Pressure Cooker

A young man leaves his country with a plan of seeking further education in the United States of America and then working hard after completing his education so that he could return home to a better job and prosperous future. The unfortunate circumstances which hastened his departure were of his making. Despite that, he was very happy for the opportunity and optimistic about his plan. Going to school in America was the easy part. His parents provided financial support, and being from an English-speaking country, he had very few problems with the language. Additionally, the educational system of his home country had prepared him well and he was able to acquire a number of degrees in a few years. He realized after getting these degrees that it was rather getting a job, consistent with one’s education, which was more difficult in this country. In his home country, the government paid for your education and hired you if other local companies or agencies did not. In the United States, you were mostly on your own, especially with respect to job search. To survive, this young man had to shelve his upper class status and accept positions he would never have considered in his home country. He took what he could get in order to survive. One position he held, on and off, for a total of three years, exposed him to life on the streets and the underbelly of American society; other jobs reminded him of the servants who worked for his family in Africa. His first “professional” job in America was as a social service position in an area feared by most with knowledge of its existence. His friends discouraged him from accepting that position because of the crime rate around that development and the low socio-economic status of the residents. He ignored that advice, rationalizing it was more dangerous driving a cab. He worked in that capacity for 3 years and got along well with the residents. They never bothered him; his co-workers did, leading to his resignation. Later, he got a job as a program analyst in another non-profit agency, but was laid-off in a re-organization of that agency in anticipation of expected cuts in government funding which never materialized. The difficulty in getting and keeping a job made this young man decide to return home, but he returned to the United States a few years because of unexpected events. Before leaving for the United States, he told his friends and anyone who would listen that he was very afraid of returning to the pressure cooker called America, because of his past difficulties with job search and placement. He was right. It took 5 years for him to land an entry-level “professional” job. He worked for that agency till he retired at age 65. This book highlights some of the problems encountered by some qualified immigrants in their quest for suitable employment in the United States. In some cases, returning home does not work out and they have no choice but to return to the pressure cooker.