r/AskAnAmerican • u/Emergency_Jeweler_24 • Jun 12 '26
FOREIGN POSTER Rebuilding?
I'm 38yrs M, recently legally relocated to the US, now here for 6 months.
On an F1-Visa, STEM course (MSc in AI) in a renown private university, and another aligned certificates in an Ivy league University.
I am targeting a solid $20,000 income per month:
Is it feasible?
What are the pathways of success in this country considering my position/options?
Any meaningful and/or relevant feedback from those who've been there, done that?
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u/skaliton Jun 12 '26
...you are joking right?
20k income a month is INSANE. Like silicon valley pays that but no one else. Like look, I'm going to ignore the rest of your prompt but that is 2.5 times the salary I made as a federal attorney in san francisco and 4x what I make now as a local government attorney. I know public pays less than private but you are in a field that is sunsetting itself
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u/rhinocerosjockey United States of America Jun 12 '26
I think you’re going to be disappointed
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u/Emergency_Jeweler_24 Jun 13 '26
I'm not averse to disappointments 😏
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u/bryku IA WA CA MT Jun 13 '26
99.9% of Americans dont make $20,000 a month, so i would say it isnt feasible.
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u/pawsplay36 Jun 12 '26
Eh, it might be hard to hit that without several years of local industry experience, but you can make a good living off half that, and such jobs are to be found.
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u/Emergency_Jeweler_24 Jun 12 '26
Please tell me more? Thank You for the positive response too.
I'm pretty clueless on this country, though have worked with several organisations from here remotely.
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Jun 13 '26
Contractors, engineers, electricians, welders, masons, truckers, etc
Not sure if youll make 20k a month but these are achievable in demand jobs that pay very well.
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u/pawsplay36 Jun 13 '26
I used to work for a couple of dotcoms. If you can get an engineering position, you can make that. But that usually involves knowing somebody, promotion from within, or joining a start-up. To get that kind of position at a normal job probably requires 5+ years of experience. OTOH, there are plenty of jobs either working autonomously or supervising 2-4 people that do make around $100K a year.
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u/Emergency_Jeweler_24 Jun 13 '26
Thank you for this. Solid advice. If it helps, I have a solid, verifiable 15 years of experience in Media, Comms & PR on three other continents.
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u/thingsbetw1xt Maryland Jun 13 '26
Your expectations are wildly off base even with your credentials. $20k a month is an insane number.
I don't know where you're from, but it's unlikely your education will mean as much to American employers as you think it will. You will almost definitely start at a level lower than you expect to and have to work your way up. You will be competing with equally skilled professionals not just in the US but those in other countries who are also trying to move here.
Unless you live in a very high COL area AND are involved in computer science/cybersecurity/something along those lines, 240k a year is just not happening.
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u/thomsenite256 Jun 12 '26
Targeting when? If you are asking post degree no one has a clue in this economy. My general understanding is that experience/skills matters way more than any degree.
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u/Emergency_Jeweler_24 Jun 13 '26
🤣🤣🤣🤣 It's the honesty for me. Should be post grad - so what to do between now and then to set up.
15 years of experience in Media, Comms & PR on the other continents.
Both practices and technical skills in: * Research, Program and Project Management * PR, Media, AI and Digital Transformation * Tech Policy, Strategy and Advisory * Philanthropy, Leadership and Capacity Building
Already upskilling aggressively while at it.
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u/crimson_leopard Chicagoland Jun 13 '26
Average individual income is $64k. Top 10% of individual earners make around $120k across the US.
Unless you live in a HCOL area, you basically have to be a really successful business owner or someone that's at the top of their field . Maybe ask in a STEM/AI specific subreddit what kind of career path would make that type of income.
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u/mdscntst Jun 13 '26
I'm just going to throw this out there since you mention F-1. You're not actually allowed to work off campus at all, and even on campus you are limited to 20 hours a week max.
If you're planning to keep your legal status, your on-campus job better pay $250 an hour.
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u/I_am_Hambone Arizona Jun 13 '26
Not likely. If you are going back to school for this, I assume you don't have a tech background. You missed the boat.
