Lorsque Thomas Pesquet s’est envolé pour l’ISS (la station spatiale internationale), le 17 novembre 2016, Allan Petre n’était qu’un adolescent de 17 ans, les yeux rivés sur les étoiles, nourrissant un rêve encore timide : rejoindre un jour les rangs de la NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Sept ans plus tard, ce jeune ingénieur aérospatial de 24 ans, originaire de la Seine-Saint-Denis, est devenu l’un des plus jeunes français de l’histoire à intégrer ce qui est l’une des institutions les plus prestigieuses au monde. Nous l’avons convié à la rédaction de GQ pour qu’il nous raconte son fabuleux destin.
Le début du rêve d’Allan Petre
Le déclic, Allan Petre l’a eu très jeune, lors d’une sortie scolaire. Fasciné par l’immensité de l’espace, il commence à dévorer documentaires et livres sur le sujet. À l’âge de 10 ans, il sait déjà que sa vocation est d’étudier les étoiles. Pourtant, ses ambitions ne trouvent pas d’écho auprès de ses professeurs : “Quand tu es au lycée et que tu dis que tu veux travailler à la NASA, beaucoup te disent que c’est trop ambitieux, voire irréaliste”. Mais il garde son rêve en tête. Après un baccalauréat scientifique, il s’engage dans des études en gestion des entreprises et des administrations, avant de se rendre compte qu’il est sur la mauvaise voie. “J’avais cette passion pour le spatial, mais je n’étais même pas en train d’essayer de la suivre. C’est là que je me suis dit qu’il fallait que je tente ma chance, que je n’avais rien à perdre.”
Allan décide alors de se réorienter et intègre un IUT en sciences de l’ingénieur, un tournant décisif qui ne sera cependant pas sans sacrifices. Pour suivre ses cours à l’IUT de Ville-d’Avray, situé près du château de Versailles, il doit chaque jour traverser Paris depuis Villemomble, sa ville d’origine en Seine-Saint-Denis. “Je faisais quatre changements avec deux métros, un RER et un train. Deux heures de trajet le matin, deux heures le soir”. Cette période reste l’une des plus difficiles de sa vie. “Je n’avais plus de vie sociale, je ne voyais plus ma famille ni mes amis. Et le week-end, je travaillais chez Hugo Boss pour financer mes études.” SUITE
Mission impossible, votre recherche de boulot en expatriation ? Chez Expat Communication, l’éditeur de FemmExpat, nous accompagnons des centaines d’expatriés depuis 20 ans. Et si pour vous aider, on commençait par défaire quelques idées reçues ?
Views of diverse students leaving class outside the Northwest Labs in Autumn. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Each of these U.S. universities accepted 80% to nearly 100% of international applicants for fall 2020.
It’s easier for prospective international students to gain admission to some U.S. colleges than others. Among the 117 ranked National Universities that received at least 500 international applicants and reported this data to U.S. News, the average acceptance rate for international students was 43.8% for fall 2020. But at some institutions, the acceptance rate was significantly higher, 99.85% in one case. For prospective international students interested in studying in the U.S. and curious about where they might have a good chance of getting in, here are the 13 ranked National Universities – institutions that are often research-oriented and offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees – including ties, with the highest acceptance rates for international undergraduate applicants.
In January, the Biden administration announced new policies
aimed at attracting to the U.S. international graduates and
professionals who specialize in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM). These changes are part of Biden’s efforts “to
strengthen [the U.S.] economy and technological competitiveness.” New
initiatives include but are not limited to:
Expansion of the STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) program
to include 22 new fields of study. The program permits F-1 students
earning Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorates in certain STEM fields to
remain in the United States for up to 36 months to complete Optional
Practical Training after earning their degrees. The newly added fields
include:
Bioenergy; Forestry, General; Forest Resources Production and Management; Human Centered Technology Design; Cloud Computing; Anthrozoology; Climate Science; Earth Systems Science; Economics and Computer Science; Environmental Geosciences; Geobiology; Geography and Environmental Studies; Mathematical Economics; Mathematics and Atmospheric/Oceanic Science; Data Science, General; Data Analytics, General; Business Analytics; Data Visualization; Financial Analytics; Data Analytics, Other; Industrial and Organizational Psychology; Social Sciences, Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods.
