Team Blitz India
Indian students studying in the US are facing huge challenges securing internships this summer amidst a major slowdown in job growth in the country.
Nowadays, internships are considered crucial for gaining on-the-job experience before entering the highly competitive job market, but many students, including those from prestigious Ivy League universities, are struggling to secure offers.
The global economic slowdown has led to a decrease in entry-level job opportunities, several students, education consultants, and Indian-American professionals in the US said. Companies’ preference to hire local students in an election year has exacerbated the situation. High inflation, rising cost of living, local unemployment rates, and sponsorship issues have further compounded the challenges faced by Indian students graduating in the US this year.
“There were about 400 undergrad students in the final year in the East Coast and West Coast, including in Ivy League schools, whom I counselled over the years, who have not got any internship offers this summer.” Said Adarsh Khandelwal, co-founder of education consulting company Collegify. The Ivy League, consisting of eight renowned private universities in the northeastern US, such as Harvard University, Yale University, and the University of Pennsylvania, is known for its academic excellence and social prestige.
Indians, even in top US colleges such as NYU Stern, UC Berkeley, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania and University of Texas at Austin, are struggling. Even students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, who were previously in high demand, are facing challenges.
Companies in technology, consulting, and new-age industries are either laying off employees or hiring freezes. “There are hardly any jobs for vanilla coding skills, unless there is an element of AI (artificial intelligence) or emerging technology in it” Khandelwal shared.
Still American colleges continuing to attract foreign students, including Indians. The number of Indian students studying in the US is at an alltime high.
