Local USCIS office doesn't issue Advanced parole

peace_of_mind:

I would put it at approx $50K to be done with an MBA from an IVY league - atleast those ranking between 5 and 10.

140_takes_4ever:

Well said! - From what I've seen around, I agree with that most of the time doesnt matter how much and what you know as long as you can get the BS in order and well packaged. Good example is your post about your VP.
Networking is what its all about once you decide to push yourself up the rungs, obviously you also need a tag(thats where the Ivy League sticker comes into play) inorder to do help them help you.
 
here is my take on it ....

and it might change as nothing lasts forever.
I agree with you guys ... To go up the corporate ladder one needs to be good at networking (read a**e licking and sycopancy) especially in investment banking. But on a more optimistic note , I think there are rules there too and one has to learn and play by them.

There is always the entrepreneurial route if opportunity knocks , but for the rest of us who don't hear opportunity knocking .. who need to bring food to the table (be it a BigMac or a expensive meal at Ruth Chris') we need to survive in corporate America and play by the rules.

I guess my question is .. is Schmoozing an art or a science and how does one get good at it ?
 
mave76,

I would like a take on your question -
in my personal opinion, schmoozing ... is definetely an art (thats why we find so my people cribbing here including many of us, who arent good at it) and coming to the second part of your question,the answer is....practice, practice, practice and learn from your experiences:D
 
i'd say its like learning to play golf ...

you could practice all day , but without the right technique and the right equipment you won't get too far.

And then there is nothing like mastering the game , cuz every course is different and there is no opponent to beat.
 
Originally posted by MrCoolz
peace_of_mind:

I would put it at approx $50K to be done with an MBA from an IVY league - atleast those ranking between 5 and 10.
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I would say it is more like $80k or so. (it was about $70k six years ago) and that is not counting living expenses. There are a couple of state schools in the top ten like Berkeley and Michigan that would cost less, especially if you are a resident of that state.
 
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I am not too sure if its like playing golf.... here's my take on it....its more like learning to ride a bicycle - once you get the hang of it (the balance) - you eventually start performing some very unique tricks with it (thats exactly why its an art) and as you keep going on, you start to outperform others(that when you've mastered the game) and since the tricks you learnt are unique there's no (atleast for a while) opponent to beat.

The reason why I hate to say its like golf is becos, even if you have the best driver on earth, you still should be able to make contact with the ball (recall your first 3 lessons at the range:)
 
Upto a point networking may help you move up. You may be setting yourselves up if you did not realize that there is a glass ceiling in corporate america that no amount of schmoozing can help penetrate.

P.S.: I am aware of the exceptions to this, but that is what they precisely are, exceptions.
 
Similar views here ...

I feel there is a glass celing in corporate America , infact I see it all the time. Ofcourse there are exceptions like Vinod Khosla, Indira Nooyi etc. but I don't know any of them personally and don't trust the media which might use them as poster boys (or girls) to emphasize that equal opportunity actually works at all levels.

I don't think just being good at one's job is reason enough to become a C-level employee in an organization someday . I think there are a lot of cultural factors involved and I am talking about culture not race or ethnicity. On the other hand we (EB-category) are all products of the first wave of globalization and the results of this would be apparent 10 or 15 years down the line.

So , I guess the question is will a glass celing exist 10 years down the line ? I think it will but what it takes to break it will change.
 
I honestly feel that the ceiling(which exists now) will defintely be pierced in about 10-15 years at the rate South Asians are dominating the "lower deck" of the technology industry in this country right now . Again, it will take a lot of conviction and time before we hit the 'upper deck' and reach the elite C segments.

One good example is how the African Americans have dominated, taken over from whites and now literally rule two major areas like sports and music.
 
Re: Similar views here ...

Originally posted by maverick1976
.... I think it will but what it takes to break it will change.
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I would not bet on it. What we have seen in the past couple of years has convinced me of that. Parochialism has always existed here in various subterranean ways, but it has become quite fashionable to openly bash foreigners these days. Mainstream America (and the general public) has embraced, willingly or unwillingly, what would have once been regarded as highly reactionary stances and they dont even bother to make any excuses any more for it. These social cycles last for several decades before a reversal can take hold. Sep. 11 and national security have served as convenient excuses to roll-back decades of civil rights and equal protection progress. History has taught us that Terrorism always rears its ugly head when least expected, and on those lines, if we see further terrorist violence in the US, it would not be long before we find ourselves either deported or interned.

At which point, of-course, we would care little about glass ceilings!
 
Are you playing devil's advocate or has the I-485 process made you a cynic ...

