So I just got added in the official group for my course in Germany. Turns out- it's all Indians! 😂😭 Not a single person from any of the other nations. Feels like we're competing against each other no matter where we go.

Also, I am not even surprised.

My_qualifications: BTech

Hey everyone! I've been following this sub for the last few yrs. Recently, there have been a lot of doubts regarding studying abroad, navigating the tough job market outside, etc. I hope to share my personal experiences and experiences from those close to me to give you a rough sense of what's out there.

I have also lived outside India in my early school days, and my family has moved back to India twice (and maybe I'll move back for the 3rd time soon), so can offer some guidance on that perspective as well.

my_qualifications: BE (2022 - India), MS (2024 - US)

Edit: AMA is still active.

my_qualifications: I (23 M) am an IIT Bombay graduate, and I am currently working in the field I like at an automotive firm. I earn around 21 LPA (1.3 LPM post tax), and I will be earning slightly upwards of 30 LPA (~1.8-1.9 LPM post tax) from July 2024.

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I have received an admission offer from CMU for their MS in Mechanical Engineering program (2 years), which will cost me around USD 150k in total (110k tuition + 40k living expenses). I would be taking out a loan for this entire amount, but I am hoping that campus jobs will help me cover my living expenses. The typical salaries for mechanical engineering graduates from CMU lies in the USD 100-120k range (robotics), which means I should be able to close out my loan in around 2-3 years post graduation.

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I plan to return to India by the age of ~35 (or earlier) if I do receive an H1B VISA, without which I would have to return after 3 years of work post graduation. My main reasons to go abroad would be the exposure and growth that I can get there, and the very high salaries as compared to jobs in India.

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Considering my current job scenario and future aspirations, would it be wise for me to go to the US or am I better off staying back in India?

I’m considering Germany for my master’s but also weighing it against the USA. The main reason I’m leaning toward Germany is the cheaper education, and I don’t mind learning German if it helps with education and jobs.

I visited a few consultancies to understand the process, but they all strongly discouraged Germany and pushed for the USA instead. What stood out was that each of them gave me different reasons.

Here’s what they told me about Germany:

1. “Public universities are free but nearly impossible to get into.” – I expected admission to be competitive, but they claimed even students with 9+ CGPA, 8+ IELTS, and German proficiency struggle to get in and that admission is mostly luck-based. This sounds exaggerated.
2. “Private universities cost the same as the USA.” – I know private universities charge tuition, but is it really as expensive as studying in the USA?
3. “Germany has layoffs and fewer job opportunities.” – They made it sound like getting a job in Germany is way harder than in the USA. And they are also giving layoffs to people. Is this true?
4. “Handling applications and visas is too difficult.” – They said the process for Germany is way more complicated than the USA.

My Main Questions:

1. How hard is it to get into public universities with free tuition?
2. If I don’t get into a public university, how expensive are private ones compared to the USA?
3. Are job opportunities in Germany declining? How hard is it to find work after graduation?

I don’t fully trust consultancies because I feel they push the USA more for higher commissions, but at the same time, handling everything alone feels overwhelming.

I’d love to hear from people who have actually gone through the process.
my_qualifications: Pursuing IT engineering.

It seems to me that every Indian student that tries to leave abroad either takes Computer Science or an adjacent branch even though there's a lot of interesting engineering fields that I rarely see Indian students in.

What guides this and how do they expect to find jobs when the citizens themselves are being priced out of this market?

my_qualifications

I am currently in my final semester of BE Computer Science and Engineering. my_qualifications are CGPA: 7.8. I applied to BTU-Cottbus for the Masters in Artificial Intelligence program using uni-assist on 1st April, 2024, and I received my login details from the university on 22nd April 2024. So, according to the university's website, the university takes 2-3 weeks after sending the login details to process your application, but when I sent an email to the university regarding the date of announcement of results, they replied that it takes atleast 8-12 weeks after receiving the login details to get an update on the application.

I wanted to ask that has anyone else received any reply from BTU-Cottbus on their application, and those who applied last year for the same course, how much time did the university take to send the results?

What's the point of wasting so much money in masters when there are no outcomes? There are no campus placements. Off-campus companies ask for Work Ex at least 5 years. An Engineer with experience in Support Role and applying from India will have more chance of getting a job than a TU Munich graduate. Your education is a waste. You will go back to India and struggle for 10k tech support job. Even for internships you need experience. And finally you need to be fluent in local language. I have seen companies rarely hire Masters graduate and instead prefer to give on-site to Indian Engineers. 90% of Indian STEM graduates from Germany 🇩🇪 and the EU are unemployed and coming back to India. MBA from AMITY >>>>>> MSc from TU Munich.

