Returning to Nepal with a US degree, good or a bad idea?

My 2c --

- Preaching about "Rastraprem" after failing to get GC/PR, or have unavoidable reason to return back, then there is no substance in your "Rastraprem" -- me does not like that rastraprem. Many returnees claim "I left this opportunity, that opportunity in the foreign land to come back Nepal", but such claims are generally false, they don't have proof to show if they actually held the position, or got appoinment letter.

- Most people returning back to Nepal are "opportunists or corrupt", because they don't want to pay tax, they want to take advantage of lawlessness, they don't want to contribute correcting the problem of country. E4N picks (from the link of nkmaharjan), politicians - Minendra Rijal, Mahat brothers, Lohani (you add more), businessmen, NGO-INGO samrats,  all enjoy lavish life at the cost of misfortune of the country. A few (like Mahabir Pun) have done good contribution, but most others have contributed only to promote lawlessness in one way or another.

- Whereas, most people staying out of Nepal, despite knowing that they could make a big difference in Nepal are "relatively honest" people of the world. They are law-abiding citizens, pay tax, follow rules, do not get involve in crime or corruption and do their job properly. They have become asset of their adopted homeland, they live there proudly and have happier life.

So the conclusions are --
- Good, honest, capable people leave country.  
- Opportunist, failed, (lato deshma gaado tanneri huna chaahane) people return back.

Ooops!! I think I am at a wrong conclusion.

 if you have enough capital and experience you do not even need to be a US graduate returnee to make it in Nepal, India or other parts of the world. .to be honest the business we learn here and business that works in Nepal are two different beasts. While in US a student crams for test and forgets most of the things after the test. has 20 things in head all the time to worry about and does 6-7 class projects till graduation. How is that going to Help to become a successful businessman. Look at other threads and even this thread by us returnees which do not even demonstrate a proper college level English. yes, read the post by the us returnee guy looking for Hari Acharya and read chana in this thread who claims of going to govt. schools in Nepal. 
I think to be a successful businessman first you need to understand your market , your end consumers, your external and internal business environments and who can understand that better, a native from that market or a US returnee who has spend his 7-10 years of life outside of the country? 

nmaharjan,

Are you pissed of by my conclusion? Why you need to paste the whole content? I would only paste the link. By the way, I have already read them. I am also a member of that network, just FYI.

If you decide to buy a truck of apple believing that the sample provided to you is unbiased, then you know the risk. The leaders of E4N are cream of the cream. Some were born to succeed wherever they step in, some were lucky enough to land on business that boomed, some were extraordinarily smart and well prepared, some are raised up on others' failure, some do have extremely strong background and financial support. Like, every darkcloud has silver lining, a very small group excel even in African desert or warfield of Iraq. Doesn't Afganistan has millionares now?

@zzszz, 

Good point about Nepalese willingness to pay taxes while in the States. But I must admit that if Nepal were to enforce tougher rules and come up with similar laws, its only a matter of time before Nepalese turn into "law abiding citizens". 

One of the biggest problems of Nepal is the system that runs the government. 

 @ agnibikram ,

one quick question, since u r in Nepal

How is the internet in terms of speed, reliability? Heard of broadband wireless, How is it?

What do u do when no electricity?

r u satisfied?

 It all depends on your affordability man. 

I mean, Ncell offers highspeed internet with speeds ranging from 3-12 mbps but the downside is, it costs almost as much as highspeed internet in the U.S. So if you're making 15k to 30k ( 230 - 460 bucks ) per month, how will you be able to afford it? 

My Internet was down for almost a day and a half and the technicians didn't show up for a long time. Not to mention, they don't have a 24-hour tech support. 

During Load-Shedding, I normally read books, magazines and browse the internet ( until the battery lasts ). 

And no, I'm not satisfied. 

 Interesting postings here.