On February 7th, The U.S. House of Representatives passed the America COMPETES Act, intended to boost U.S. global competitiveness. The Act contains two major immigration reforms: (1) a new W visa category for startups would be available to foreign entrepreneurs and, (2) a direct path to permanent residence for immigrants who earn a Ph.D. in a STEM field in the U.S.
Please note this is proposed, not final, legislation. While these reforms are compelling, the Bill still needs to pass in the Senate, which is expected to be challenging.
Going to grad school is expensive: more than half of master’s degree
students leave school with an average student loan balance of $66,000,
according to federal statistics.
Sure, getting your master’s degree can pave the
way to a bump in your pay, but a higher salary won’t give you more
spending power if you’re also paying down tons of debt. On the other
hand, a large debt load isn’t as crushing if you’re earning six figures.
Experts often suggest that for student debt payments to be affordable,
they need to be below about 10% to 15% of your monthly income. That’s
why it’s smart to look at both the typical debt and salary of students
graduating from a particular program to determine whether it’ll pay off.
To help with your research, Money analyzed the average student debt and earnings from graduates of over 200 master’s degrees at more than 1,500 colleges, to see which ones have the best early return on investment. For more details on how we got these results, check out the methodology at the end.
1. Electrical Engineering
Average debt: $25,762
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $98,880
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 3.2%
This degree snags the top spot with a
debt-to-income ratio that is lower than nearly every other program in
the dataset. With a master’s in electrical or electronics engineering,
you can specialize in communication systems, power systems, and
renewable energy. A graduate degree can also help you move toward
management roles in the field. Graduates are in high demand in growing
industries, including energy and technology.
2. Mechanical Engineering
Average debt: $30,611
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $83,705
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 4.4%
If designing and building machinery is something
you dream about, then a master’s in mechanical engineering could be a
solid fit for you — even if you studied another field as an undergrad.
Although a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering is preferred,
most schools will allow other disciplines that require heavy math and
science courses to apply for this track, including physics and aerospace
majors. Mechanical engineers can specialize in areas as wide-ranging as
robotics, auto research, and heating and cooling systems.
3. Taxation
Average debt: $29,000
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $76,806
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 4.7%
This program is just what it sounds like: you’ll
learn the ins and outs of state, federal, corporate, and individual tax
regulations. But that doesn’t mean your career prospects will be limited
to tax prep or auditing. This degree also serves as training for roles
like a financial manager, certified public accountant (CPA) or chief
financial officer — all of which have a high earning potential.
4. Civil Engineering
Average debt: $29,643
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $73,650
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 4.9%
Civil engineers have been around since ancient
times (Roman aqueducts, anyone?) and are responsible for some of the
world’s most recognizable structures, like the Eiffel Tower and the
Golden Gate Bridge. But the field is anything but antiquated. Newer
specializations, like intelligent systems engineering, involve designing
eco-friendly and technology-powered structures and systems. Regardless
of your specialty, a master’s degree in civil engineering can increase
your earnings by almost $14,000 a year over a bachelor’s degree,
according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
5. Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
Average debt: $40,426
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $87,924
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 5.9%
Calling all numbers nerds: This degree will
prepare you to collect, analyze and manage data to help businesses and
organizations solve problems. You’ll be able to work as an actuary,
financial analyst, insurance underwriter, or as a statistician, which is
one of the fastest-growing occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
6. Clinical Nursing/Nursing Administration
Average debt: $49,052
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $99,358
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 6.1%
Nursing is one of those fields where you really don’t need to
go to grad school. A bachelor’s degree will net you job security and a
solid salary. But if you want to teach nursing, work as a nurse
administrator or practice in a specialized field like anesthesiology or
pediatrics, then a master’s is a must. Besides having one of the highest
salaries on our list, nurses are also in extremely high demand. So much
so that the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the profession will experience a 45% growth over the next eight years.
