International Students in the Job Market

I remember it was a hot sunny day in Taiwan during my first summer vacation in college. Freshly done with my Freshman year, I had expectations for the upcoming three years. My dad asked me, “Have you ever thought about how our investment in your study in the United States would benefit your future, personally and realistically?” His question brought me into a brand new perspective when viewing my future after graduation. I often hear people saying that college is an investment for the future. You trade off earnings you could earn in these four years working in exchange for a better-equipped self and a prepared mindset for the fast pasting reality. As an international student, the monetary value of the educational investment my parents provided me can sometimes be a liability that I hope to pay back someday.

I asked myself once about the time it will take for me to repay the tuitions that my parents paid for my four years at UCSB. Even though they have never mentioned to me about the financial burden of me and my brother’s educational investment, I deeply know how much they have sacrificed just to provide us the best opportunities. Thinking of that, I soon started to add pressure to myself, both academically and socially. Regarding academics, I targeted to maintain a high academic standing and invested the major portion of my time studying. Socially, I applied to various positions on campus to boost my resume. After all, I think all I want is to prove to my parents that their investment on me is worth it.

Getting an internship or a full-time offer from a Big Four Accounting firm has been my dream since Freshman year. After I started the position as the Director of Recruitment of UCSB Undergraduate Accounting Society this year, I obtained the opportunity to directly interact with campus recruiters from firms. It was the first time feeling that my dreams felt so unbelievably close, but still so far. I know exactly what my identity as an international student is what makes my dream even more unachievable. Nevertheless, I’ve seen successful examples and I am willing to work hard for it.

I can still remember the last rejection phone call I got from a firm. It was a one-minute call, but it was definitely the longest one minute I have ever experienced. I already started to tear up during the phone call, but my voice was pretending the opposite. My tears just could not stop for nearly the whole day. The saltiness of my tears came along with a deep pain that rooted into every part of my body. Was I crying because I failed again? No. I cried because at that moment I could not understand why what I have been hoping for never comes to me no matter how hard I try. More precisely, I failed to pay back my parents again.

According to the research from USA Today, “Simply put, children from Asia study for a purpose” (Breitenstein). International students studying in the United States often carry an invisible debt that they owed to their parents’ investment in their education. I had never told my parents about the expectations I have for myself regarding achievements until that phone call because sometimes I even wonder if I am trying to get what they really want. After opening up to my parents about the pressure I have been inputting to myself, my parents smiled and said, “We will never ask you to pay us back. All we want is to see you grow stronger as an individual and to prepare you as an independent global citizen”. Starting from that moment, instead of valuing educational investment as a debt to be paid by achievements, I now consider these four years at UCSB as an asset that is valued upon what I have gained and grew as a person.

Citation:

Breitenstein, Dave. “Asian Students Carry High Expectations for Success.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 4 Aug. 2013, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/04/asian-students-carry-high-expectations-for-success/2615483/.