Seeking

Well, don't go by only the negatives.
 
The best option for you is to join in the CS Masters and see what kind of opportunities open up for you. You may go on to do a PhD after this, you may get an understanding employer who may support your GC application, the priority dates for India may begin moving while you are doing MS or you may immigrate to Canada and come back to the US after a while. Or you may keep on getting employed on H1B and register for courses as so many others are doing.
 
But you'll know exactly how people in your discipline are managing only if you join in your MS program and see how it's being done by others. The sooner you do it the better it is for you in the long run.
 
You can't plan everything from India before you leave. You have to ensure your admission and funding from India and then work it out as the situation unfolds before you in the US.
 
The basic rule of immigration is that you should be willing to take risks.
 
So, take one step at a time and do it. If so many others are doing it, this means there is certainly some way to do it.
 
See this link. It may be of use to you - 
 
http://www.ice.gov/sevis/practical-training/

A lot depends upon how influential your POI is.
 
Perhaps you can see the POIs' profiles at both schools and how successful their students have been in finding a job after PhD. Schools usually have a list of alumni, where they are now and you can search the profiles of PhD candidates under your POIs in Google.
 
But I speak as an outsider. Attending candidates in your sub-field may be able to say better if they know about the names of both schools - perhaps in PM.

Takeruk,
 
Thanks for this information.
 
Yes, a medical Doctor running a restaurant is sad, but PhDs, Post-Docs, University lecturers, Doctors and Engineers working as cab drivers, elevator operators, small-time fruit vendors, construction workers and cleaning attendants is much sadder. This is the reality of Canadian immigrants. Unfortunately, they didn't know about this till they reached there. But the realization is coming now and the new wave of applicants are not going for Canada as their first preference.
 
Apart from Canada immigration not working, UK has closed its skilled immigration for the time being and the Indians in Australia have had to face violent attacks there leading to the drop in Australian applications to a drastic low level. The Indian students' immigration to Australia has almost come down to a trickle.
 
So, all these applicants who would have otherwise applied to Canada, UK and Australia are turning towards the US now. 
 
You will still see a rise in the number of applications to Canada, but see it in terms of the growing (read "exploding") population of young, educated people in India - in proportion to this, there is a gradual slowdown in the Canadian applications.

Well, don't go by only the negatives.
 
The best option for you is to join in the CS Masters and see what kind of opportunities open up for you. You may go on to do a PhD after this, you may get an understanding employer who may support your GC application, the priority dates for India may begin moving while you are doing MS or you may immigrate to Canada and come back to the US after a while. Or you may keep on getting employed on H1B and register for courses as so many others are doing.
 
But you'll know exactly how people in your discipline are managing only if you join in your MS program and see how it's being done by others. The sooner you do it the better it is for you in the long run.
 
You can't plan everything from India before you leave. You have to ensure your admission and funding from India and then work it out as the situation unfolds before you in the US.
 
The basic rule of immigration is that you should be willing to take risks.
 
So, take one step at a time and do it. If so many others are doing it, this means there is certainly some way to do it.
 
See this link. It may be of use to you - 
 
http://www.ice.gov/sevis/practical-training/

Well, don't go by only the negatives.
 
The best option for you is to join in the CS Masters and see what kind of opportunities open up for you. You may go on to do a PhD after this, you may get an understanding employer who may support your GC application, the priority dates for India may begin moving while you are doing MS or you may immigrate to Canada and come back to the US after a while. Or you may keep on getting employed on H1B and register for courses as so many others are doing.
 
But you'll know exactly how people in your discipline are managing only if you join in your MS program and see how it's being done by others. The sooner you do it the better it is for you in the long run.
 
You can't plan everything from India before you leave. You have to ensure your admission and funding from India and then work it out as the situation unfolds before you in the US.
 
The basic rule of immigration is that you should be willing to take risks.
 
So, take one step at a time and do it. If so many others are doing it, this means there is certainly some way to do it.
 
See this link. It may be of use to you - 
 
http://www.ice.gov/sevis/practical-training/

Takeruk,
 
Thanks for this information.
 
