Career Plans and Job Search Strategies: International Students Navigating the Transition to Work

• In Event: 3251 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 17. Schools and Education

Abstract

Large numbers of international students become high-skilled immigrant workers in the U.S., but the ways in which they plan and navigate the transition to international careers are under-analyzed. To fill this gap, this paper examines international students’ career plans and job search strategies, drawing from qualitative interviews with master’s students studying computer science broadly defined at a large public university in the Midwest. I find that the respondents aspired to working in the U.S. following graduate school but prepared alternative plans in response to unfavorable labor market prospects. Their job search strategies varied considerably, especially in their approaches to networking. The variations in job search strategies, I argue, are shaped by both their sociocultural skills and complex future plans. This research sheds light on the dynamic cognitive and social processes leading to the outcome of high-skilled immigration.

Author

• Yingjian Liang, Indiana University