Yours Sincerely.

Hey people out there who have yet to go to college,

Just a reality check.

Well, this begins with my experience in America. Not that it has been a whole long experience, but just wanted to share it with you guys before you take the plunge into an American college. Note: This article applies exclusively for American colleges, I'm not too sure about the rest of the world.

So 9/11 hit America, so the global war on terrorism was waged, so the American economy is going into a slow but sure recession. So how would this affect you?

Well if you're planning to come to an American college, here are a few thoughts to ponder over.

If you're coming here, you're probably thinking of exploiting the industry here as well. But be aware that America is not the land of endless oppurtunities it previously was. 9/11 seriously changed the whole American landscape. Imagine you're the world's leading superpower. The last time your free land was hit was back in World War 2, particularly by the Japs in Pearl Harbour. You took them down with two atomic bombs, they surrendered and you were world heroes. Then you went on to ride the wave of an economic surge. All other big players in the economic realm had humongous debts but you were rich from cash by selling weapons and planes and wartime tools. You had the world's largest consumer base which was capable of spending. (China and India were big, even back then, but more than half of the population was under the poverty line, surviving on US$ 1 and below per day.)Consumer spending was big, real big. Economy was booming, then the Space Race was won and everyone loved you. You were at the top of your game.

Fast forward four decades, your symbolic World Trade Centers were bombed by your very own airplanes. Your very military headquarters, the Pentagon was also a target for airplane crashes, albeit a failed plan. More than two thousand American lives were lost, on your own free soil. (Now if it were lost in a self-inflicted war for a cause on foreign soil, it's a hero's death. But two thousand innocent lives on your own ground? Unacceptable.) This meant war, two wars in fact.

Seven years on (or last year, 2008), your credit market has crumbled so no more money to lend. Economy is floundering and globalization is threatening to outsource all jobs to China. Other governments are prospering, like communist China, largest democracy on Earth, India and your northern neighbor, Brazil as well as European Union. This is just about the best situation to be skeptical, protective and on your guard.

And that is exactly what is happening right now. If you're in the aerospace or aviation field, almost no company will hire you. In fact, so long as the job requires security clearance by the FBI (which requires a track of your files ten years back), companies most probably will not hire you. One, because it takes a long time, two because it takes a lot of paperwork, three because it takes a lot of money. Might as well hire an American to do the job. So corporations and companies that involve national security are basically very tight-fisted.

 

Second point, the Americans are not faring well on the economic scale. Less credit, less jobs, outsourcing to cheap labor markets and a recession basically are forcing them into a self-knit web of self sufficiency. Aliens can and must wait (Yes, that's what they call you if you're not a citizen. Non-immigrant aliens). First, get the economy back on its feet, then we'll negotiate.

That's about as bleak as it gets. Getting a job in America post-graduation is not at all easy. In fact, it could be downright impossible if it goes on like this.

However, there are other things to be cherished here if you will.

Freedom. Education is still very liberal and free. You will be exposed to a whole new degree of freedom, of expression, of style, of form, of schedule and even of contents. This, I believe is the bedrock of the renowned American innovation, which still remains at the pinnacle of its realm. Creativity cannot be taught, it is a culture. You have to experience it to get it. You'll meet people of all walks of life, who do crazy things, and will inspire you tremendously. And the most precious of all, you're allowed, even encouraged to be different here, unique they call it. That's freedom at its best! That, I believe is the beauty of American education. Freedom.

Science and technology. Need more be said.

Obama. Yes, he is a very big factor in America today, and for the next eight years, I predict. He has a lot of great plans, but one of his most inspiring factors is hope. Hope to re-energize America to become a world leader in all aspects again. Hope to build a renewable energy sector. Hope to heal a divided and bitter nation, which contributes to foreigners being treated as potential terrorists. Hope that the free world is truly full of possibilities, for even a black man can be president in a predominantly white country. Yes, hope. Not to mention history in the making.

So weigh your options, hear the pros and cons and choose what you seek out the most. Be under no illusions though, that you will be welcomed with open hands, either in this nation or in your respective industries. There is definitely skepticism in this nation towards aliens, but it's only going to get better, even more so when we start making the right moves and start winning the war on religious extremism and terrorism. The recession is killing people, but we have a great team of experts on the drawing board trying to fix it. It won't be an easy decision, and the journey will be even harder, but the light at the end of the tunnel will only get brighter and brighter. Your call.