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    The Great American Dream: What Does It Take To Make A Life In The USA

    By Rahul Shrivastava
    16 Jan'23  5 min read
    The Great American Dream: What Does It Take To Make A Life In The USA
    Synopsis

    Going to the US, for education or for a job is one step closer to the beginning of fulfilment of the great American dream. The land of equal opportunity for all is a favourite among IT professionals across the world, and the Indian workforce is much sought after. But what does it all entail? How do you make it work, without reaching a breaking point?

    The Great American Dream: What Does It Take To Make A Life In The USA
    Synopsis

    Going to the US, for education or for a job is one step closer to the beginning of fulfilment of the great American dream. The land of equal opportunity for all is a favourite among IT professionals across the world, and the Indian workforce is much sought after. But what does it all entail? How do you make it work, without reaching a breaking point?

    An international job assignment is often attractive, an achievement in itself. While all the excitement of a new job, new place and people is a surety, it’s only wise that you keep your feet on the ground and understand the nuances of moving out of your comfort zone and moving in to accept the challenge and competition of the unknown.

    For Indians, the US tops the list for any international job assignment. Careers360 spoke to two Indian engineers working in two different states of the USA about their stay in the country which is at the forefront of every digital wave.

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    Amitabh Mohan Srivastava, 31, a software engineer at Infosys, California moved to the USA in 2018. Diksha Bhatnagar, 27, who works as a cloud infrastructure engineer at Google, in Austin began her journey a bit earlier when she pursued her Computer and Systems Engineering (CSE) at the University of Houston.

    Before joining Infosys, Amitabh was employed at Tata Consultancy Services, at their Mumbai office. “In 2018, the opportunity to join Infosys at their California office came by. It was an obvious step ahead for my career and so I decided to make this my home away from home,” says Amitabh. Dikhsha on the other hand, like many young aspirants was selected by Google through campus placement. “In my last semester of my Computer and Systems Engineering, during the campus placement, I was selected by Google to join them as a junior executive.”

    Living In the US

    The cost of living in any metropolitan city in the US is high. It is best to avoid converting the dollar to rupee at all times. Amitabh agrees, “From an Indian perspective, it’s a lot. I spend around USD 1600 which includes my rent, food, travelling and other expenses per month.” That is roughly INR 1,30,000 per month. Diksha adds that the cost of living away from home, minus the support; one could have, can dig deep into your pockets. “My per month expenses come up to around INR 1.2 lakh,” she says. Remember, you can share your living quarters or apartment with colleagues or co-workers. So, other than rent, the costs could also be split for groceries, electricity bills etc. But what you must definitely remember is that there is no concept of househelp; you will have to do everything by yourself - cooking, housekeeping, laundry, etc will all have to be done - on a budget!

    For commuting to and from work, your best bet is the public transport system. Unlike at home in India where public transport is looked down upon, abroad, people are quite comfortable wearing their corporate attire and travelling on a bus or taking a train ride. “I majorly use the bus, streetcars and metro,” says Amitabh about getting around the city, “even to get to work which is 19 kilometres away”. That is the norm for most Americans too. In Austin, the Capital Metro Bus System has a huge network and, “We use this a lot to commute,” adds Diksha.

    Work Culture

    “Google is an employee friendly company. It takes utmost care of its employees, says Diksha, adding that this is why it is a dream company for many. “It may seem like there is work pressure, but that’s only one of the aspects of working for a multinational giant like Infosys,” adds Amitabh who is quite at ease working with a manager who is a Brazilian and has helped Amitabh find his footing on the job.

    With almost all facilities being provided in-house, both Diksha and Amitabh are more than happy to be working with their respective companies. “Breakfast and lunch is on the house. Even dinner is available if we’re working through the night,” quips Diksha about how her company takes care of their workforce. “Like most MNCs, global conglomerates here have canteens, gyms, wellness centres etc,” says Amitabh.

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    Avoiding Being Homesick

    There is one thing that no amount of preparation can help you in, and that is feeling homesick. Depending on your willingness to see the bright side of the opportunity, you may begin to miss home, your people, friends, streets, even street food. During the interaction both Amitabh and Diksha mentioned this. Says Amitabh, “Initially, it was tough to get used to the weather. It's cold throughout the year, but I do have cooking skills so that was sorted, I didn’t really miss ghar ka khana.” For Diksha on the other hand it wasn’t the weather but the food. “I had to survive on burgers, hotdogs, chicken fried steaks and macaroni. for my meals,” she says. But soon, Diksha learnt to make meals at home and the expense of eating out is now only for leisure.

    Food is a great comforter. It can alleviate homesickness in an instant. With the growing popularity of Indian cuisine, there are many restaurants that offer desi treats. “Finding an Indian restaurant is not a big deal, they are easily accessible, but very expensive too,” adds Diksha.

    Social Life

    When one crosses continents to fulfil a dream, there is one sincere prayer, that they embark on this journey, to meet people who will accept them and not look down on them. You are already in an unfamiliar city, away from home and family, you must definitely work on making friends so that the duration of your time in a foreign land is a joyous rather than a lonely experience.

    Making friends may not come naturally to some, but it’s always a good thing to know at least five people who you can turn to if you face an emergency. “I have a few friends from China, Canada, Sri Lanka and Australia, and we usually hangout on the weekends,” says Amitabh.

    For Diksha Bollywood and Indian food has done the trick, “Most of my friends are Americans but I have friends from France, Pakistan, Russia, Sweden and Fiji as well. They love watching Bollywood movies and eating Indian food cooked by me,” she quips.

    Both Diksha and Amitabh agree that Americans by nature are very friendly and fun loving. They respect India and Indian’s. The fascination of Indian culture, movies and the shared love for Indian food is a bonding factor for most.

    As they sign off, both Amitabh and Diksha feel those aspiring to work in the US may dream big, but should be cautious while making the final decision. “Understand how weather, food, language will be the biggest challenge you will face, not the job or the people, you can work around those things, but dealing with the former is what will take time and effort,” says Amitabh.

    Diksha wants to caution those who think it’s a luxury to work in the States. “We may earn a lot more compared to our Indian counterparts, but please understand that our expenses are a lot more as everything here is expensive,” she points out. She goes on to add that it would be wise to get familiar with certain laws of the state you are living in as different states have different laws in the USA.

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    The US is a potpourri of cultures from across the world. A time spent here would mean exposure to all the wonderful literature, arts, music, philosophy, customs and traditions. So if you’re planning on a career move to the US, just imagine how enriching this adventure would be!

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