tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25206081.post145752806351720740..comments2024-02-05T04:09:55.009-08:00Comments on Maya's corner: Pros and cons of emigrationMaya Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10877457709995369246noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25206081.post-57521354649719074992016-03-13T15:50:10.235-07:002016-03-13T15:50:10.235-07:00Of course, emigration can allow a bright career an...Of course, emigration can allow a bright career and rescue from a life of misery.<br />However, with time, emigrants often find that this is not the life they have wanted, and - very often - that it was not quite clear for them what they themselves wanted. Too late, they realize e.g. that it was important for them that their children speak their language. <br />International study is an important path of emigration. In the first half of the 20th century, it was the only way to supply professionals to my country, because local universities were still nascent. Studying abroad and then returning to apply one's qualification was normal. Today, it is normal to go to study abroad with no intention to return. In science, the flow of immigrants is so strong that few Westerners choose this profession. It is predictably reduced to pariah status, best illustrated by the absurd position of "postdoc".Maya Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10877457709995369246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25206081.post-38442834970984941172016-03-12T17:32:50.591-08:002016-03-12T17:32:50.591-08:00Very interesting & though-provoking. I taught...Very interesting & though-provoking. I taught in a highly ranked master's program in Ukraine for a few years. A very high percentage of my Ukrainian students went to the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe, almost entirely for Ph.D. programs. I have no numbers, but I think the majority stayed in the west and have been very successful. Those who returned to Ukraine have had successes but have had tough lives as well, because of the difficulties of life there.<br /><br />Maybe this is different from what you are talking about, because the kind of education they were pursuing was entirely unavailable in Ukraine -- they weren't just leaving to be leaving, it was necessary if they were to advance in economics.<br /><br />Just as an aside, I was teaching at Montana State U. in 1997, and my very best student was a Bulgarian exchange student. She went on to a highly ranked Ph.D. program in the social sciences; I believe she completed it, but I don't know whether she returned to Bulgaria.Charles N. Steelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591239571590092531noreply@blogger.com