I am not one of you in that I don't have that uncertainty in life. I am actually on the other side of this debate; i.e. have employed people who have returned from the states or UK in Nepal. Here are my few observations:

1. About a year ago, I was sitting with a relative of mine who was planning to hire an editor for his website. His firm is US based, but they do bulk of works in Nepal. It is a small firm, employing 12-20 people in Nepal in various activities and less than six in the states. Among those employed in Nepal, almost six of them are either Indians or Americans who somehow seem to want to live in Kathmandu. Two major tasks of the firm involved regular updating of website (and writing some letters to clients) and take routed phone calls of customers during off hour here in the states. They needed one editor at the time and there comes an applicant [a US returnee] whose father I knew. He was totally unprepared for the interview; not even well kempt, and his English was too fast, too rambling. My relative ended up hiring an Indian freelance journalist for the position (paying almost Rs 30,000.00 per month).

This sums up the attitude of lots of Nepali, especially KTMduites[Also reflected in this thread given the writing of these people]. They lack discipline. Something about them tells us that they have very high opinion of themselves. They want high salary, and try to unnecessarily bargain for things they don't deserve. A software entrepreneur hiring about 100 people in KTM tells me of those horror stories of people trying to increase their salary in three months by threatening to leave in the middle of the project even though their contract explicitly calls for at least six month of work before they could leave.

LESSON for those you who are back in Nepal or contemplating to go back: Nepal is actually a competitive place. There are good writers, good engineers, and there are hardworking people willing to give their best for a chance to work. Furthermore, we also have nonnepali alternative there. So, please don't underestimate the skill required to succeed there. People won't throw money at you. You have to deserve it.

2. If you are a Nepali, you have to make sure you read something useful to Nepal here. If you are studying about something that is useless in Nepal, then you should stay here. If you are a researcher, then you must learn the tools of research methodologies soundly. A good researcher is a good researcher anyway and they will be useful everywhere, the only difference being the extent to which they could use their skill. Last time, I was talking to a Nepali college owner in London. I asked him what most of the Nepali students in his college study. He said Hotel Management. It was clear that Nepali people were coming to UK en masse, without any necessary mathematical foundation, and they studied the subject they thought they had some chance to pass. We are wasting our country's precious foreign exchange subjects like those. But I also saw a vicious cycle there, the college owner was offering these easy , you-don't-need-TOEFL-to-come-here courses precisely because he needed more people to come to his college, and people choose these lousy colleges and courses because they came here with the motive that had nothing to do with good education in the first place. They wanted in, he found a way to let them in. Such students has the  burden to proof their worth after the graduation themselves.

Several people in Nepal, in particular, those who matter, know what good colleges in the states are. I am more likely to trust a Janapriya Madhyamik Vidhyalaya and Pulchok campus graduate engineer than a mediocre boarding school and a mediocre Oklahoma college graduate if I need an engineer in Nepal. If you went to a mediocre school here, you should at the minimum get a good GPA to show some evidence of intelligence. If your GPA sucks, believe me employers won't need you there.

3. People should study the subject that enables them to succeed in Nepal. I see lots of social science researchers who work in Nepal on Nepali subjects. Such researchers are likely to succeed there. Those who have degree in forestry but have no knowledge of Nepali forest system should study hard to know about our system while they are studying here. Before you choose a subject, ask yourself how you could be useful in Nepal. Because, afterall, if things go badly and you don't get to stay here, you will have to go to Nepal.

4. Yes, banks in Nepal did pay more than 1 lakh to some entry level positions. But at least some of those I knew were product of very good foreign management schools. Some CEOs made personal contacts with these people and offered them these positions. I know an experienced engineer with MS/MBA degree from a western school who is paid about 2 lakh per month in a hydropower firm.

5. In Nepal, you need different types of skills to succeed. In a firm that I have made some investment, we have a group of core board members. One of them is very good at political connections, in that he knows tons of people. The other is very aggressive, makes our CEO very disciplined, and is a very honest man. The third person is kitabko kiro, used to be ISc board, and he knows all regulations in the field. (This is a publicly traded firm). The idea of having such mix in leadership is clear: some times you may need political connection, but this alone doesn't take you far away. Whenever there is a fair game, we need man who can beat others in intelligence. The lesson to you guys is that yes, political connection is necessary, but it is not a sufficient condition to succeed. Intelligence is still very valuable.