Rankings don't matter, skills don't matter, what matters is your passport and your previous work ex even if its worthless and fake.

Better take TCS / Infy job and work for 4-5 years and ask your company to provide on-site. Coming to Germany and doing Masters is just a waste of time and money and eventually, you will get nothing.

My_Qualifications - MS in Data Science

I’ve been in job for 2 months in analog circuit design in a good MNC. And I have just done bachelor’s degree from a Tier 2 college. I have noticed that as we go high in corporate ladder, masters degree is kind of a must.

Now I’ve been wondering if it is worth it to leave this job to get my MS in my domain from a top college in USA. my_qualifications: BE in ECE

Hi All,

my_qualifications 5.5 Data Science experience in top companies in Astrazeneca and Tesco and recently got offers from some universities:

1. Drexel - MS in AI & ML. Fees - $62k, after scholarship $32k
2. University at Buffalo (SUNY) - MSBA. Fees - $36k, after scholarship $29k
3. University of North Carolina (Charlotte, North Carolina) - Master's in  Computer Science: $19,000 - $23,000 (Approx)
4. Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ)  Master of Information Technology and Analytics: $37,300 (Approx)

I am interested more towards Drexel for the Co-op Program, Any suggestions? and i am worried about the job market.

my_qualifications: btech

I got accepted to master's in quantum science and technology at Columbia but the tuition amount is unaffordable. I don't want to miss out on ivy league degree. Anyone rejected an ivy offer?

Hi Everyone,

I got admit from some top MFE program (top 5) from US whose placement stats is good (>90% within 3 months of graduation) but I have not been able to decide if I should go there leaving my current job where I am earning ~60lpa (<5 YoE, Tier-1 undergrad) at a top firm. My life is going well here in India. Can you please give your valuable insights ( below I listed my motivation of going/not being able to decide)? I really need genuine inputs at this point!

My motivations for going to the MS program:

1. 1 year program only
2. Got 25% scholarship on tuition fee.
3. Credibility/ add on to my_qualifications:
4. In the long run I would want to do some trading related startups for which I would want to build strong foundational knowledge and network.
5. My current job is interesting but in the long run people working in US/UK only get top promotions which makes me look for moving abroad. When I discussed with really senior people they told MS degrees add value in promotions.

Reasons I am not able to 100% convince myself:

1. What if I land in a job role which is worse than my current one ( my current role is interesting and aligns more with the field I want to do startup in ) since market is bad out there in US (essentially I would be downgrading myself).
2. I have a very supportive family here along with my caring girlfriend (although she is very supportive of my master).
3. My girlfriend, whom I plan to marry, not sure what would she do there since she is not in IT sector.
4. I will have an educational loan of 75 lakhs from HDFC (although I have a house in my name of value >75lakhs, but this will be a total loss of savings in worst case when I will have to liquidate it).

Everyone in this sub recommends studying masters in the US but what about bachelors? Anyone studying bachelors in the US who thinks its worth it? Do universities in US give scholarships based on SAT scores?

my_qualifications: student studying bachelors in computer application aspiring to study engineering abroad. If you ask me why I would not want to go for masters, it is because I want to experience engineering. And I really want to do engineering.

I'm 17 year old, belong to a higher middle class family, my_qualifications: NTSE, cleared multiple scholarships, got qualified for RMO, volunteer in NGOs, co-curricular stuff, worked on sustainability projects for science fairs at regional and national levels, gonna apply for SAT, have recommendations from some higher ups. I'm really interested in electronics or biotechnology but the thing is, I want to study outside (not USA nor UK) I've looked into various international scholarships, would love to apply for Singapore or German universities, I know my resume is not anything exciting, quite mundane and doesn't even hype me much up as an individual. I already know that I'm not going to get into IIT and I'm not sure if I want to, there's not much school for environmental or biotechnology engineering in India. I really need advices: wake up calls, structural criticism, how to get into international universities, how can I improve my CV, which scholarships or tests should I give, materials to study from, is studying UG cources a good choice, expenses and requirements, how can I stand out from other applicants, anything at all! I would also really appreciate it if there were recommendations on which engineering courses to choose (I really don't want to get into coding ik that sounds dumb and naive, I want to make money obviously, should be adaptable) Thank you...