Yes, a medical Doctor running a restaurant is sad, but PhDs, Post-Docs, University lecturers, Doctors and Engineers working as cab drivers, elevator operators, small-time fruit vendors, construction workers and cleaning attendants is much sadder. This is the reality of Canadian immigrants. Unfortunately, they didn't know about this till they reached there. But the realization is coming now and the new wave of applicants are not going for Canada as their first preference.
 
Apart from Canada immigration not working, UK has closed its skilled immigration for the time being and the Indians in Australia have had to face violent attacks there leading to the drop in Australian applications to a drastic low level. The Indian students' immigration to Australia has almost come down to a trickle.
 
So, all these applicants who would have otherwise applied to Canada, UK and Australia are turning towards the US now. 
 
You will still see a rise in the number of applications to Canada, but see it in terms of the growing (read "exploding") population of young, educated people in India - in proportion to this, there is a gradual slowdown in the Canadian applications.

You can get the answer to this mystery only once you are in the US, completing a Graduate Program from a well-ranked institution.
 
There are many kinds of information that you get only when you are in a US school.
 
Almost all US schools do have an employment office and also an immigration cell to provide the right information to the International candidates. But you have to be there to get their help.

What TakeruK says is true for the jobs in the market. In the academia though, everything depends upon whether you are able to land a TT position in a reputable institution as soon as you complete your PhD. Applying for a Green Card from thereon is relatively less troublesome as compared to the jobs in the business sector.
 
You need to be in the top range and have very good contacts to land a TT job straight after PhD. 
 
Of course, it depends upon whether you are applying for a PhD or a Masters.
 
I am not sure that candidates from India are mainly immigrating to join families - except those coming on a spouse visa - this is true for other immigrants, not for Indians. Indians mostly arrive in the US to study and keep on moving from one degree or job to another till they can file for a Green Card. Perhaps this is why Dardie has asked this question.
 
I wish the USCIS would grant immigration to those who have a US degree and who have found a regular job after completing their US degree, rather than making the candidates dependent upon the employers to file for immigration.
 
A candidate who has a US degree and has found a regular job after getting the US degree should be able to file for Green Card on their own. 

Armadilla,
 
Yes you are right about the EC 2 backlog for the Indian and Chinese applicants.
 
What I meant by it being easier in the academia is that academic institutions support a GC application more readily than business employers, who can exploit the candidates because of the nature of GC regulations in the US. Academic institutions don't want to lose a well-qualified candidate whom they have already employed for several years.
 
Besides, once the priority date for a GC application is reached, the application from an academic from a reputable institution takes less time to get processed than one from the business or professional sector - unless there are some errors in the application.
 
A limited number of academics also manage to show that they fall in the EB1 category, for which the priority date is current, but they are very few in number.
 
Otherwise, you are right that the rules for EB 2 immigration are the same for all who fall in that category.
 
This is why Indian and Chinese applicants keep on getting registered in different Graduate Programs and changing jobs with whoever wants to give them an H1B visa till they are able to file a GC application. 
 
This not only creates problems for the candidates and makes the work of the USCIS more difficult, it is building up extra pressure on the Grad programs, who get an inflated pool of applications, from candidates who are not at fault.
 
And the US is not able to utilize this pool of skilled workers to its utmost potential, because these candidates spend a lot of time getting stabilized in the US.
 
This is why I said that instead of having this complex categorization of skilled workers, they should just allow the highly skilled candidates with a US degree and a regular job in their field to file a GC application without having to seek sponsorship from the employer and process the applications on a case by case basis.
 
This way, the US will be able to use the high skills of foreign workers much more efficiently than at present.
 
Canada is a much greater illusion than the US when it comes to immigration and a job in one's own field. It's relatively much easier to get the Canadian immigration, but once these candidates reach there, they discover that the Canadian employers offer jobs to only those who have a Canadian degree.
 
As a result, very highly skilled candidates from India are not able to get a job in their field in Canada after they immigrate and are forced to engage in work that doesn't recognize their high-level qualifications.
 