7. Bioethics/Medical Ethics
Average debt: $36,408
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $76,534
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 6.3%
Bioethics is an interdisciplinary field that
combines combines tenets of medicine, law, philosophy and sociology. The
goal is to train people to, for example, advise on the design of
clinical trials to ensure they’re ethical. Day-to-day tasks include
heavy research, interviewing and writing. Although it’s a relatively
small field, it is a growing profession. You’ll be able to work in a
variety of settings, including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies,
universities and government agencies.
8. Accounting
Average debt: $31,273
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $60,140
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 6.6%
There’s a longstanding (and maybe now, cliched) line of jokes about accountants being boring.
But with solid career prospects and above-average salaries, maybe it’s
the accountants who are getting the last laugh. A master’s degree in the
field can prep you to become a CPA, as well as the lesser-known
certified management accountant. You can even work in fields that sound
the opposite of boring, like forensic accounting or fraud examination.
9. Business Administration and Business/Commerce
Average debt: $38,673 – $38,731
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $69,384 – $77,164
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 6.6% – 7.2%
If you’re looking for a degree that’s flexible
and can help you set foot in almost any industry — look no further. With
a master’s degree in business administration or business and commerce,
which we’ve combined into a single entry here, you can specialize in
multiple areas, including marketing, supply chain management and
finance. You can also work in fields as wide-ranging as health care or
fashion. With so many paths to choose from, it should be no surprise
that business is one of the most common graduate degree programs.
10. Computer Sciences and Information Technology Administration Management
Average debt: $41,597 – $50,318
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $77,636 – $84,437
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 7% – 7.4%
A greater emphasis on cloud computing, data
collection and storage, and information security is going to drive
serious demand for people with training in this area. In fact, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics reports
that job openings for computer science and IT management, which we’ve
combined into a single listing here, will grow by 11% over the next
decade, far above the average pace. The jobs will pay well, too: The
National Association of Colleges and Employers places computer science graduates among the nation’s top earners.
11. Management Information Systems and Services
Average debt: $40,352
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $73,138
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 7%
Not to be confused with our 9th or 10th entries
on the list, this degree is an interdisciplinary program that combines
the principles of both 9 and 10 (that is, computer science with business
and management). Graduates can get jobs in industries like accounting,
finance, real estate, information technology and finance. Common job
titles for this degree include senior technical business analyst,
network administrator and IT infrastructure manager.
12. Homeland Security
Average debt: $37,401
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $64,721
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 7.5%
Are you a logistics wizard? Are you always ready
to step up when others need it? Do you enjoy working under pressure and
in an ever-changing environment? If you answered yes to all of the
following, a degree in homeland security might interest you. The program
preps students for the careers you’d expect: special agent,
intelligence analyst and emergency disaster manager. But there’s also
some more unexpected career paths, like working for the Department of
Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is the
agency responsible for protecting our native species.
13. Medical Illustration and Informatics
Average debt: $42,379
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $74,903
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 7.5%
If you love both science and doodling, then let
us introduce you to a field you may have never heard of: medical
illustration. Medical illustrators are (among other things) the ones
responsible for creating those detailed sketches you grew up seeing in
science textbooks (flashbacks to the digestive system, anyone?). There’s
not a specific major required to enter this program, but you must have a
few science courses under your belt, plus an art portfolio. Medical
illustrators can work in pharmaceuticals, publishing companies, and
universities, and they can earn salaries as high as $173,000, according
to the Association of Medical Illustrators.
14. Instructional Media Design
Average debt: $30,520
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $52,279
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 7.5%
The pandemic sent online education zooming (pun
intended), but demand for instructional designers with a deep understand
of online learning will persist even after in-person schooling returns.
