Californians discover India as high-paying destination

Washigton, June 26 (UNI) There was a time when highly skilled graduates from Indian universities sought jobs in the Bay Area, but the trend now seems to have reversed with more young Californians discovering India as a land of economic opportunity.

Scott Stapleton, a 23-year-old from Oakland studied at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service thinking a job in the foreign service or Peace Corps was inevitable.

Instead, software giant Infosys recruited him for a marketing job and the next thing Stapleton knew was, he was on a flight to Bangalore. The job blends practical work experience with life in a developing country and a look at the world of globalisation, a report in a San Francisco Chronicle quoted him as saying.

Dharma Sears, 27, who also grew up in Oakland, California said he was seeking a different kind of employment when he landed his first job at a private Indian school. He now teaches at the American Embassy School in New Delhi.

''India made a lot of sense. It's an English-speaking country. I could find a job in a school easily,'' the chronicle quoted him as saying.

Living in Europe didn't appeal to Sears. ''I wanted to be in a country starkly different. India is a changing and dynamic country,'' he added.

Ashok Bardhan, senior economist at the Haas School of Business at Berkeley said India is facing shortage of skilled workers and while the large majority of employees inside any one company is still Indian, there is a concerted effort to recruit from abroad.

''There's quite a significant number of people working with software companies and at relatively higher positions are those from the Bay Area,'' he added.

Although exact figures about the number of young Americans landing in India are not available, some market observers have noted that a small but growing number have been seeking jobs in India over the past five years.

Robert Hetzel, director of the American Embassy School said working in India has become a resume builder for many young Americans.

''You can't pick up a news magazine without (reading) an article about the growth of the economy and the opportunities that are here,'' he said, adding the young Americans are drive by it.

India's fast growing high-tech and banking companies need skilled employees. Infosys Chief Financial Officer Mohandas Pai said his company has grown from 500 to 50,000 workers in 12 years and has hired many young Americans.

''Americans used to say go west, young man and now it's go east due to the rise of India and China as economic powers,'' he said.

However, major problems faced by young Americans working in India is cultural adjustments. Despite their income and a comfortable life, they are unable to find a date.

''It's not a place where you just approach somebody and introduce yourself," Erik Simonsen, a 26-year-old from Riverside, was quoted as saying.

''There are expectations from the family. They usually date people from their own communities,'' he added.

Simonsen earns a decent six-figure salary working with an investment bank in New Delhi. However, he misses the social life he enjoyed back home in the US.

Mr Hetzel said social life constitutes the biggest worry. ''If American staff decide to leave India, that's probably the No. 1 reason. They have not been able to create a social life for themselves. Culturally, that's challenging here,'' he added.

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