Indian student asks if a US master's is still worth it as Reddit users share hard truths
Woman in Delhi library studying with books and smartphone (for illustration purposes only)
A post on Reddit’s r/Indians_StudyAbroad has put a question that thousands of Indian students are wrestling with right now into plain terms: is a US master’s degree still worth the investment, or has the job market and visa climate made it too risky?
The original poster is apparently a tier 1 IIT graduate from a core engineering field, considering spending on a master’s in the US. Their concern is straightforward: they want a return on that investment before coming back to India, and they don’t want to end up unable to find a job and forced to return home with a heavy debt burden and nothing to show for it.
“I don’t want to waste my parents’ money,” they wrote simply. “Should I pursue a master’s in the US or keep working in corporate and climb up the ladder?”
The responses were painfully honest.
One commenter did not soften their assessment. “Currently, 90% go home to India because they can’t find jobs with sponsorship. Going into debt for this would be a very unfortunate decision.”
It’s a large number, and whether or not it’s precisely accurate, the underlying picture it describes is one that multiple commenters confirmed from personal experience.
“The job market is hell — but we can’t predict the future”
Someone who had just graduated offered a more nuanced take that balanced honesty about the present with genuine uncertainty about what comes next.
“Just graduated and the job market is hell. However, we cannot predict the future. Who knows what happens, especially because there will be elections in 2028. Maybe the job market becomes way better or way worse or stays the same? Maybe the difficulties for international folk trying to find a job decreases or increases?”
They added a practical warning about timelines: “I will suggest that you expect one to three years of employment in the best scenario because OPT to H1B conversion is really difficult nowadays and I am pretty sure it won’t get easier.”
The visa picture is getting harder, not easier
Several commenters pointed to the policy environment as a separate layer of difficulty on top of an already tough job market.
“New rules and changes are incoming for OPT, H1B and the green card. Needless to say, the government is intent on discouraging immigration. This is bound to have an effect on the willingness of employers to hire international candidates. So keep that in mind as you make your decision.”
For Indian students specifically, this matters enormously. The H1B lottery is notoriously competitive, and OPT is a fixed window, typically three years for STEM fields, within which a student needs to not only find a job but get sponsored and clear the lottery before they run out of time. In a market where employers are already skittish about visa complexity, that window is harder to use than it has been in years.
“Work in corporate and pursue your master’s in India”
Not everyone thought the US was the right move at all right now. “Given the current visa situation, it is wiser to work and pursue your master’s in India,” one commenter said.
The counterpoint: It’s not hopeless if your profile is strong
One commenter offered the most optimistic take in the thread, though it came with important caveats. “It’s honestly not that bad if you have a decent profile. It’s much more harder [sic] than it used to be compared to the last few years, but it’s definitely not hopeless. I think people who do masters from random universities and look to get jobs through consultancies are having a bit of a tough time, but if you actually spend time learning during your masters and enjoy what you do and have good communication skills then you should be fine. Good luck!”
The distinction they draw is significant. The original poster is an IIT graduate, which puts them in a stronger position than most when it comes to profile quality and genuine academic preparation. The comment suggests that the bleaker outcomes being described in the thread are often concentrated among students from less competitive programmes who entered purely for the visa pathway rather than the education.
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The question no one can fully answer
One commenter cut through the debate to address the original poster’s underlying motivation. “If you’re doing a master’s for truly learning, go for it. If you are doing a master’s just for the sake of doing it, I would say you can learn more in corporate and stick to what you are doing.”
It’s perhaps the most useful framing in the thread, because it separates the question of whether a US master’s makes financial sense right now (uncertain at best) from whether it makes personal and intellectual sense (a question only the original poster can answer).
That doesn’t make the decision straightforward in either direction. An IIT graduate in a strong field, attending a reputable programme and genuinely engaging with the learning, still has better odds than the average international student. But the days of treating a US STEM master’s as a near-guaranteed ticket to a few years of American employment before returning to India may be over, for now.
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