This program combines graphic design, technology and teaching
principles to improve the way others learn. Teaching experience is often
a pre-requisite for this degree, and after you graduate, you’ll be able
to work as a distance education specialist, course design manager and
instructional design coordinator.
15. Educational Administration and Supervision
Average debt: $31,369
Average salary within two years of leaving school: $53,729
Average monthly debt-to-income ratio: 7.7%
In the unlikely event that your childhood hero was your school’s principal, this program is for you. As an educational administration major, you’ll learn about education law, education budgeting and finance, strategic leadership, and staff management — in short, everything you need to run a school. To apply, you must have a state-issued teacher license, and in most cases, you’ll have to complete several internship or practicum hours to get your degree. MORE
L’Oréal USA today announced the creation of its Inclusive Beauty Fund, a new grant program presented in partnership with the NAACP, the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. Through this inaugural round of funding, L’Oréal
USA will award 30 one-time grants of $10,000 each to Black-owned small
businesses, Black entrepreneurs, and professional services in all
sectors of the U.S. beauty industry.
As
small businesses in America have been hit the hardest by the economic
fallout of the pandemic and Black-owned businesses are shutting down
twice as fast as others according to NBER, L’Oréal USA teamed up with
the NAACP to identify the most promising Black-owned small businesses
and entrepreneurs in the beauty industry that are most in need of
investment.
“As
the leading beauty company in the United States, we believe that we
have a responsibility to invest in the small business owners and
entrepreneurs who are the lifeblood of our dynamic beauty industry. We
are proud to team up with the NAACP to advance our shared mission of
creating a more inclusive and equitable world
during this time of great economic vulnerability for so many. We hope
the Inclusive Beauty Fund will introduce us to entrepreneurs in the
beauty industry that we can build strong relationships with well into
the future,” said Angela Guy, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, L’Oréal USA.
In
addition to one-time funding, L’Oréal USA is committed to providing
grantees with professional mentorship and business development support
with the participation of top executives from its leading beauty brands
and its professional beauty products distributor, SalonCentric.
The Inclusive Beauty Fund is part of L’Oréal USA’s larger commitment to
support the NAACP’s mission, which will include additional initiatives
to be announced in the future.The
initiative is backed by L’Oréal USA’s newly formed Diversity &
Inclusion Advisory Board, who will work alongside the NAACP, L’Oréal
USA, and SalonCentric leaders
to review and select grant recipients. The Advisory Board, made up of
up over 20 internal and external stakeholders, have come together to
ideate as a collective on efforts to influence and reimagine social and
inclusive strategies that support L’Oréal USA’sDiversity and Inclusion mission to build the standard in making beauty inclusive.
“Black-owned
small beauty businesses are the heartbeat of their neighborhoods, and
beauty business owners are navigating tremendous challenges stemming
from the Covid-19 and recent events. The NAACP is proud to partner with
L’Oréal USA to help support these entrepreneurs and ensure the longevity of the services and community their businesses provide,” saidYumeka Rushing, Chief Strategy Officer, NAACP.
How to Apply
Applications
for the Inclusive Beauty Fund will be administered by the NAACP in
partnership with Hello Alice, a platform for small business owners to
identify the right path to start and grow their company. Applications
for the financial grants opens today January 29, and proceeds through February 18, 2021. All submissions must be conducted through Hello Alice: https://hialice.co/LOreal-HelloAlice-Grant. The candidates selected to receive the grants will be announced in April of 2021.
Grants are available to new or existing beauty businesses of all kinds, including but not limited to salons, spas, barber shops, stylists, makeup artists, entrepreneurs, startup founders, haircare specialists, and beauty schools. MORE
Growing up in Bujumbura, Burundi, Mireille Kamariza didn’t know any astronomers, or any scientists at all for that matter. But she adored planets anyway. At the start of every school year, she and her fellow students would wrap up their notebooks to protect them from wear. And every year, Kamariza hunted her town for magazines with glossy pictures of planets, astronauts, and “any news about astronomy.” Between classes, she stared at those astronomical covers like they were portals to a fantastical world.
