Since a few people asked me to write about how I left my job back home and came abroad for higher studies, this blog is primarily for them. As I was working full-time back home, it wasn't an easy decision for me to come abroad for my graduate studies. I could have gotten a degree in computer science from Pakistan and could have happily stayed there, but I think the quality of education there was not as good compared to the education standard here in America. Besides that, I also had other options of going to Europe or Australia, but I didn't go there because American education is at a higher level than any other country's. I got admission to top-ranked universities in Italy, Germany, and Australia, but I declined their offers and came to UT Dallas to pursue computer science (which is not the top-ranked American college). I always thought that university rankings matter a lot, but when I came here and saw that people from even the least-ranked universities have gotten jobs at Big 4 companies, my perception completely changed. Now I think that as long as you are doing well in your field of study and are an expert in technical knowledge, nobody can stop you from getting a wonderful job or creating your own startup. It all depends on your professional and personal skills.
So I completed my undergraduate degree in June 2016, and it took me three years to begin my graduate studies. Why did it take me so long? Here is the story. I was looking for a scholarship, and without one, I wouldn't have been able to support my education financially. So I applied to the Fulbright scholarship three times in a row. All three times I was shortlisted until the final interviews but couldn't get selected as a grantee. I was utterly disappointed and wondered what was lacking in my profile. I had an awesome GPA, good GRE and TOEFL scores, and great work experience—even then I wasn't able to make the final cut. That made me realize I shouldn't rely only on Fulbright and should look for other options. So I tried applying to universities on my own. I applied to 7 colleges and got admitted to 4 of them. Since I had an EE background and not much CS experience, I wasn't able to get into UT Austin, Stanford, and UIUC, but I was thrilled to receive admissions from the University of Florida, Syracuse University, UT Dallas, and IIT Chicago. I chose UT Dallas because they provided me a 50% scholarship, which helped me a lot in making my decision to come abroad.
Leaving a well-paid job and a loving family was not easy for me, but I'm happy that I took this decision to come to the USA for my studies because I think a degree from the USA always helps you get ahead in your career. Hence, I'm hopeful that this will be worth it. Moreover, the opportunities are vast, so if you work hard here, you will surely get rewarded. I think for me it was a long journey to get admission and come abroad, but you should not take a long time to think because in the end, education always pays off. Before, I didn't know that one can receive a scholarship from the college itself and can apply for a loan from Prodigy, but when I came to know about all that, I applied quickly and got my admits. The process itself is not as time-consuming as it seems.
To all those who are working full-time in their home countries and want to pursue graduate studies in America: don't wait long to decide on that, because time passes really quickly. I know some people who wanted to do an MS but then got busy with their jobs and realized it was too late for them to do an MS as they had started building their own families. I would emphasize this point: you should not take a long gap between your BS and MS, and decide sooner rather than later. Because when you're young and independent, you can take risks and make switches in your career, but once that phase passes and you have dependents, it becomes tough to take all those risks and make those switches.
To end this blog, I would say that if you are passionate about pursuing graduate studies abroad, then leave your job, apply, and come. Don't wait too long. Study and then work. It's always better to work with the knowledge you gain from studying abroad.
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