Terrorism is a threat to every country not just the US. It shouldn't change the way companies in the US (or the world) operate. With increased globalization, organizations cannot afford to have a parochial outlook. Sept 11th did make things difficult for the immigrant community but at the same time the economy was already in doldrums. It's very difficult to pin-point what impact did the events of 9/11 have on corporate America and how long will they last. I think Wall St. drives corporate America and thats the culture that one needs to be aligned with. But I guess what the future holds is anybody's guess ....

To answer Mr Coolz , as I mentioned earlier , I think its culture that matters not race or ethinicity. For e.g. sports or music .. these are billion dollar industries in the US. It is not enitrely about a star athelete or a star performer. It's the basic building blocks , the business running these sports/musical events or record labels. What race or ethinicity does this belong to is anybody's guess. But thats not where I want to take this discussion. The essence of all of this is what would it take to run a successful sports team or a music company ? It surely isn't race or ethnicity !!
 
"Are you playing devil's advocate or has the I-485 process made you a cynic ... "

Niether, actually; I just happen to believe that fear and logic do not co-exist. A mob does not think rationally and has little respect for globalization or the so-called Adam Smithian invisible hand. 'Fortress America' is what I see in my crystal ball.:(
 
Interesting Topic

Please continue the good discussion. I would have called it a great discussion, but it becomes great only when someone starts objecting to the "Non-Immigration Related Topic":D
 
Terrorism in all its multi-faceted would never make a society that truly believes in democracy behave the way this society is behaving right now. I can understand scarring of the American psyche but this is a little too much. So I am not entirely sure if it doesn't reflect in the corporate culture to some extent.

Unless immigrants and I mean south asians specifically, are not visible in various day to day activities like movies, ads, billboards, the assimilation process to be a truly Homogeneous community has not begun, and the glass ceiling has not shattered.

It is only after that will I expect growth based upon true merit.

As far African Americans dominating sports and music is concerned, the question I have for you is how many Black coaches do you have in the NFL? Where do all these players go when their bodies just break down from the stress of everyday playing and injuries? Whatever said and done, they are still exploited, still subjugated.
 
140_takes_4ever,

Your point on the exclusive club of white coaches in the NFL - I agree that there are not too many black coaches - but I dont think that will last too long, inspite of Rush Limbaugh's conservative pounding. In my personal opinion that will also soon become like the NBA teams where every team now has few white players (Dallas Mavericks an exception)making them sit on the bench with very little floor time, all in the name of equality fearing people like Rush and people in the far left.

As far as exploitation goes, I guess thats what American History has always been atleast since 300 years ago.
 
Lets not make this an issue about ethnicity..

There are scores of success stories from minority groups..Ken Chenault , Oprah Winfrey, Condi Rice and many more. If you were to argue that they aren't enough of them, I would say that's because they are a minority and they got on the level playing field only a generation ago.

As for American History being exploitative , thats one way to look at it. I would say that every group they "exploited" (if they did so) gained a lot. They underwent a transformation and were imbibed into the overall culture. This is true for Native Indians , African-Americans and something as recent as the Chinese Railroad workers. However , the ease with which these once disparate groups were absorbed into the culture varies.

As for South Asians , we have it very easy compared to the others. By the time we ( I am talking about the IT/H1-B junta) got here, it was already a two way street. The American corporates which essentially rule this country are looking towards foreign countries/cultures, not as consumer markets that need to be penetrated, but as an integral part of their business strategy to survive and compete right here in their homeland.

Talking about arts, I read Shekhar Kapur's interview on rediff.com a few weeks back. I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but it makes an interesting read.

http://in.rediff.com/money/2003/nov/05inter.htm

What do you guys think ?
 
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Ethnicity problem will never die. It started in cave man's days and still persists in the so called modern world.

Why even after 200 years, US never had a Black president? This reminds me one of the famous comment about the presidential election. Presidential election analyst once asked the public, assume that if both the leading national parties has White candidate on race for hot seat and if one of the white candidate opt for an Black running mate, what will be the running mate choice of the other white candidate. He immediately replied that other white candidate will opt only for white running mate rather than black running mate. This clearly explains the problems based on ethnicity or origin.
 
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Re: Lets not make this an issue about ethnicity..

Originally posted by maverick1976
There are scores of success stories from minority groups..Ken Chenault , Oprah Winfrey, Condi Rice and many more. If you were to argue that they aren't enough of them, I would say that's because they are a minority and they got on the level playing field only a generation ago.
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There are more; Franklin Raines, Stan O'Neal, Dick Parsons, ....