The Junior Fellow never ended up floating among the stars, at least
not in a literal sense. This August, Chemical & Engineering News
named her one of its Talented 12 for her invention of a quick, low-cost
test to detect tuberculosis. In 2017, Fortune magazine named her one of
the World’s Most Powerful Women while she was still a graduate student.
In 2018, she earned an even rarer title: co-founder of a company in the
male-dominated biotech industry. In a way, the world she now inhabits —
that of an award-winning scientist, Silicon Valley biotech entrepreneur,
degree recipient from the University of California, Berkeley, and
Stanford University — was a fantastical world, at least to that young
girl in Burundi who got lost in pictures of Mars and Venus.
“It feels like a different life,” Kamariza said, “It’s nothing short
of a miracle that I’m one of the few that was able to make that jump.”
After achieving the fantastical, Kamariza is tackling a very real
problem: Throughout the developing world, including Burundi,
tuberculosis is one of the top causes of death. In 2018, the disease
killed 1.5 million worldwide, far more than even AIDS. Though testing
and treatment are on the rise, low-income, rural populations still
struggle to detect and contain the disease (especially now that COVID-19
diagnostics are prioritized over every other infectious disease). Each
year, about 10 million people develop tuberculosis and about 3 million
go undetected, Kamariza said. Her invention — a portable diagnostic tool
— could help identify more cases faster, anywhere in the world, to
prevent further spread, get treatment to those in need, and even monitor
the effectiveness of that treatment.
“A lot of people doing TB work were rewired to do COVID work. TB patients are being left behind.”
— Mireille Kamariza, Junior Fellow
When Kamariza arrived in the U.S., settling in San Diego at age 17,
science was still an alien thing. She spoke French but little English
(she watched “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” to learn more); she shared a
studio apartment with her two older brothers and worked part-time at
Safeway while taking classes full-time at San Diego Mesa College. There,
she left her love of planets behind: “How many astronauts do you know
that started at a community college?” she said.
By chance, she enrolled in a chemistry course with Professor Saloua
Saidane, who happened to speak French. She guided Kamariza over the
language barrier before pushing her to transfer to the University of
California, San Diego. Kamariza needed the encouragement: Other mentors
told her, bluntly, that her English and G.P.A. were too poor for her to
make it to UCSD. They were wrong.
Once at UCSD, Kamariza again doubted her ability to make it to
graduate school. But Tracy Johnson — another chemist and the first Black
woman scientist Kamariza encountered — pushed her to apply to the
University of California, Berkeley. “I would never make it to UC
Berkeley in a million years!” Kamariza said to Johnson. “Look at all the
people who make it in. How many are African immigrants?”
Kamariza often credits external interventions like miracles, luck,
and mentors for her success. “For immigrants, for people who come from
backgrounds that are traditionally underserved,” she said, “it’s all
about opportunities and it’s about who can open the door for you.”
Still, though Johnson showed her the door, Kamariza knocked. To her
surprise (but not Johnson’s), she got in.
At Berkeley, Kamariza joined Carolyn Bertozzi’s chemical biology lab. There, and continuing at Stanford University, she combined her knowledge of chemistry and molecular biology to eventually invent her tuberculosis diagnostic. Her test turned what used to be an 11-step process into one simple step. “Because it’s stable and because it doesn’t require a fridge to work,” Kamariza said, “you could in principle do this experiment anywhere. You could be in the tundra of Alaska or the desert of Namibia and do it.” MORE
A flurry of confusing pandemic-related changes to immigration policy have international students struggling to understand how their visas and, ultimately, academic careers may be impacted by these troubling directives. This alert clarifies the most current policies impacting international students and which visa categories may be affected. As always, GYH attorneys are available for consultations to answer any questions you have about your immigration process.
