Survey of Indian Computer Professionals/Students in USA about Taking up Employment in India

Pankaj Jalote
Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur - 208016; India


Summary: It is well known that most Indian students who go to USA for higher studies end up taking employment there and never return back. One of the major quoted reasons for not returning has been lack of proper opportunities in India. With the exciting industrial scenario in the US and the bright future of Indian computer industry and the career opportunities it offers, this reason may not hold for computer professionals. Based on some informal discussion with students and professionals in USA, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Kanpur decided to conduct a survey of Indian Computer professionals/students in USA regarding taking up employment in Indian computer industry, and what their expectations are. This report gives the result of the survey.
 

Contrary to expectations, a majority of the respondents want to return and take up employment. Two other important points emerged in the survey. First, the salary expectations for many of the respondents who want to return are not too far off what are currently being offered by many companies. And secondly, most persons want to get an offer while in the US, and are unwilling to return without an offer in hand. Other important factors mentioned for returning are help in housing, travel opportunities (which most companies offer), and career opportunities (which are good).
 

The survey clearly shows that there is a substantial pool of highly trained professionals in USA which can be tapped by the computer industry to alleviate the current manpower shortage and to bring in new expertise. An important point that the survey brings out is that to tap this pool, the industry will have to actively recruit in the US and make offers to these professionals while they are in the US. One of the complaints was that if people inquire with companies about positions, they either do not get a reply or get a reply saying that "contact us after you have returned". This needs to be changed and offers have to be made in the US. If the companies want, this can be done easily. Besides a careful evaluation of vita, with many companies having some base in the US and many senior persons visiting the US frequently, approaches like "telephone interviews" can be used to evaluate candidates and make offers while they are in the US. The possibly low "accept ratio" of applicants from the US need not be a deterrent in recruiting there, as in the computer industry even in India the accept ratio is low. Hence, if companies recruit in India despite the low accept ratios and low retention rates, recruiting in the US will not be inconsistent with the current situation.
 

In addition, many people also stated outside the survey that they want "interesting work" and fear that the jobs may be unexciting and low-tech. This implies that these professional have to be offered exciting work, career and travel opportunities consistent with their expertise. This in itself is not a problem as most large companies do offer these. However, the image of the industry consisting of "body shoppers" and "assemblers" (formed by "old knowledge" and interaction with people employed with Indian companies and working on small tasks in the US) needs to be dispelled by appropriate measures and the professionals need to be convinced that indeed there is a change from the past in this industry.

Further details about the survey are given later in the report. The main points that the survey brings out are as follows:

1. Most respondents were in the age group 20-35; about 75% were under 30.

2. Only about 25% of the respondents had no work experience; the rest had 0-10 years of experience.

3. About 70% respondents had M.S. degrees (mostly in CS/EE/ECE), and about 15% had Ph.D. degrees.

4. Over 75% respondents said that they will return to take up employment in Indian industry, given a reasonable offer. About 11% said they do not want to return, and the rest were not sure.

5. Most of the respondents who said they want to return indicated that they will return only if the offer is made in the US (i.e. will not return to India and then look for a job). Over 75% said that they must have an offer in hand before returning to India.

6. The salary expectations of respondents increased with years of experience. For people with no experience, the salary expectancy is mostly in the range 6K-10K per month, while for people with many years of experience it is over 10K per month.

7. Of the "other desired factors" in the offer and work environment, the most commonly listed factors are accommodation, transport, health, work-freedom, career opportunities, and travel.

Further Details

The survey was conducted through e-mail. A questionniare, along with some background information, was posted in relevant news groups in US (which also reach Europe and Australia). The filled questionniares were mailed through e-mail. Readers were encouraged to respond regardless of whether they were for or against the idea of returning, to avoid any bias in the survey.

The Questionniare

The questionniare that the respondents were asked to fill is given here. A preamble was attached to it to give the background, some information about the current status of Industry in India, and motivation for the survey.

1. Your age:
2. Highest degree with discipline and year of completion:
3. Current occupation and employer:
4. Years of work experience in US.
5. Given a reasonable (and realistic) offer, would you return:
6. Major reasons for returning (just list them; no essays)
7. Major reasons for not returning (Answer 8-12 if you answered "Yes" in 5)
8. Is it necessary for the offer to be made before you return.
9. Will you return if you have no offer in hand at the time of return.
10. What salary would you want (be realistic)
11. What would you want in your work environment.
12. What else do you want in your offer - just list (be realistic).

Survey Results

The response to the survey was tremendous. Within 3 days of posting of the questionniare, over 100 responses were received. As the huge response of the survey was adding tremendously to the e-mail traffic, other potential respondents were informed through network posting not to send any more responses. Finally, about 175 surveys were received and compiled.

Of the 175 respondents, 76% said that given a reasonable offer they will return, 11% said that they will not return, and 13% were not sure. Of those who indicated a wish to return, an overwhelming 77% said that they will return only if they had an offer before returning.

The tabulated results of most of the other important issues are given below. In the tables, all the responses are shown as percentage of the total responses. For issues relevant to "returning", the the numbers shown are percentages of those who indicated they want to return. In the table showing the salary distribution, the percentages are relative to the number of respondents of the appropriate age group. Finally, the percentages of those tables where more than one options can be listed (eg. "what is desired in the work environment") will not add up to 100.

 

Table 1: Age distribution of respondents

Table 2: Academic background of respondents

Table 3: Work experience of respondents

Table 4: Salary Expectancy

Table 5: Other desirable factors

Table 6: Major reasons for returning

Table 7: Major reasons for not returning