At this advanced stage, they can't even begin their education all over and it is really demeaning to all their previous qualifications if they have to do so. Hence, they go for business or job that is not in their skilled field, or just get a Graduate degree in a professional field for a couple of years that will get them a job in Canada. In the last case, their job relates to only their Canadian degree and devalues all their previous qualifications.
 
Thus, Canada is actually wasting almost all of its skilled immigrants' qualifications by the way the work situation in Canada is oriented. 
  Earlier a lot of Indians were attracted by the relatively easy immigration program of Canada, but now they are beginning to realize the problems that lie in Canada and hence, the interest in Canadian immigration is falling now. In fact, all these candidates who would have otherwise gone to Canada are turning towards the US now, because despite whatever problems the US immigration system has, it is still better than the Canadian illusion.   If there are Indians going from the US to Canada, it's perhaps only with an intention to come back to the US at a later date.

You can get the answer to this mystery only once you are in the US, completing a Graduate Program from a well-ranked institution.
 
There are many kinds of information that you get only when you are in a US school.
 
Almost all US schools do have an employment office and also an immigration cell to provide the right information to the International candidates. But you have to be there to get their help.

Armadilla,
 
Yes you are right about the EC 2 backlog for the Indian and Chinese applicants.
 
What I meant by it being easier in the academia is that academic institutions support a GC application more readily than business employers, who can exploit the candidates because of the nature of GC regulations in the US. Academic institutions don't want to lose a well-qualified candidate whom they have already employed for several years.
 
Besides, once the priority date for a GC application is reached, the application from an academic from a reputable institution takes less time to get processed than one from the business or professional sector - unless there are some errors in the application.
 
A limited number of academics also manage to show that they fall in the EB1 category, for which the priority date is current, but they are very few in number.
 
Otherwise, you are right that the rules for EB 2 immigration are the same for all who fall in that category.
 
This is why Indian and Chinese applicants keep on getting registered in different Graduate Programs and changing jobs with whoever wants to give them an H1B visa till they are able to file a GC application. 
 
This not only creates problems for the candidates and makes the work of the USCIS more difficult, it is building up extra pressure on the Grad programs, who get an inflated pool of applications, from candidates who are not at fault.
 
And the US is not able to utilize this pool of skilled workers to its utmost potential, because these candidates spend a lot of time getting stabilized in the US.
 
This is why I said that instead of having this complex categorization of skilled workers, they should just allow the highly skilled candidates with a US degree and a regular job in their field to file a GC application without having to seek sponsorship from the employer and process the applications on a case by case basis.
 
This way, the US will be able to use the high skills of foreign workers much more efficiently than at present.
 
Canada is a much greater illusion than the US when it comes to immigration and a job in one's own field. It's relatively much easier to get the Canadian immigration, but once these candidates reach there, they discover that the Canadian employers offer jobs to only those who have a Canadian degree.
 
As a result, very highly skilled candidates from India are not able to get a job in their field in Canada after they immigrate and are forced to engage in work that doesn't recognize their high-level qualifications.
 
At this advanced stage, they can't even begin their education all over and it is really demeaning to all their previous qualifications if they have to do so. Hence, they go for business or job that is not in their skilled field, or just get a Graduate degree in a professional field for a couple of years that will get them a job in Canada. In the last case, their job relates to only their Canadian degree and devalues all their previous qualifications.
 
Thus, Canada is actually wasting almost all of its skilled immigrants' qualifications by the way the work situation in Canada is oriented. 
  Earlier a lot of Indians were attracted by the relatively easy immigration program of Canada, but now they are beginning to realize the problems that lie in Canada and hence, the interest in Canadian immigration is falling now. In fact, all these candidates who would have otherwise gone to Canada are turning towards the US now, because despite whatever problems the US immigration system has, it is still better than the Canadian illusion.   If there are Indians going from the US to Canada, it's perhaps only with an intention to come back to the US at a later date.

Armadilla,
 
Yes you are right about the EC 2 backlog for the Indian and Chinese applicants.
 
What I meant by it being easier in the academia is that academic institutions support a GC application more readily than business employers, who can exploit the candidates because of the nature of GC regulations in the US. Academic institutions don't want to lose a well-qualified candidate whom they have already employed for several years.
 
