before you come to the US, know what the job search actually looks like
if you’re about to come to the US, wanted to share what the job market actually looks like rn, not the polished version
quick context if this is new to you — CPT is training you do while still in school, tied to your program, usually internships.
OPT is your work authorization after you graduate, 12 months normally, but STEM majors can extend it to 3 years total. non-STEM is just the 1 year
one thing that trips people up a lot: if you do full-time CPT (20+ hrs/week) for a full year before graduating, it can actually make you ineligible for OPT after. so if you’re doing a full-time internship on CPT, def check with your school’s international office before it adds up, this one catches people off guard
now the part nobody preps you for. talking to people on OPT right now, it’s brutal. thousands of applications, hundreds of cold emails, and maybe a handful of interviews out of all of it. even those sometimes end with “can’t sponsor” or getting dropped last minute
not trying to scare anyone, just wish someone told me this before i landed here. earlier you understand how CPT/OPT work and start networking, the better shot you have
made a group for intl students to talk through this stuff with people who’ve actually been through it. Lmk if you want in