Good News: Online-only Course Loads Allowed for International Students The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on July 6th issued a directive that would have required international students to have at least some in-person classes in order to stay in the country. Last week, a swift lawsuit by Harvard and MIT, which argued the directive forced schools to choose between sacrificing international students and risking public health and safety, forced DHS to rescind the order. The rescission of the directive restores the March 13 guidance permitting current students on F-1 visas to remain in the U.S. while taking online-only only course loads. Unfortunately, newly enrolling international students are still not allowed to take online-only course loads but the case remains open and it is expected that the Trump Administration will also be asked to defend the restrictions facing newly-enrolled international students.
National Interest Exceptions to Schengen Travel Ban The Department of State (DOS) announced that some students in the Schengen area, UK, and Ireland may qualify for a National Interest Exception (NIE). Students with valid F-1 or M-1 visas traveling from the Schengen Area, the UK and Ireland have been granted a blanket exception and do not have to take any special action to travel. Students travelling from these areas on J-1 visas should contact the nearest embassy or consulate to request a NIE. Note that consular closures, which have been in place for months, largely remain in effect. Some posts are reportedly opening but, for the most part, we have seen little movement from these posts and few visas are being issued at this point.
Ever
since I relocated from Boston to Ghana in 2016, I regularly get asked a
variation on the following question: “Why did you uproot your life and
promising career path in the US and move on your own to Africa? You got
your Ph.D. from MIT — I’m sure you must have had other options.”
The
short answer is “Well, it certainly wasn’t my plan from the beginning! I
knew embarrassingly little about Africa beforehand. I was getting
attention around my work (My Ph.D. research is on exhibit at the MIT Museum–
do visit if you’re in Boston!), and I did have job offers. But God
challenged me to adopt a new framework for viewing the world and my role
in it.”
The longer answer is multi-faceted, drawing from many aspects of my life experiences, and it continues to evolve along with the weaving of my life story. I can point to 4 main stages in my journey to/through/with Africa so far, and I’d love to take you through each of them. MORE
Après l’Université de Harvard, le MIT, l’Etat de Californie a déclaré vouloir poursuivre l’administration Trump devant le tribunal fédéral. L’Etat et ces universités cherchent à bloquer la directive qui priverait les étudiants étrangers de visas si les cours étaient entièrement en ligne. – Elles ont fait valoir que la mesure plongerait l’enseignement supérieur dans le chaos.
Pour rappel : – L’administration Trump a annoncé lundi qu’elle n’autoriserait pas les étudiants et élèves étrangers à rester aux Etats-Unis si leur université ou école décidait de proposer des cours uniquement en ligne à la rentrée de septembre. – Le gouvernement américain ne « donnera pas de visas aux étudiants inscrits dans des programmes intégralement en ligne à l’automne et les gardes-frontières ne les laisseront pas entrer sur le territoire », a annoncé la police de l’immigration et des douanes (ICE) dans un communiqué.
En résumé, les étudiants étrangers dont les campus ne rouvriront pas pour le semestre d’automne seront tenus de retourner dans leur pays d’origine, car leurs visas ne seront plus considérés comme valides. IMPORTANT : Si vous êtes étudiant non-américain déjà présent sur le territoire américain, le communiqué précise : « ils doivent quitter le pays ou prendre d’autres mesures – comme s’inscrire dans une école proposant des cours « en présentiel sur site» pour conserver leur statut légal. Sinon, ils pourront « faire face à une procédure d’expulsion ».
– Quand les établissements opteront pour un modèle « hybride », avec des cours en ligne et des enseignements sur site, ils devront certifier que leurs étudiants étrangers sont bien inscrits pour des sessions assurées sur leur campus, afin que ceux-ci conservent leur droit de séjour. – Ces dérogations ne seront pas autorisées pour les études d’anglais ou pour des formations professionnelles. – Les étudiants ont seulement 10 jours pour notifier le programme s’ils passent à des cours en ligne uniquement et probablement commencer le processus de quitter les États-Unis. – La mesure concerne les visas F1 (pour des études académiques) ou M1 (pour des formations professionnelles)
Views of diverse students leaving class outside the Northwest Labs in Autumn. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
