International students find overseas job market more attractive

Maria Kang ’10, who is looking for work in finance or technical consulting, is one of those international students. Kang, who lives in Paraguay and was born in Korea, explained that she has expanded her sights globally.

“A year ago, I was definitely only looking at the U.S. positions. I wasn’t even considering Asia,” Kang said, adding that she is now searching for positions in Hong Kong.

As young graduates worldwide have been struggling to find work during the economic downturn, international students are having a particularly hard time because of employment restrictions as well as recent legislation. The Employ American Workers Act, enacted in February, prohibits companies that have received funds from the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program from hiring workers who are not U.S. citizens.

“I’ve definitely gotten a couple of e-mails over the last few days being like, ‘OK, we need you to clarify whether or not you have U.S. citizenship,’ and sometimes it does mean that you just can’t go any farther with that company,” said Shobana Venkat ’10, a Danish student looking to find work as a technical or management consultant. She also said she is looking at Hong Kong as a possible place to work after graduation.

Venkat said she originally had been looking for positions in the United States, but when the economy soured last year, she set her sights abroad.

“I very quickly decided that the American job market is very stagnant,” Venkat explained. “Asia’s growing practically in double-digit numbers, so career-wise, even though culturally I might have thought I’d be a better fit on the East Coast or Europe ... It’s definitely a better choice.”

Veda Sunassee ’10, who said he hopes to pursue a career in social entrepreneurship in Africa, is facing a situation different from those many of his peers are facing, as he aims to work for a nonprofit after graduation.

Yet he said he knows that even that field is not insulated from the struggling economy. “Even the nonprofit sector is affected by the economic crisis,” he explained. “It’s going to be harder for me, because so many nonprofits have had their endowments go down, so chances of getting something to be able to make that trip [to Africa] would be challenging.”

Sunassee, who is from Mauritius, said he hopes Princeton in Africa — a fellowship program that provides recipients with stipends to live and work in African countries — will allow him to pursue this line of work despite the downturn.

Like Sunassee, who plans to return to his region of origin after graduation, other international seniors are considering returning home after they graduate.

Tiffany Tang ’10 said she aims to go home to Hong Kong after graduation and find work there. She had considered staying in the United States to work for a couple of years and gain some experience before returning to her home country.

“I knew I wanted to go back to Hong Kong after graduation to work, just because my family’s there,” Tang said.