful QA will be too monotonous unless it involves data analytics.
    @VanithaSudhir and @butterflyice have given you valuable inputs. Decide on what you want to do and then pursue. Starting with dept stores/bank teller may not help you in the direction you want to go.
     

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