6. My suggestion is this: if you are mediocre, stay here. Nepal can produce tons of mediocre men, and you won't really be sorely missed. It is your country, so you can always go back. If you are a very bright man, if you can eventually run a big corporation, if you can deal with people, if you are an excellent trader, if you know how to make highways, interstates and bridges, if you can manage a hydropower company, you have a great future in Nepal and please go. Nepal certainly needs you a lot now. If you are a good orator, then you should go because you will have a chance to lead the country of 30 million people, and such chances don't come frequently. We, needless to say, need good leaders too.

7.Also, no matter how bad the country is, there are always a group of people , often very bright, who will go to Nepal. Because these people think differently. They have one eye at the history. BP Koirala , for example, had a career of lawyer at Darjeeling and Nepal was under Rana rule--needless to say how bad it was. But he and several others didn't calculate nafa/noksan. I am sure there are tons of those people. These people are destined to be some historic persons. You know it when you talk to them. They think differently. 


PS: Thanks for the list of those who returned to Nepal. Anyone who goes back and generates jobs are worth praising.

What is this thesis above me? political connection? i own this i own that? i had 1 lakh salary i will hire this guy not that guy?

Ha ha chautey

good insight pire

@ Anyone,

- me has a "small" / "tiny" question to ask U folks ...

- regarding current "load-shedding" / "black-out" @ nepal ...
(12+ hours of no electricity per day == Merciless)


- "simply" electricity is generated as follows ::
1) water flows from the Himalayas southwards / downwards
2) this downward flow of water is collected @ a dam
3) hydro-plants use this collected water to produce electricity
 

 

BUT,

- during cold / winter weather ...
- glaciers do not melt ... so, there is less / little flow of water ...
- implies water cannot be collected @ dams ...
- in-turn implies no electricity ...

So, what can be done to increase flow of water @ winter ? 
 

pointers / thoughts will be appreciated

 

 

Make some more power plants i guess

 I think the next two years will define the future course of Nepal and hence be the deal maker/breaker as far as enterpreneurship in Nepal is concerned. If the political bottlenecks are eased then I am hopeful that we can get at least 1.5 million to 2 million tourists  by 2015. The internal demand for goods and services  is huge, as shown by import surges in the past few years. In Nepal we import even the most basic of commodities, like medicines, clothes, cosmetics. There's a market for at least 100 large industries just to satiate Nepal's own demand. Amelioration of the political impasse will induce businessmen to make significant investments, and we could very well experience growth rates of 8 percent, since there has been pent of demand for so long. Such growth rates could open up avenues for an entire legion of young businessmen and professionals. 

Of late, I'm beginning to see signs of political recovery. Now lets just hope that the heaven's will open and it will start raining money :)

Pire,

I was trying to understand what you are saying in your post.

There is a saying, "If you cannot be a part of the solution, then you are probably part of the problem."

Pire, are you saying that Nepal doesn't need another negative complainer simply there in the country whining that 'oh my life could have been better if it wasn't for these politicians?' Nepal needs professionals who can be a part of the solution. Nepal needs people who can think, lead, and actively participate and motivate.
So if someone can't do that, it is better they stay in America and take care of their life and not contribute to Nepal's burden of problems. But, on the other hand, if you have your act togethor, then the nation could use one more capable professional who can work towards the solution without being himself/herself a problem.

Pire, is that what you're saying?

 I kinda agree with Babal khate,

Pire is discriminating the medicore Nepali, " IF you don't come back, you wont be missed" 

I don't know what he is trying to say but it is definetly not positive.

Other than high GPA, what matters most in life to succeed is confidence and positive attitude , which Nepali JUNTA lacks seriously . 

Will you hire a guy with High GPA with no communication,social skills or other guy with these qualities but with low GPA.

In America, companies look for round skills rather than only GPA.

and please don't compare American universities with Nepali . American univerisites prepares you a lot better than Nepali universities, even a medicore one.

Here importance is given in learning, building up personality, character and skills needed to succeed. 

At last I am just trying to say that Please don't understimate.
I am a medicore student and I believe I will suceedd in what i indulge in. 
You may find this my ignorance but actually it is my belief in myself. 

 
I totally agree with you Old English. Pire seems to know everything and he is got all the solutions...LOL. And, whats up with his attitude towards mediocre people. They are not even welcome...give me a break. Dude, thats not what i learned with my US education...as a matter of fact....we get to learn from each other and get better what we do....your judgement towards mediocre people is ridiculous. My two cents.