Friday, May 27, 2016

Reasons for R2A - few cases ...

I am pretty sure many of the folks thinking about R2I have this question on mind - how successful other R2Is have been. Want to jot few lines on my exposure on this area, which might be of help.

I have seen many cases where people who did R2I have settled down, kids have grown up and have returned to US for education, even parents have moved back. Also, there are cases where only kids have gone outside and parents are content in India, where they got a chance to spend good amount of time with their families and parents.

Here are few of the cases where R2I folks did R2A (or R2 any other country) in a shorter amount of time...

Case #1: Funds for kids education in US: As you might be already aware, kids primary education in cities like Bangalore is expensive (anywhere from 1.5 - 4 lakhs/year). Once they are out of 10+2, there is a lots of competition for undergraduate courses (like Engg/Medicine - however, there are lots of options as well). Getting to IIT is out of reach for many kids due to severe level of competition (and reservation seats). If you are thinking of undergraduate studies for kids in US(or other countries), it can be quite expensive- think of 30-40K $/year in USCs. Hence, you may need $$$ earnings (or enough $$$ savings) instead of rupee earnings!. This was the reason one of the families went back after few years so that they have enough funds for kids undergraduate education.


Case #2: Work atmosphere: In a second case, a family did R2A due to uncomfortable work situation. As you might guess, the work environment is not as professional as in western countries here in India. So, if you are getting to a new job, you may have to deal with work dynamics (and lots of political environment, which offsets many people). In this case, family decided to go back rather than fight with the environment in a new company.

Case #3: Kid went for undergraduate studies: Kid got into a very good school in US and parents followed him, kid being the only one. 

Case #4: Kid started in 9th grade and only one spouse moved to India: In this case, the kid was pretty grown up. Dad had to stay back due to work opportunities. They had a home back in US. I am sure kid missed the US friends and atmosphere, having been grown up there. And, it was easy to move back - R2I was more like a vacation!

I am sure once folks do R2A, they stop reading R2I blogs. However, if you one of the R2A cases and your 'heart is still here' (!), please add few lines as comment to reflect on why you did R2A. That will help other readers to make their choices.


4 comments:

  1. Mohan,
    Fantastic blog. Wish I had seen this earlier. Actively considering an offer for R2I with an MNC in Bangalore where I need to notify my acceptance of their offer by Friday. Would love to have your guidance on couple of school related topics.
    1. Does it hurt if kids transfer in middle school (Grade 6 or 7) to an International school as compared to earlier start say Grade 2 or 3? Is second language like French counted towards Grade 10 scores in ICSE or IB? Will it be difficult to catch up in middle school if the student never had even learnt the alphabets of that language and is starting from scratch in middle school?
    2. In one of your previous posts, you had mentioned this "(by the way, whoever said Indian education system is the best is totally wrong, IMO, at least as compared to US system. That is a topic by itself). Can you please elaborate.
    3. What are the success rates of securing top Undergrad US admissions when coming out of International schools in Bangalore? Do students applying from India/China have any advantage applying as 'International students'. One thing that I heard but have not validated yet is since international students pay full fees instead of local US students, it seems to increase their chances for getting admits to top schools. Is there any truth to this?
    And finally is there an email/contact number to reach you for further guidance?

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  2. @Anon:
    About #1: Grade 6 or 7 is not an issue - my kid started in grade 6(this could be useful in Karnataka, if you are going to try for Engg. colleges in Karnataka, to be considered in-state with 6 years of education, if parents haven't studied here). Many schools offer French and they place them in classes based on level. However, in our experience, when they get to 10th, French got pretty tough as well. Issue is - parents can't help much in these languages.
    About #2: About Indian education system - it is changing gradually but at lower levels, it is more books oriented than 'make the kids think and learn' oriented. They need to study more, with less hands on (like paper work, art work, projects etc). For ex, Hindi lessons are pretty advanced at grade 4 itself, which is not necessary. They need to have more learn via play than books, IMO. At higher levels, even US syllabus are pretty loaded and kids need to study a lot.
    #3: I have seen many kids getting placed in top schools, via IB or going for undergrad in engg. I am not aware, at least, of they having an advantage being 'international students'. I have heard about kids getting full scholarships due to 'low income' of parents staying in India but don't have personal experience. Also, if they have US citizenship, whether they will be considered as 'international students' is something unknown to me.

    (reaching out to me : pls drop me an e-mail via the e-mail in my profile and will provide coordinates).

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  3. Hi,

    How difficult is to find a job in Bangalore? I am currently in Sydney and planning to relocate early next year with 9 years of experience in UI development.

    Thanks,
    Anitha

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    Replies
    1. Re:Anitha - it depends. UI area is pretty hot with many companies looking for skills. However, depends on how newer skills are - traditional UI skills are not that much in demand. Mobile development is another hot area. Try a bit to test the market before you decide to make the move. Hope this helps.

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