Advice for the new immigrant

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loserguy
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Mar 10, 2013 7:59 pm

Advice for the new immigrant

Post by loserguy »

I am an avid reader of this site and I thought this would be a great place to start as it likely has some smart folks on it.

My wife recently migrated from Pakistan about 9 months ago. She has a bachelor’s in commerce with a focus on accounting that is the equivalent of pretty much an associate’s degree if she was to take a couple some classes. She is 25 and unfortunately has no working experience. I am a first year radiology resident pretty much making 45k but we are still pretty comfortable because I do not have many expenses.

She really wants to work and build her career, particularly in accounting but she is open for anything that just gets her going. This will probably be a temporary thing until I finish residency and then she wants to take care of the kid/kids (none yet). This may change all together if she wants to do a 4 year college.

We really need some advice about how to proceed. I think it would be ideal for her to get a job paying 30-40k for several years to help collect some cash and improve our quality of life as well. She has no legal barriers to work as she is on greencard.

We have entertained multiple thoughts including volunteering to improve her English and cultural understanding of America, she has applied for several jobs at retailers that she can’t get probably because of limited communication (her English is much better than most foreigners but not the best), I got her an awesome interview at the hospital but she wasn’t able to secure the position probably due to her communication/cultural barrier and limited work experience.

My question is…
What is a smart way to proceed to have a bright future?
--Volunteering at a local school or even the nearby hospital has been suggested
--What types of jobs would be willing to take a chance on a foreign business graduate without experience?
--doesn’t have to be in business but anything
--should we go through staffing agencies?
--local education and part-time job is another option but she would be starting from scratch (like an 18 year old going to college at 25)

I apologize for the long post but I know that this is a great forum with a diverse population and I thought it would be a great starting point.
sunwise
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:32 pm

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by sunwise »

I have no concrete advice but it being tax season right now, seems like it should be easy to get at least temporary work helping with tax returns. Maybe check with local accountants ? The experience could help land a real accounting job. Time is running out though.

This is assuming she actually knows accounting --- if not maybe a refresher course might be in order ?
Topic Author
loserguy
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Mar 10, 2013 7:59 pm

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by loserguy »

She has studied accounting (accounts payable/receivable, and other jargon im not familiar with) but has not had a job or any real-life experience with it. One of my thoughts was to possibly get her enrolled in one of the community college associates in accounting type of things and then see if the local college would grant her credit toward a bba in accounting. This however would mean that we would have to pay in and wait for years to get anything back when we probably wont need the money as much.
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dm200
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Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 1:21 pm
Location: Washington DC area

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by dm200 »

Check if there are any small to medium sized credit unions in the area. Perhaps a credit union that you are able to join that may have an office/branch nearby. Small credit unions often need employees that do several different kinds of tasks - and accounting type duties are common. The pay would not be great, to start - but it could get her some experience - and that could lead to more opportunities.
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carorun
Posts: 345
Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2011 5:53 pm

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by carorun »

Are there a lot of Pakistani or South Asian immigrants in your city? I know there are a lot of community groups, informal associations, etc., especially with first generation immigrants. Can she get plugged in to one of those, maybe make some friends, then help them with financial/accounting matters?

Shot in the dark though.
fareastwarriors
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Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:31 am

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by fareastwarriors »

+1 to the community college classes idea. Volunteering is a also good idea. She sounds like she knows English but she just need to practice more and learn more of the culture.

She been here for less than a year. It takes time to adjust to a new/different way of living.
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rob
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Location: Here

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by rob »

I think getting into tax prep would be a great fit.... even if she has to work at HR Block or whatever at the beginning. There is some training up front but someone with an accounting background would rip thru that. Longer term, it gives her some income at tax time likely with some ability to time shift or work from home. It might also lead to other stuff. Obviously community college would also be helpful.......
| Rob | Its a dangerous business going out your front door. - J.R.R.Tolkien
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englishgirl
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Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 4:34 pm
Location: FL

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by englishgirl »

I think we've advised her before. I'd keep plugging away with the job applications. Maybe try a staffing agency like Manpower. Or Robert Half - I think they specialize in accountancy.
Sarah
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Dutch
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Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by Dutch »

Yes, temp agencies are a good idea.

And address the real problem: Work on the language skills. Only communicate in English and things should improve rapidly.
monkeyking
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:08 am
Location: Honolulu, HI

Re: Advice for the new immigrant

Post by monkeyking »

dm200 wrote:Check if there are any small to medium sized credit unions in the area. Perhaps a credit union that you are able to join that may have an office/branch nearby. Small credit unions often need employees that do several different kinds of tasks - and accounting type duties are common. The pay would not be great, to start - but it could get her some experience - and that could lead to more opportunities.
This is what I was going to suggest. There are plenty of back office positions that a basic understanding of general ledger accounting could get her foot in the door. And, if she doesn't have that, then a credit union will consider hiring someone with promise for an entry level operational position. Operations jobs are usually less desirable if you were to do them at a big bank, but don't let that turn you off from getting one at a credit union. For example, exceptions/returns processing. At a big bank it can be a third shift dead-end type of job, but at a credit union it is pretty easy due to lack of volume, 8am to 5 pm with weekends off. It can also lead to other positions because credit unions are small and you have opportunities to do other things if you use your time wisely. My advice is to look for the CU that is for state employees because they're bigger and will have more opportunity.

When I worked for a very large credit union we hired a lady from India with a degree to do simple things like handling returned deposits. I've also seen people with only a high school diploma go back to jr college for a criminal justice degree and get transferred to internal audit as a security officer. Credit unions HR departments are pretty lazy so they'll take what they can get. I've also seen someone hired through a temp agency as a mail room clerk end up working in the HR department at a credit union. The key is to just be there when a position opens up. :)

Btw, congrats on the greencard. I know the process is a pill because I went through it with my wife. I got her in on a k-1 visa. We completed the biometrics for removing conditions on her residency two weeks ago. I guess we're finally done...at least for the next 10 years once that card arrives in 6 months or so. Good luck.
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