Besides, once the priority date for a GC application is reached, the application from an academic from a reputable institution takes less time to get processed than one from the business or professional sector - unless there are some errors in the application.
 
A limited number of academics also manage to show that they fall in the EB1 category, for which the priority date is current, but they are very few in number.
 
Otherwise, you are right that the rules for EB 2 immigration are the same for all who fall in that category.
 
This is why Indian and Chinese applicants keep on getting registered in different Graduate Programs and changing jobs with whoever wants to give them an H1B visa till they are able to file a GC application. 
 
This not only creates problems for the candidates and makes the work of the USCIS more difficult, it is building up extra pressure on the Grad programs, who get an inflated pool of applications, from candidates who are not at fault.
 
And the US is not able to utilize this pool of skilled workers to its utmost potential, because these candidates spend a lot of time getting stabilized in the US.
 
This is why I said that instead of having this complex categorization of skilled workers, they should just allow the highly skilled candidates with a US degree and a regular job in their field to file a GC application without having to seek sponsorship from the employer and process the applications on a case by case basis.
 
This way, the US will be able to use the high skills of foreign workers much more efficiently than at present.
 
Canada is a much greater illusion than the US when it comes to immigration and a job in one's own field. It's relatively much easier to get the Canadian immigration, but once these candidates reach there, they discover that the Canadian employers offer jobs to only those who have a Canadian degree.
 
As a result, very highly skilled candidates from India are not able to get a job in their field in Canada after they immigrate and are forced to engage in work that doesn't recognize their high-level qualifications.
 
At this advanced stage, they can't even begin their education all over and it is really demeaning to all their previous qualifications if they have to do so. Hence, they go for business or job that is not in their skilled field, or just get a Graduate degree in a professional field for a couple of years that will get them a job in Canada. In the last case, their job relates to only their Canadian degree and devalues all their previous qualifications.
 
Thus, Canada is actually wasting almost all of its skilled immigrants' qualifications by the way the work situation in Canada is oriented. 
  Earlier a lot of Indians were attracted by the relatively easy immigration program of Canada, but now they are beginning to realize the problems that lie in Canada and hence, the interest in Canadian immigration is falling now. In fact, all these candidates who would have otherwise gone to Canada are turning towards the US now, because despite whatever problems the US immigration system has, it is still better than the Canadian illusion.   If there are Indians going from the US to Canada, it's perhaps only with an intention to come back to the US at a later date.

What TakeruK says is true for the jobs in the market. In the academia though, everything depends upon whether you are able to land a TT position in a reputable institution as soon as you complete your PhD. Applying for a Green Card from thereon is relatively less troublesome as compared to the jobs in the business sector.
 
You need to be in the top range and have very good contacts to land a TT job straight after PhD. 
 
Of course, it depends upon whether you are applying for a PhD or a Masters.
 
I am not sure that candidates from India are mainly immigrating to join families - except those coming on a spouse visa - this is true for other immigrants, not for Indians. Indians mostly arrive in the US to study and keep on moving from one degree or job to another till they can file for a Green Card. Perhaps this is why Dardie has asked this question.
 
I wish the USCIS would grant immigration to those who have a US degree and who have found a regular job after completing their US degree, rather than making the candidates dependent upon the employers to file for immigration.
 
A candidate who has a US degree and has found a regular job after getting the US degree should be able to file for Green Card on their own. 

What TakeruK says is true for the jobs in the market. In the academia though, everything depends upon whether you are able to land a TT position in a reputable institution as soon as you complete your PhD. Applying for a Green Card from thereon is relatively less troublesome as compared to the jobs in the business sector.
 
You need to be in the top range and have very good contacts to land a TT job straight after PhD. 
 
Of course, it depends upon whether you are applying for a PhD or a Masters.
 
I am not sure that candidates from India are mainly immigrating to join families - except those coming on a spouse visa - this is true for other immigrants, not for Indians. Indians mostly arrive in the US to study and keep on moving from one degree or job to another till they can file for a Green Card. Perhaps this is why Dardie has asked this question.
 
