The moment Jhonelle Moore ’25, a senior from Jamaica studying computer science, walks through FitzRandolph Gate in May, the clock will start ticking. After receiving her hard-earned diploma, Moore — like other international students on an F-1 visa — has a 60-day grace period to find employment. Otherwise, she will be legally required to exit the United States.
For many Princeton seniors, planning for post-graduation can be daunting. Beyond balancing the demands of the senior thesis, there are looming deadlines for job, fellowship, and graduate school applications along with multi-round interviews. While college students worried about their future career paths are often met with advice reminding them their major selection doesn’t have to determine their post-grad plans, international students face a different reality.
The appeal of better job opportunities and salaries leads many international students to want to remain in the United States after graduation. To do so, F-1 visa holders usually turn to the Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows temporary employment for up to 12 months. However, OPT can only be granted for temporary employment directly related to the student’s major area of study. Students with degrees in the STEM field can extend this OPT employment by two years.
For students interested in following this path, Moore advises that “it’s better to be thinking about it literally as soon as you come out of the womb.”
Choosing a Major
Taking into account the possibility of a two-year OPT extension, along with her existing interests, Moore decided on a STEM major.
“I really wanted to major in something where I could easily get a job after college and really good sponsorship from a company that could consider getting me a work visa within my three-year OPT,” Moore told The Daily Princetonian.
Like Moore, Ananya Grover ’24, a recent graduate from India, noted that her decision to study computer science at Princeton was a blend of personal and practical considerations.
“I didn’t know what my plans or life was going to be like, so I did want to make sure that if I used the OPT, I would have the STEM extension available to me,” Grover said.
In the past, international students have written in the ‘Prince’ about the need for the University to expand its departmental classifications to better accommodate international students as well as increase its advocacy for international students interested in pursuing the humanities and other non-STEM fields.
While Esset Teshome ’25, a student from Ethiopia in the SPIA department, ultimately majored in the social sciences, she recognized why many international students choose the STEM path.
“[STEM] departments can offer a sense of security,” Teshome reflected. “As an international student, especially as a first-generation low-income one, that sense of security and stability is so important.”
Finding Internships and Jobs
The non-immigrant nature of the F-1 visa sets out the expectation that international students will return to their home countries immediately after graduation. However, many of these students would like to remain longer, citing better job compensation and career development opportunities
Klea Tryfoni ’25, a Neuroscience major from Greece, explained that her career prospects are better in the United States because of the difference in industry opportunities.
Tryfoni noted, “The neurotech, neuroscience and AI field is developing right now in the [United States]. The neuroscience field is not very well-developed in Greece.”
Though Tim Gubskiy ’25, a senior from Canada in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, would be able to find a software engineering position back home, he is enticed by the salary difference in the US compared to Canada.
“For almost the exact same work, in the [United States], the salary is much higher,” Gubskiy said.
In order to increase the likelihood of remaining within the country after graduation, some international students begin planning for the post-grad job search as early as freshman year.
“You really need that junior year internship if you want that senior year offer,” Moore said. “The crazy thing is, if you really want that junior internship, your resume looks better if you have had a sophomore internship.”
After his past summer work experience, Gubskiy mentioned he wanted to build a better relationship with his summer employer by doing some remote work for the company over the fall semester. Gubskiy’s plans couldn’t go through because he later learned that the University does not offer work authorization over the semester work or winter break.
Students are able to obtain Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization, which allows F-1 students to pursue a summer internship, practicum, or employment in a field directly related to the student’s major area of study, through the University’s Summer Internship Milestone Credit.
“The University must follow all United States laws, which are clear about the circumstances under which a University can offer students Curricular Practical Training (CPT) work authorization,” Rebekah Peeples GS ’09, Associate Dean for Curriculum and Assessment in the Office of the Dean of the College, explained in a written statement to the ‘Prince.’
“Princeton is more constrained in its ability to offer CPT than other institutions because we do not offer course credit for internships for undergraduates, and we do not offer courses on a credit hour system.”
“The Summer Internship Milestone Credit was developed several years ago to give students an opportunity to earn academic credit for qualifying summer internship opportunities,” Peeples continued. In the spring, she added, the Faculty Committee on the Course of Study will consider whether and how a Wintersession Internship Milestone Credit might be established in the future.
In response to the University’s policy, a recent survey circulating on the Princeton campus is aimed at gathering information needed to advocate for the University to provide work authorization. Such changes could allow international students like Gubskiy to gain work experience through the CPT during the winter break.
Peeples wrote, “I will be very interested in seeing the results of this survey, and will be happy to share them with the Faculty Committee on the Course of Study,” which will discuss the potential for a winter-break CPT authorization program.
Gubskiy noted that he felt “disadvantaged for being international” after being unable to acquire work authorization for part-time, remote work off campus during the school year because of difficult work authorization requirements.
Moore also acknowledged challenges associated with being an international student while navigating the standard recruitment process.
“It is very difficult to enter certain pipelines for certain companies, or even be called back for an interview, as an international student,” she said. “I had a situation where a recruiter reached out to me and I passed the interview, and then I filled out a different questionnaire, but it turned out they didn’t sponsor [visas for international students], so they rejected my application.”
Gil Sander Joseph ’25, a Sociology major from Haiti, explained that international students “start to look into finance, consulting or tech” because firms in these particular industries “have a very robust system to sponsor international students.”
Finding Support
Even when students try to follow Moore’s advice to plan ahead, the process comes with an added set of barriers for international students.
Teshome noted that career events organized by the Center for Career Development such as the Fall HireTigers Career Fair can be a challenging experience for international students as many employers present do not sponsor international students.
“I remember feeling so disappointed,” Teshome said. She remembered asking herself, “What am I supposed to do now? Is this really what’s going to be there for me when I am a senior?”
In response to international student frustrations, Kimberly Betz, Executive Director of the Center for Career Development told the ‘Prince,’ “We really, really strive to be here for all students, and to be here for students from, you know, all backgrounds, whatever their identities. We want to work with students in ways that are respectful and supportive of who they are as individuals. And again, really the best way we can do that is just strongly encouraging students to come and talk with us.”
Acknowledging the difficulties experienced by international students, Betz added, “We always encourage students to be really knowledgeable about their own rights or visa regulations, basically … by going to meet with Davis International Center staff members, their website has a lot of great information. They also have information sessions. What we do is basically partnering with them.”
In reflecting on changes to the support system available to international students, Tryfoni stated that she would like to see more career fairs specifically designed for international students. She recalled a STEM-specific career fair at Princeton where companies open to sponsoring international students also had “insanely long lines of [non-international] students who could talk to all the other companies,” that made it difficult for her to meet potential employers.
Joseph explained that international students who are still deciding on their choices of majors “could benefit from a bit more transparency” and should be offered more sessions to understand the implications of certain decisions.
Grover also expressed that she would like to see a change in the campus culture over career discussions.
She said, “I think just a more supportive [space] for openly discussing these things should be a normal part of your college life.”
Ifeoluwa Aigbiniode is a staff Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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