Indian Man Takes ₹40 Lakh Loan for US Dream, Now Struggles with Joblessness, Debt & Ailing Family

Indian Man Takes ₹40 Lakh Loan for US Dream: Every year, many aspiring students from India nurse the hope of moving to the US for better opportunities and a better living. Achieving this dream of American life literally comes with a very heavy price as students often take loans to see themselves through studies abroad. Unfortunately, this very much-kissed American dream can turn into a nightmare when things take a wrong turn, as was the case with a user on Reddit.

The TechPhilosopher, as his Reddit identity suggests, narrated his suffering owing to his journey of faith into the US for a master's degree gone hostile due to inability to land any proper jobs and thus heavily putting his family in debt. He also mentioned that the financial pressures took a toll on their family by making his father very ill. The user took it to social media seeking guidance in his effort to battle this financial problem.

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The 27-year-old user said in 2022, he took an education loan of ₹40 lakh for his master's in the US. He comes from a modest family, wherein his father managed a small manufacturing business, but he said his family gave their all to help his dream come through.

Well, everything was going fine until it just ceased to be when the user failed to land a job there due to several reasons as he listed out-an economic recession, visa limitations, and lack of internship opportunities for Indian students. While in the US, he couldn’t earn enough to make ends meet and had to borrow from his parents for food; even that came to a halt when his father fell ill and their business failed, leaving him to return back "heartbroken", "jobless", and with a huge loan over his head.

He, however, finally managed to get a job in India, which offered a salary of ₹75,000; however, out of this, ₹66,000 paid his EMIs, leaving him with a ridiculously small amount, ₹9,000, in personal savings. The family’s business keeps them afloat these days, but the user said he is actively trying to get freelance opportunities to supplement his income. He has, however, been wholly drained emotionally and physically trying to juggle the ill health of his father and his day job.

Expressing his helplessness, he wrote, “I feel like my whole life will go into just surviving this crisis. We were a modest middle-class family… and now we’re on the edge.”

He stated he had approached the bank for restructuring and was applying for side gigs, but until now, nothing clicks, and he was looking for advice from the Reddit community.

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Sharing his credentials, he wrote, “I did my MSc in Management Information Systems, Undergrad is in IT. I have 1.5 years of work experience before doing my MS from the US and I have unpaid internship experience in the US, and I can do Digital Product Management, Project Management, Strategy Consulting, UI-UX design, AI consulting, Marketing and Sales. Let me know if you have opportunities in these domains.”

Reddit users’ advice

In response, several users expressed sympathy and extended their forehands in various ways. “Hopping to higher-paying jobs on an aggressive schedule - like every 8 months or 1 year - is your best option. No NGO or HNI will handover money for cases like this,” said one user.

Another Redditor told him not to beat himself up, assuring him that the degree and experience would aid him in future. Others voiced the concern that the user should continue to take care of himself during this journey.

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