The Career Success Challenge for International Students

Talented and capable, but caught up in regulations

Employment for international students in the U.S. is highly restrictive, which presents a major career development obstacle. During their first year, international students are not allowed to work off-campus in the United States. Throughout their enrollment, on-campus employment is limited to 20 hours per week when school is in session. After two semesters, international students can work off-campus, but under restrictions: off-campus work must be related to their major field of study and typically has to be through an academic internship. A cumulative total of 1 year of off-campus employment is what an international student has throughout their undergraduate enrollment. Upon graduation, international students can work for one year under a type of post-completion work authorization called Optional Practical Training (OPT). The work still has to be related to their major field of study. The one-year limit presents a challenge for employers, who find it difficult to employ someone for a long-term position if the potential employee might leave in only a year. After one year of OPT, international students who majored in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field can apply for a 2-year STEM-OPT extension. To do this, the student must have a job offer from an e-verified organization.

The pre- and post-graduation work restrictions for international students do not just apply to formal/traditional employment. They extend to business as well; an international engaging in business activity outside off-campus work regulations is considered to be violating their status. After/during OPT or STEM-OPT extension, an international student may find an U.S. employer willing to sponsor them for a work visa. For this, the student may seek to undergo a change of status from a student visa to a work visa. Change of status is not a simple process for both the student and the potential employer, and approval is not guaranteed.

When they are outside the United States, both before and after graduation, international students require no U.S. authorization to engage in employment. However, travel costs, low wages, and other barriers may keep international students from pursuing employment in their home countries during their enrollment. By the time an international student is graduating, if they have not been home for several years, they find themselves at a double disadvantage: at home, they may experience reverse culture shock as the place they left has evolved in their absence. Additionally, during their absence, their career networks at home become ever more diminished. At the same time, the work regulations they face in the United States make it particularly difficult to find employment. According to a report produced by Education Rethink in 2022, only 31% of international students in the U.S. intend to stay in the U.S. for an undefined period after graduation. According to the report, this low number is, at least in part, because international students perceive the difficulty of attempting to establish careers in the U.S. after graduation.

Besides legal difficulties with establishing careers in the United States, there is also the larger social problem of brain drain, especially when talented human capital flows from developing countries to developed countries. ISPaSO proceeds from the view that individual students, their families, and their communities benefit the most when international students use their education and talents to contribute to human and economic development in their countries and regions around the world.

In light of the factors that hinder international students from establishing successful careers in their home countries, a systematic approach is needed to help students develop a good combination of career networks, experience, skills, and tools during their enrollment. Under normal circumstances, an international student should feel confident about career prospects in their home country by the time they graduate.

The Principia Response

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of the student body at Principia College comprises international students. The international market for Principia is expected to continue growing at a fast rate.

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Principia College is ranked second place by US News and World Report among national liberal arts colleges with the highest proportions of international students

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of international students at Principia College are from African countries, 21.6% Latin America, 12.8% Europe, and 1.6% North America

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the first international student enrolled at Principia, one year after the institution was founded in 1898. The College would later be established in 1912

Principia is committed to the holistic success of international students. In 2019, the college established the International Student Programs and Services Office (ISPaSO) to provide and foster a coherent vision for international student programming, collaborating with stakeholders across and beyond the college to develop and modify programs that enhance international student success. For the decade ending in 2030, ISPaSO has identified preparation of international students for career success in home countries as the primary focus of Principia’s international student program. Our definition of career success includes gainful and meaningful employment in for-profit organizations as well as in non-/not-for-profit organizations; startup development; business ownership; and public service. For each cohort of international students graduating from Principia College, our goal is that 70% of those in the workforce 3 years after graduation will be engaging in gainful and meaningful employment in their home country/region. To reach this goal, we will:

Provide financial and other support for enrolled international students to engage in employment activities in home countries

Provide financial and other support for enrolled international students to engage in employment activities in home countries. We will seek to minimize barriers to international students engaging in employment opportunities in their home countries, including support with travel expenses and stipends to offset prohibitive wages. In addition to being an avenue for providing practical work experience, working in home countries for enrolled students is also a way for them to maintain connections with their families and communities.
Provide financial and other support for enrolled international students to engage in employment activities in home countries. We will seek to minimize barriers to international students engaging in employment opportunities in their home countries, including support with travel expenses and stipends to offset prohibitive wages. In addition to being an avenue for providing practical work experience, working in home countries for enrolled students is also a way for them to maintain connections with their families and communities.

Develop a program to equip international students with employability skills and tools relevant to their legal status

A career development program designed from the perspective of international students includes training for employability skills ranging from the basics of writing a resume/CV to advanced topics, such as assessing labor/economic climate in a country. We anticipate that the NEST curriculum will include a core curriculum for all international students as well as individualized consultations.
A career development program designed from the perspective of international students includes training for employability skills ranging from the basics of writing a resume/CV to advanced topics, such as assessing labor/economic climate in a country. We anticipate that the NEST curriculum will include a core curriculum for all international students as well as individualized consultations.
Provide financial and other support for enrolled international students to engage in employment activities in home countries. We will seek to minimize barriers to international students engaging in employment opportunities in their home countries, including support with travel expenses and stipends to offset prohibitive wages. In addition to being an avenue for providing practical work experience, working in home countries for enrolled students is also a way for them to maintain connections with their families and communities.

Recruit potential mentors, employers, and investors in the U.S. and in home countries.

One of Principia’s strengths is the network of international alumni and friends across the world, many of whom are eager to support the progress of international students at and beyond Principia. We will seek to strengthen partnership with them as potential mentors, employers, employer-connectors, and investors. Additionally, we will build relationships with organizations in home countries as potential internship and job destinations for international students.
One of Principia’s strengths is the network of international alumni and friends across the world, many of whom are eager to support the progress of international students at and beyond Principia. We will seek to strengthen partnership with them as potential mentors, employers, employer-connectors, and investors. Additionally, we will build relationships with organizations in home countries as potential internship and job destinations for international students.

Support establishment of startups/businesses among international students.

Especially in countries with high unemployment rates, establishment of business ventures is the most sure way of seeking/creating employment. For students with entrepreneurial talent, we will seek to support their entrepreneurship journeys through training, consultation, and connections with potential investors and partners.
Especially in countries with high unemployment rates, establishment of business ventures is the most sure way of seeking/creating employment. For students with entrepreneurial talent, we will seek to support their entrepreneurship journeys through training, consultation, and connections with potential investors and partners.

Develop region-specific recruitment and admission strategies to attract students who are most likely to succeed in our approach to international student programming.

To be successful in our approach, we must consider the end from the beginning. From the first point of contact, an international student should be made aware of Principia’s approach to international student programming. The recruitment and admission strategies should be designed to eliminate unnecessary barriers for eligible students without regard for their socio-economic status, whose experience, preparedness for college, and personal vision position them well for what the international student program at Principia College offers. In this decade, our recruitment efforts will build on our current strengths, deepening ties in the markets in which we have already demonstrated success. In these markets, we have not only large pools of prospective students but also alumni and other networks that can support career development efforts of enrolled international students.