Earning a US college degree in 2026 is not an automatic upgrade, and not everyone should choose to, one career coach said.
A LinkedIn post written by a career coach noted that going to the US would not solve all the problems; There are some people who are better off in India and they should understand that instead of making a hasty mid-career decision to go to the US.
Anushk Sharma, head of growth at Open Venture, said that a friend of his recently asked him if he should do a master’s degree in the US. His answer was “no” because the friend was earning Rs 18,000 in Bangalore. The US is not bad, Sharma said, adding that his advice to his friend was not because of the current situation in the US but because the friend was already “winning a game that most international students are still trying to get into”.Sharma said people should not come to the US for the wrong reasons as it could ruin their careers.
In his post, he highlighted three types of people who should not come to the United States, and if they are planning to, they should reconsider.1. People who are already earning between 15L to 20L in India in the field of Computer Science, IT or Data Science“You already have what most international students around the world are chasing. Your post-graduation salary here may not match what you leave behind. You are not upgrading. “You’re gambling with a strong hand,” the advice said.
2. New students who do not have any skillsThe US certificate will be saved if the candidate does not have the appropriate skills. “Even Harvard, Stanford, and MIT students aren’t getting jobs without real skills right now. An American degree is a stamp, not a skill. Recruiters are hiring builders, not spectators with name-brand degrees,” the post read.3. People whose financial resources cannot support moving to the United States“A bad loan today is a 10-year debt judgment tomorrow. Paychecks are lower, job hunting is longer, and the OPT clock doesn’t care about your family’s monthly insurance premiums. The American dream is real. But it’s not a default. It’s a calculated bet,” Sharma wrote.