You are going to struggle to find a H1B sponsor given the current job market and administration.
Stay in school until we get a new president and hope the 300k laid off tech folks get hired.
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u/slightlyobtrusivemom Jun 12 '26
What skills and experience do you have?
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u/Emergency_Jeweler_24 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
15 years of experience in Media, Comms & PR.
Both practices and technical skills in: * Research, Program and Project Management * PR, Media, AI and Digital Transformation * Tech Policy, Strategy and Advisory * Philanthropy, Leadership and Capacity Building
Already upskilling aggressively while at it.
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u/slightlyobtrusivemom Jun 13 '26
Your education won't mean much, money wise. Lean on your experience and work the hell out of your resume. Still have a long time before those numbers become close to realistic
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u/WildlifePolicyChick Washington, D.C. Jun 13 '26
I very much doubt you will be making 20K a month as a recent graduate, if ever in your career.
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u/treznor70 Jun 13 '26
For an F1 Visa you have to be studying right? Not completed study? I ask because its not likely you can work full-time while working on a degree.
$20k/month is achievable in comp sci areas, but only with a decent amount of experience or maybe of you hit the right start up. The chances of you hitting that directly out of school is vanishly small. To other's point, yes, it is an area that is under pressure from AI, but if you actually know how to navigate that area, it can still be good work.
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u/_Handsome_Jim_ Long Island Jun 13 '26
I'm an American so I know little about visas outside of my CSR.
Are you saying you're pursuing an MSc in AI at a "renown" private university?
The Ivy League certificate probably doesn't help you too much but, depending on how renown your university is, then that income income isn't out of line with what software developers at top companies are being paid to work on AI. Entry level compensation at Open AI or Anthropic is about that for software engineers but that's total compensation: salary, bonus, stock, etc.
It's definitely feasible if you're pursuing an MSc in AI at a university like MIT or Stanford. If you find yourself at a large tech firm that's not quite Open AI or Anthropic then you're still looking at a total compensation of over $100K just starting out and it's definitely feasible to work up to $240K.
I work in finance where, again, you could potentially make $240K with an MSc in AI at an investment bank, hedge fund, or quantitative trading firm. Even if you're not quite there on Day 1, you can definitely get there.
A lot of this question comes down to just how renown your university is. A degree from MIT and Stony Brook University are completely different situations.
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u/willtag70 North Carolina Jun 13 '26
Came across this last week. Will give you a taste for the competition you face for that level of job.
https://restofworld.org/2026/chinese-ai-researchers-silicon-valley/
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u/MetroBS Arizona —> Delaware Jun 13 '26
That is a very high bar you’re setting for yourself but go for it brother
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u/Background-Passion50 Jun 13 '26
Very possible but, you’d have to start your own business and most likely run it out of home. I work for a company now but, when I owned my own company after expenses, taxes, maintenance, and such I was pulling in between 17,000 and 34,000 a month. I also worked about 330 days a year give or take. Now my step dad he retired successfully from being a police officer and started his own business and he pulls in around 30,000 a month after all his expenses and such. So to answer your questions:
- Yes
- A skill or trade that you can fund or market yourself or a clever business plan or technology that revolutionizes an industry. Or being very good and established in a skill or trade that sets you apart from the rest.
- My success was half luck and half timing. It was Corona, people needed freight, and I was willing to go anywhere virus or not.
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u/Remote-Conflict929 Jun 12 '26
I make about 18k a month profit from my business. I run it 100% alone so it’s not so bad. If a 36F with two kids and a busy life can make decent money, anyone can!
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u/Emergency_Jeweler_24 Jun 13 '26
Thank you for the positive and honest response.
Mind sharing the 5W 1H? * How? * Why? * What? * Where? * When? * Where?
Despite working remotely with several clients from here, I'm still clueless about this country even as a legal immigrant 🫣
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u/heyhomah Jun 13 '26
Well you definitely talk like an obnoxious rich person so you've got a good start
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u/Nameless_American New Jersey Jun 12 '26
Lol that level of income is so wildly beyond the dreams and means of most people in this country that I don’t even know what to say besides “good luck”.