I wish the USCIS would grant immigration to those who have a US degree and who have found a regular job after completing their US degree, rather than making the candidates dependent upon the employers to file for immigration.
 
A candidate who has a US degree and has found a regular job after getting the US degree should be able to file for Green Card on their own. 

St. Ambrose seems to come closest - 
 
http://www.catholic-saints.info/patron-saints/list-of-patron-saints-patronage.htm
 
As for being a non-believer, the way it works is not so much by faith, but by entering into a business contract with the Saint. That is, you promise to donate money, study seriously for a year, not trouble your POI for a semester etc if your petition is accepted by the Saint.
 
If the Saint wants to enter into this kind of contract and do business with you, they'll process your petition, regardless of faith(-lessness). 

You can get the answer to this mystery only once you are in the US, completing a Graduate Program from a well-ranked institution.
 
There are many kinds of information that you get only when you are in a US school.
 
Almost all US schools do have an employment office and also an immigration cell to provide the right information to the International candidates. But you have to be there to get their help.

St. Ambrose seems to come closest - 
 
http://www.catholic-saints.info/patron-saints/list-of-patron-saints-patronage.htm
 
As for being a non-believer, the way it works is not so much by faith, but by entering into a business contract with the Saint. That is, you promise to donate money, study seriously for a year, not trouble your POI for a semester etc if your petition is accepted by the Saint.
 
If the Saint wants to enter into this kind of contract and do business with you, they'll process your petition, regardless of faith(-lessness). 

All of these journeys are amazing and deserve an acceptance into Grad schools!
 
It's interesting to see the absolute contrast in the journeys of Fall13 Applicant and Madricka, one following the other - both very inspirational in their own ways.
 
Reading through Fall13 Applicant's journey I felt s/he could be from India and then looked at their location and signature line - yes, sure enough. 

My father lost his job when I was in high school. My parents did random odd jobs to support me through high school and college, I saw how much they toiled so that I could lead a better life. Got into one of the best technological schools in my country, did some good research, got papers published, got good figures on my GRE and TOEFL but after graduating with a BS relocated and took up a development job at one of the biggest software firms in the world so that my parents finally have it easy. Slowly realized this ain't for me - I missed research, so decided to apply for PhD although it probably means financial frenzy all over again. Was amazed to see how supportive my parents were, want to make them proud and happy - that's all.

Mine is kinda wonky. Gifted/ADHD, homeless at 13, gradually finished high school by age 23 (mom kicked me out, no drugs/alcohol or anything crazy). Did my first degree (BA in sociology/psychology) with grades ranging from A+ to F (yep, an F, I wanted to see what failure felt like, so stupid looking back but whatever). After that degree worked with street youth (started an educational bursary for street youth, did research, did celebrity catering, was a board member for a health clinic, etc). Did another undergrad degree (BSc in nursing), graduated with honours & worked for 2 years in surgical oncology then went back to school for a post-grad certificate in Critical Care Nursing (honours again). I subsequently worked for 3 years in critical care/trauma. While I was in nursing school, worked in my university's library & continued with the celebrity catering (basically every feature film & major concert coming through this city), helped pay for school. So yeah, did it all on my own. Last year I sustained a neck injury when caring for a violent patient and have been off work for almost an entire year. Grad school is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but now it's kind of necessary. I have income (WSIB) so it's not a financial need. More of an intellectual/emotional need. I can never do bedside nursing again so I've been kinda forced to stop and think about what I really want to do with the rest of my life. I'm 40 years old and have another 25 working years left (at least), how to spend that time? I'm kind of excited to see what happens next!

St. Ambrose seems to come closest - 
 
http://www.catholic-saints.info/patron-saints/list-of-patron-saints-patronage.htm
 
As for being a non-believer, the way it works is not so much by faith, but by entering into a business contract with the Saint. That is, you promise to donate money, study seriously for a year, not trouble your POI for a semester etc if your petition is accepted by the Saint.
 
If the Saint wants to enter into this kind of contract and do business with you, they'll process your petition, regardless of faith(-lessness). 