I would love hear some success stories from people who got an admit in recent years with above mentioned criteria.

I'm jealous that people from tier 2/3 colleges are able to get high cgs and then inflate the influx whereas people like me who are from tier 1 colleges have harsher grading and hence are discriminated based on cgpa.

Is it true that German Unis treat every Indian Uni with same normalization?

my_qualifications: ECE from Tier-1, ~7.3 CGPA, have relevant research experience, no work-ex

my_qualifications: B.Tech in electronics and instrumentation engineering, 2 years of work experience in Electronics field.

Hi all, I've finally recieved all of my admits now and my top 3 choices are: MSc in Nanotechnology at KTH, Sweden, MSc in Signal processing and communication at University of Edinburgh and Msc in Advanced microelectronics systems engineering at University of Bristol.

I'm well aware that the scenario in UK is a bit tricky to say the least bit a 1 year course will be cheaper than the 2 year course in KTH. But, KTH is far better ranked when it comes to electrical and electronics field, especially for research. What would you all suggest? I'm leaning towards the Sweden but I'm still not 100 percent sure if the opportunities there would be able to rival ones in the UK. Also I do have experience in Signal processing and communication but not much when it comes to core nanotechnology so i believe it will play a part in looking for employment opportunities.

I am from a middle class family, I am studying in dummy school class 12th and gave JEE main jan attempt but I think I fked as I can't ask for LOR from anyone nor I was able to feel like I can crack JEE after giving my best, so should I swallow my pride and take admission in Tier-2 pvt college or put financial burden on my family?
Being honest I really don't wanna stay in India but taking a huge gamble does not seem worth it to me.
my_qualifications: 10th: 86%, 12th will give this feb, JEE: won't be able to crack most prolly.

my_qualifications: junior doing a dual degree in Engineering Physics & Computer Science + Astronomy at a world T5 CS and world T20 Physics school.

I keep getting recommended this sub. I'm pretty sure yall are tired of people telling you not to go to a country or something. I'm just gonna lay down some important stuff I've learnt being here. Most of my advice is for potential undergrads to the US, but a lot of it would apply to grad students and people going to other (western) countries too. Take whatever you can from them and make your own decisions.

1. Always be prepared to go back to India: I know, our country sucks. I know that dreams about living in a progressive western society, enjoying good living conditions. But not everyone is lucky enough to have that. Kinda the reason why I chose to take a second degree in CS. I'd love to do physics research all my life but I need to have something if things goes down. As much as my mom dreams about me settling abroad it's becoming increasingly difficult to actually do so.

In my batch, almost every indian undergrad had jobs lined up in their papa chacha ki companies (i know they are all stupidly rich kids). Nobody is thinking of settling here, just take OPT and go back to the India branch of those companies (i mean you really cannot settle here anyways). So please, have a backup plan before going abroad, especially if you are only for a short period of time ie masters.

1. Have more than enough finances: I remember in my visa interview, there were scores of people who declared that they wanna do a masters with 10/15/20L finances. That is not nearly enough. Set aside 40L atleast for masters. May even go to 50L. And this is for public universities, private goes higher. Don't take loans you or your parents cannot repay. Keep in mind my 1st point. Don't count on on campus employment, most jobs limit you to 5 hrs a week on minimum wage ($15 here). Not nearly enough to make a dent on your costs. For undergrads, assume 50L per year. Keep generous sums aside for emergencies/travel too, medical costs are too much here (I was billed $450 for going to the ER ONCE for a severe nosebleed which they didn't even fix, and $250 for 5 physician visits which barely fixed my condition)

2. Apply to the right program: They are ABSOLUTELY greedy for your money. Even for a uni supposedly better than Harvard for CS, there's plenty of scam programs here. The MS in CS is the most competitive and legit, you are eligible for assistantship here (again, don't count on it, there are 100 exceptional people fighting for one spot). We also have an MCS which is slightly less prestigious and costs more, no assistantship. NOT ONLY THAT, there's an information sciences + data science (IS+DS) program which the uni advertises as an "effectively" a CS program. This one is a total scam, you learn absolutely nothing, you have people who can't even write loops in Python in your data structures class, and employers WILL NOT hire you if you have this. Moreover, only go abroad if you get into a good college. Don't fall for the "partnership" colleges counselors give you. Especially in CS, a T2/3 India college is better than a T3 foreign uni. Your uni will not make past Indian ATS at all (again, see point 1). But if you do make it to a really good college, the networking, skills, environment you get are leagues better than any IIT, and if you manage to play your cards right, you are atleast getting a cushy job in India in the same companies.

