Some students prefer to stay a little longer

Many Chinese PhD holders at top American universities want to stay in the US after they graduate, at least for a few years. Wang Minzhe is one of them.

“For students in our major, I think there are few students choosing to return directly after they graduate,” said Wang, who is in his third year of a doctoral program at the University of Chicago. “I still prefer to stay in the US, at least for a few years to accumulate some working experience before I go back to China.”

Wang obtained his undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics from Tsinghua University and a graduate degree in statistics from Stanford University. Now he works on topic modeling and nonnegative matrix factorization at the University of Chicago and hopes to become a data scientist after graduation.

“It’s true that China has been catching up very fast with the US in terms of innovation and technology,” he said.

“But still, the most cutting-edge research and developments are in the West, especially for technology innovations.”

Wang said he thinks if he can work for a leading tech company in the US, it will give him more choices for his career development.

“Everyone knows there is a glass ceiling for Chinese employees in the US, especially in tech companies,” he said. “But it’s also true that for entry-level positions, the US companies offer more attractive salaries and benefits.”