I think there is a lot of truth in what he says, though the point about the Humanities being the disciplines for refining human personality and not vocational training courses is also correct.
 
I guess he wants to make those students aware, who may not know about the harsh realities.
 
Almost every response to his article - mostly from the Humanities faculty and some from the students - has agreed with him. See link - 
 
http://chronicle.com/article/Letters-About-Graduate-School/63938
 
There is a need to look at it from a historical perspective.
 
The idea of Humanities evolved in times when everyone didn't depend upon a job to survive in the world. There were other means of sustenance available to people, especially to those who went to study in the universities.
 
Besides, the teaching of Humanities as a means to refine human character evolved as a reaction to the earlier times, when people from different sections of the society were expected to go for different kinds of vocational training. This is why Humanities don't give a vocational training to their students.
 
Since then, our society has changed drastically. Today, most people depend upon a job in order to survive, regardless of the discipline they study. In such an environment, while the essential sense of Humanities as disciplines to refine human character and going to a university for pure passion of the discipline is not to be forgotten, there is a responsibility upon the Grad Programs to seriously try to resolve the problem of underemployment and unemployment in the Academia, especially in the Humanities.
 
As for the availability of academic jobs in the Humanities, the career prospects in Humanities is a reflection of the economic health of a country.The general slant is that when the economy is robust, academic jobs in the Humanities will grow. Shrinking number of academic jobs in the Humanities reflect that the economy is declining. (This is with specific reference to the Humanities, not to other disciplines). This is because in any society more number of people successfully make an academic career out of the Humanities when the society in general is prosperous. In times of economic decline, careers in vocational fields grow in number.
 
The question of whether we should study a subject for its market value or for our passion for the subject is also linked to the question of how holistically developed the society is.  
 
In most underdeveloped societies such as in the Third World, people study a subject for its worth in the job-market. This is because education is their means to advance their economic condition. Studying a discipline purely for the love of the discipline is a mark of a highly developed society. Mostly, in the developed part of the world people study a subject purely because they love it.
 
By extension then, in a developed country if there is a growing number of people opting for a discipline because of its value in the job market or if more and more people feel that the Humanities should be linked to the job market, it is a sign of declining economy of the country. As the economy improves, the academic career prospects of the Humanities Graduates should also improve and more people will also automatically go into Graduate school because they love their subject.
 
So, the effort should be focused on improving the economy of the country.

I too used to think like this - and I still feel this is how it should be in an ideal world, but this is not an ideal world. 
 
I have seen quite a few well-published researchers getting sidelined by non-published PhDs just fresh out of Ivy schools. And the Ivy Graduates were no more brilliant or knowledgeable than their non-Ivy counterparts. They just had an Ivy stamp on their degrees to support them.
 
Of course, I am against this culture of blindly taking in the Ivy graduates just because they happen to have an Ivy degree, but unfortunately, this is the way most selection committees think.
 
The US has a long way to go in matters of selecting its faculty.
 
If I were applying, I'd just go for funding and ranking of the school. I'd adjust with all other uncomfortable factors. Of course, it is presumed that one would apply only to programs that are the best fits to one's interests.

St. Ambrose seems to come closest - 
 
http://www.catholic-saints.info/patron-saints/list-of-patron-saints-patronage.htm
 
As for being a non-believer, the way it works is not so much by faith, but by entering into a business contract with the Saint. That is, you promise to donate money, study seriously for a year, not trouble your POI for a semester etc if your petition is accepted by the Saint.
 
If the Saint wants to enter into this kind of contract and do business with you, they'll process your petition, regardless of faith(-lessness). 

St. Ambrose seems to come closest - 
 
http://www.catholic-saints.info/patron-saints/list-of-patron-saints-patronage.htm
 
As for being a non-believer, the way it works is not so much by faith, but by entering into a business contract with the Saint. That is, you promise to donate money, study seriously for a year, not trouble your POI for a semester etc if your petition is accepted by the Saint.
 
If the Saint wants to enter into this kind of contract and do business with you, they'll process your petition, regardless of faith(-lessness).