Sundar Pichai grew up in Chennai, India, and dreamed of doing something great with his life. After completing his bachelor’s degree in India, he headed to the US for higher studies.
With the help of a highly competitive scholarship at Stanford University, California, he earned his MS. He then completed an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School. Pichai eventually became the CEO of Google (and its parent company, Alphabet), becoming one of the highest-paid executives in the tech world.
Thousands of Indian students migrate to the US, just like Pichai did, for its world-renowned education, work opportunities, and to pursue their dream careers. Indian students make up 18% of all international students in America, coming in second only to China.
Let us look at the success stories of Indian students who studied in the US, and we are sure you have heard some of these names!
Originally from Hyderabad, India, Satya Nadella currently lives in Bellevue, Washington. After completing his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, he decided to travel to the US for a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in 1990. Later on, he also did a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.
Shortly after, in 1992, he was able to join Microsoft as a young engineer. After some exceptional work, Nadella was promoted to Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Business Solutions in 2001. He kept rising above the ranks and gained experience across various departments to finally be appointed as the CEO of Microsoft in February 2014.
Shantanu Narayen was born in Hyderabad, India to a Telugu-speaking family. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication engineering from the University College of Engineering, Osmania University which is located in Hyderabad.
Following this, he moved to the United States to complete his education, and in 1986 received a master’s degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He earned his MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in 1993.
Immediately after completing his Master’s in Computer Science, he gained entry into Silicon Valley and worked with an exciting start-up called Measurex Automation Systems. Then, Narayen shifted to Apple and eventually worked up to Adobe. Today, he is the CEO of the leading software company.
Indian-born American businesswoman, Indra Nooyi was instrumental in the lucrative restructuring and diversification of soft-drink manufacturer PepsiCo, Inc.’s brands, being their CEO and chairman of board.
It all started from Chennai where she completed her high school education after which she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Madras Christian College in 1976. She then went on to complete her master’s degree in business administration from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta two years later.
She received a master’s degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Management in 1980, after moving to the United States. Nooyi found success after that as she worked as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, later holding executive positions at Motorola, Inc., and the engineering firm Asea Brown Boveri (now ABB), before finally ending up in PepsiCo.
Agarwal was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. In 2001, he completed his lower and upper secondary studies at Atomic Energy Central School and Junior College No.4. Following which, he obtained his Bachelor of Technology degree in computer science and engineering from IIT Bombay. That same year, he moved to the United States to pursue a PhD in computer science from Stanford University.
After studying at Stanford, Agrawal completed research internships at Microsoft Research and Yahoo! Research before joining Twitter as a software engineer in 2011. In October 2017, Agrawal was appointed as chief technology officer of Twitter. And finally, in November 2021, he was appointed as the CEO of Twitter.
The success stories do not end here. Arvind Krishna of IBM, Rohan Seth of Clubhouse, and Baiju Bhatt of Robinhood are all of Indian origin and all spent time as graduate students in the US. Admission into a prestigious Ivy League or a top-ranking US university still offers unmatched opportunities like global exposure, research & innovation, creativity, and flexibility in studies. Additionally, the overall learning experience is considered highly valuable by employers worldwide.
As an international student, you will receive the same opportunities as a US citizen when it comes to job opportunities upon completing your studies. US colleges offer a number of resources like job placements, networking portals, on-campus career centers, and much more. Studying in the US is an entirely plausible dream because of the numerous resources available to international students. All you need to do is plan!
Start a co-design conversation with Gradstar to know more about studying in the United States.
Date Published: Aug-18-2022