But peel the outer layer of apparent success and look deeper. You will see a common thread; like Nirad Choudhary they are all 'more white than the white'. They have learnt early that success in corporate america depends on how well they make the bidding of their masters. Almost all of these gentlemen have effectively turned their backs on their brothers. They are all part of Mr. Bush's corps of elite (I am not sure of Mr. Raines) fund raisers for 'Bush 2004'. I dont even wnat to talk about Condi Rice or Colin Powell (or his son, for that matter). Harry Belafonte put it bluntly but very eloquently; to paraphrase, there were slaves that worked the farm and there were house slaves ....

Originally posted by maverick1976
As for American History being exploitative , thats one way to look at it. I would say that every group they "exploited" (if they did so) gained a lot. They underwent a transformation and were imbibed into the overall culture. This is true for Native Indians , African-Americans and something as recent as the Chinese Railroad workers. However , the ease with which these once disparate groups were absorbed into the culture varies.
Click to expand...

By the same token, I guess the British did the Indians a favor by colonizing India - after all, it is apparent, atleast by western standards, that their rule had a civilizing influence on the people of the subcontinent, right?

I guess our youth and restlessness imbues us (you perhaps more than me, I imagine, from your pseudonym) a certain derring-do that makes us forget the lessons of the past. If I am certain of anything, it is that revisionism has always turned out to be costly for ensuing generations.

Originally posted by maverick1976
As for South Asians , we have it very easy compared to the others. By the time we ( I am talking about the IT/H1-B junta) got here, it was already a two way street. The American corporates which essentially rule this country are looking towards foreign countries/cultures, not as consumer markets that need to be penetrated, but as an integral part of their business strategy to survive and compete right here in their homeland.
Click to expand...

Big corporations do whatever it takes to make money. If today that means lisping platitudes about adopting foreign cultures so they can tailor better marketing strategies for their products, that is exactly what they will engage in. If tomorrow, that means ingratiating themselves with the tyrant of the day in a Burma or a Nigeria (Exxon Mobil, Unocal etc.) to ensure oil drilling rights and slave labor to construct their plants, that is what will form a part of their business strategy. A year down the road, if it means turning an election into a veritable farce by funneling millions into the so-called issue ads, that is exactly what the doctor has ordered. So, think hard and long before you attach your troth to big business.

Originally posted by maverick1976
Talking about arts, I read Shekhar Kapur's interview on rediff.com a few weeks back. I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but it makes an interesting read.

http://in.rediff.com/money/2003/nov/05inter.htm

What do you guys think ?
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by Edison
Ethnicity problem will never die. It started in cave man's days and still persists in the so called modern world.

Why even after 200 years, US never had a white president? ....
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I am sure you meant black president.:) Why go even that far, even a white woman president will do for me. It will at least tone down this testosterone-induced need to be perpetually at war with somebody or the other. At a fraction of the cost of such follies, millions across the world can be saved from starvation and desease. The average american woman is more apt to see it in this light than the macho "bring it on" males!:D
 
Re: Lets not make this an issue about ethnicity..

Come on! "Imbibed into the overall culture" does not signify losing all threads of your past! Look at the American Indians, they have no culture left! They were assimilated and suborned into a foreign culture. Look at the African Americans, what culture do they have left from Africa? Imbibed into the overall culture should mean a give and take. Other than thanksgiving what have we taken from American Indians? :) This is true exploitation in the full sense of the word.

Originally posted by Sankrityayan
There are more; Franklin Raines, Stan O'Neal, Dick Parsons, ....
But peel the outer layer of apparent success and look deeper. You will see a common thread; like Nirad Choudhary they are all 'more white than the white'.
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more, pure coconuts! Brown on the outside, white on the inside. Case in point, Justice Clarence Thomas, he voted against the very same affirmitive action that gave him a chance to study and come to where he is now.

Originally posted by Sankrityayan
Big corporations do whatever it takes to make money. If today that means lisping platitudes about adopting foreign cultures so they can tailor better marketing strategies for their products, that is exactly what they will engage in.
Click to expand...
:) Look at the Miss Universe and Miss World pagents, isn't it a little surprising that no developed country has its representative winning those titles in a long time? The main reason for which is that the chief sponsors of those pagents are cosmetics and clothing companies which want to make inroads into a particular country and having a brand name ambasador from that country who is looked upon with pride and awe makes terrific business sense.

Originally posted by Sankrityayan
even a white woman president will do for me. It will at least tone down this testosterone-induced need to be perpetually at war with somebody or the other.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't go so far as to say that! :) Two of the most famous women premiers have been Margaret Thacher and Indira Gandhi, those women had cojones made of steel. A famous astronaut once said, "The very thing that makes us good Astronauts, prevents us from enjoying the beauty of space". The women who rise to the top of the political scrum, tend to be pushier, tougher and meaner than all the men around them! And interestingly NEVER allow other women to serve in their cabinets! :)
 
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