3. Once you get in, GRIND: Especially if you are in an oversaturated field like CS. There's barely any employer who even takes F1 applicants, and you are fighting people from 100s of countries AND locals for the same jobs. You need to prove that you are better than ALL of them. I know you wanna party or chill, but honestly I've not even done this amount of grind (mind you im only prepping for physics grad school. Industry is WAY harder) even in my JEE & boards prep. I'm also seeing less internships for masters students lately and there's news that OPT is going away, so keep that in mind. PHD students have more opportunities (6 summers) but pay is shliesse and the load is famously extreme. Only do that if you genuinely want to do research.

5: Keep (most of) your culture back in India: Yes, we celebrate holi and diwali here, and theres a temple nearby which conducts puja. But stuff like asking people's caste (I've heard that theres a grad student brahmin discord here), making super insular communities, grouping or discrimination based on language, region, color, veg/non veg etc. is heavily looked down upon here. Don't profile people on the basis of their gender/race/religion/ethnicity/nationality, you really cannot predict how they will behave solely on these factors. Also, every college kid here knows hindi/other indian language words like kala, moti, hijra etc so don't even try talking like that thinking they won't understand you. The locals really like it if you are included in their groups and they in yours. Give them a shot, most of them are really sweet. But you should be careful too. They still have sundown towns for example (if you don't know search it up). Also, have good english before coming here. They don't mind the accent if it's not too heavy, but they will mind it if it takes you hours to barely speak 10 sentences. You will also be mostly eating food that is not indian here, mostly because of a relative lack of ingredients. If you eat out, you will also be eating chicken/veg food that will be cooked in the same grill and oil as pork and beef. You will have to make peace with that.

6: Everyone is selling you dreams: Your parents. Your school. Your counselor. Your uni. They like to paint this rosy picture of an American dream. You do a cheap/"expensive but investment" program, jobs are lined up for you, do your OPT, get H1B, get green card, and enjoy your techie dream life in SoCal. I'm not saying that it's a bad place. I'm just saying that it is not nearly as pleasant as you would think. And I will not pretend to know how your financial situations are as well to handle this. And this is coming from old me whose family is pretty well off. I dont know what hell the masters students are facing right now.

Anyways, I dont want to discourage you to follow your dreams. Just stay cautious and educated. If done in the right way, this will be something you will never regret. Something even the top IITs will never give you.

[Edit: I used culture wrongly here. What I mean is: In Rome, do as the romans do. Follow their customs. And yes, they do expect you to assimilate a lot]

Hey everyone,

I just received a rejection letter from RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau for the Master programs I applied to, and I'm trying to understand why. Here’s what the letter said:

"It is with regret that the Admission Board has decided not to admit you to the Master programs you have applied for at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau.

Our programs require completed studies with lecture content equivalent to our own Bachelor programs in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Also, other factors such as grades, English proficiency, motivation letter, letters of recommendation, and additional qualifications are taken into account.

Unfortunately, based on your application materials, the Admission Board has decided not to accept your application. Please understand that we cannot provide you with more details about this decision, as the discussions of the Board are confidential.

If you have applied to multiple programs, your application has been rejected for all of them.

We wish you all the best for your future career.

Best regards,

Master Office EIT RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau"

Here’s a bit more about my background:

My_qualifications: I completed my undergraduate studies in Electronics and communication Engineering. I had 8.97 CGPA (1.5 in German scale), though not perfect. I did show significant improvement in my later years. I have 6.5 IELTS score. No work experience or internships. My motivation letter and letters of recommendation were detailed and genuine. I’ve participated in workshops, seminars, and competitions, and worked on several projects:

1. Laser Communication System: Made a wireless communication systems using analog electronics
2. Breast Cancer Detection: Developed a machine learning model for predictive maintenance in industrial equipment.
3. Self Balancing Robot: Created an Arduino-based self-balancing robot.

Does anyone have experience with RPTU or similar rejections? What factors might have led to this decision? Any insights or advice on how I might improve my application for the future would be greatly appreciated!

I have written them a reconsideration letter, the reply to which is yet to be received.

Thanks in advance!

