Myths you need to know about the OPT😮

By looking at the title of this post you might wonder why should I care about OPT from now on as that is something I should learn about only after graduating once I begin my job search. Well, that’s not how it works.😅

Irrespective of whichever intake you’re aiming at, this is some information that you should be aware of if you intend to stay back in the US and work there for a few years, especially if your course is a STEM course.

Let’s begin with some trivia for beginners. Students with an F-1 visa who have finished studying for more than nine months are allowed to pursue practical training in their area of study. This time is known as Optional Practical Training (OPT).

You may thus apply for OPT as you get closer to graduation, allowing you to work for any firm in the US. Students who hold a degree in the STEM fields—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics can extend their OPT by an additional 24 months, bringing their total post-graduation OPT period to 36 months i.e. 3 years.

But if you think that after completing your course, you will just apply for a job at your convenience and work in the US for at least 3 years then here’s some information that you should be aware of.👇

Once you graduate, you have a period of 3 months or 90 days to find a job. However, there is a little catch here. Let’s call this catch number #1. By providing you these 90 days, the US government means that you can stay unemployed in the US for 90 days.

This means that after graduating if you find a job on the 65th day, then you have 25 days balance left (90 - 65) of your ‘allowed to stay unemployed’ days bucket.

👉 So suppose you got a job in a company in the US and you work there for 1 year but then the work doesn’t excite you anymore so you are planning to switch jobs OR if you lose your job due to an unforeseen situation, then you will have only 25 days to find a new job as you have already utilised 65 days from the total 90 day ‘allowed to stay unemployed’ days bucket that the US govt gave you.

But wait, let’s go back to the graduation part. Does the OPT period begin the very next day after you graduate? No, not really. You have a period of 60 days from your date of graduation to select a date to start your OPT. So for example, if you started your 2-year course in Aug 2022 and graduated on (say) 15th August 2024, then you have 60 days from 15th August to 15th October to select an OPT start date. This means you get a total of 60 days + 90 days of OPT i.e. 150 days ~ 5 months to find a job and/or stay unemployed.

5 months? Wow! Now you might wonder this way I can relax for the first 4 months, explore the US and begin my job in the 5th month. Sorted life, right?😎 Sorry to break your excitement but here comes catch number #2 😓

👉 Say you are someone who thinks like the above. You graduated on 15th Aug 2024 and decided to put your OPT start date as 15th Oct 2024 (i.e. last day of the initial 60-day window). Now imagine after applying to multiple companies, you finally got an interview call on 20th August. You completed all interview rounds and the company wants to hire you as soon as possible (say) by 30th August. However, that would not be possible as your legal OPT start date is 15th October. Thus, you cannot join the company before 15th October irrespective of how big the company is or how soon they need you.

Then what is the ideal time to start the OPT date? Tricky, isn’t it? 😵

Short answer is - NETWORKING. As soon as your course begins, start networking with your seniors and college alumni via LinkedIn and/or college groups/programs, if any. Talk to them and understand what strategies they used to find a job and how they set their OPT start dates.

In addition to this, at least 3 months before you graduate, connect with the Recruiters on Linkedin who frequently hire from your University or companies where you wish to work. Also, start exploring Career pages and figure out the openings. Aim at getting a few interview calls either before you graduate or in the initial 60-day window so that you will have a clear idea of the date of joining the job and then you can set your OPT start date accordingly.

Lastly, if your course offers you internships, try your best to exceed your employer’s expectations thus improving your chances to get a full-time offer once you graduate.💪

Hope this information induces you to level up your networking game and strategise your job search. Good luck😄

Related topics:
- https://yocket.com/blog/on-campus-networking-101
- https://yocket.com/feed/a-brief-difference-between-cpt-and-opt-713747

#opt #STEM #networking #jobs #USA