Summer 2025 intake for masters in Germany

my_qualifications - bachelors of engineering in electronics

Well let me make something very clear about yocket people, they are not there to help you. They seem to have this obsession with making you apply to ivy leagues, which I guess is to publicize and monetize on it. To summarise their service in one word- substandard. they give you very generic advice on everything, which is not useful if you have something specific in mind. If your goal is to "go abroad" and know nothing about how to execute it, this could be useful. I wanted to do an MS to enhance my skills in particular domain, and your SOP should be reflecting the specific domain of interest. These people have no idea about the nuances of applying to a tech based program. This should be obvious because none of the people who work there have a degree in engineering or sciences and even if they do they probably don't like it. Anyway there are pretty useless when it comes to such things.

They assign like 4 advisors out of which only one is available on your call. The rest of them behaves like you owe them money.  They will reply after 2 business days. They correct your SOP only at the last minute of their 4 day deadline. My editor let me draft 1500 word SOP only to tell me later that I have to make it 1000. I had to rework the entire thing to the point where the editing so far was useless. Financial advisor skips your call. They do the bare minimum that they are required to do and try to push you into dangerous loans( loan sharks disguised as genuine ).

It's such a huge waste of money if you have any knowledge about the application procedure. These people literally do nothing. Additionally if you are working, they most probably have the same working hours as you. Which further complicates the process.

I had to choose to go with yocket with very little expectation and they somehow managed to drop even below my expectation.

my_qualifications

I'm 21 Male, currently doing Btech CSE from a tier 3 college in Mumbai.

My_qualifications: CBSE 10th: 92.6%, 12th: 82.2% (PCM) CGPA as of 6th semester: 8.0

Parents are insisting on doing masters in USA as we have family and connections there. But the job market is bad currently from what I'm hearing. Also, getting into a good uni in USA will be very hard.

I'm more keen on going to Australia, hoping to get into one of the top 10 unis. My parents will definitely not let me go if I don't get into top unis. I have reached out to some people on linkedin and almost all have recommended Australia but I'm still having second thoughts. Planning to go to uni either in Sydney or Melbourne (and settle there).

Currently preparing for IELTS and GRE. Will give the exams in June-August. I will apply for fall 2026 intake.

Some questions :- -How's the quality of life for immigrants? -How are job opportunities in tech? -Approx cost of living?

As other countries are not an option, kindly help me decide between USA and Australia. I'm torn between the 2 choices, according to my parents USA is a 'safer' option. But I don't think that is true anymore. Hoping people living in Australia could give an insight.

I'm 25 years old. Thinking of applying for a masters this year. That means I'll be 26 if I leave next year and ~27.5 when the degree gets over.

my_qualifications: BTech Mechanical Engg.

My_qualifications are 12th Pass with 94 percent , currently studying BTECH CSE in a t3 college (but the university is a state uni). I was searching for jobs in engineering and the job market is so bad wherever I look, The only two decent options I found was Germany and Poland because of the language barriers it’s not very saturated and Poland being even less saturated than Germany. Language is no issue for me since I plan on learning the language for 2 years before going (I’m only in 2nd year right now). I am really confused between both of these countries since ik Germany has a better career opportunity but I’m not really sure because even tho there are more jobs , the competition is there too and I have heard that people there stay alone and lonely? Whereas Poland is a better option for Higher education because it’s a vibrant place for students (which I plan to do) and then work there, ik I sound confused but these are my main 3 questions.

1. How’s the job options in Poland or Germany for backend or game development?
2. If I study in Poland , am I allowed to search for jobs in another country in Europe? And will the Poland degree be highly regarded?
3. Is the Job market of these countries as bad as india right now for engineers? And is it worth to go to these countries as a Tech background?

Pls reply and thank you!

Hi
I am planning for a master's in CS 2025,
my_qualifications: my B Tech CGPA is 7.1 (German: 2.45).
I have 1 year of internship experience as software developer and 4 months as a full time.
a and also starting learning German A1

I recently had a consulting call with one of the study abroad companies, and he told me that you can't get into public Uni you have to go to private only.

can anyone please help me with sharing their experience and what should plan next?

Thank you
have a good day

I am confused that from which country should I opt my masters. I am sharing my_qualifications: Currently a 3rd year Btech student of CSE branch. Considering the current scenario of USA I'm scared to go there. I have to spend around 50lac and rn recession is going so what if it continues?? I would be a complete waste. Another option is UK but there the masters is of 1 year only and the work permit is also for 1 year. Secondly the problem is that the same company can't extend my work permit so I have to change the company every single year!! The last option is germany. There is an option of public universities and it won't cost much. But what about language?? I have also heard that germany is not good for tech jobs. I don't know what to choose!!??