8 Asians

Brain Drain – In Reverse

By Tim | Monday, October 19, 2009 | Comments


brain_drainIn 1969, my dad came to the United States to get a Ph.D., on the recommendation of a mentor of his in Taiwan. The idea was to get the Ph.D., then return to Taiwan and get a high paying job in government, considered the easy way to get prestige and money in Taiwan. About a year after he arrived in the U.S., the U.S. government sent a letter to my mom, inviting her and the kids (myself and my sister) to move to the U.S. with a complimentary green card. This was part of a program the U.S. was running trying to convince foreign graduate students to stay in the U.S. after their studies were over. It was also known as the brain drain program, the U.S. government had in effect at the time, a.k.a. the brain gain for the U.S.

Even with our entire nuclear family in the U.S., my parents still planned on moving back to Taiwan after my dad’s studies were completed. But months turned into years, and at some point it became easier to stay than to go back, so my parents became U.S. citizens and made America their home. For most coming to the U.S. in the past few decades, the idea of returning home was a less common one, instead most immigrants came to the U.S. to find a better a life here for their families. With the recent downturn in the economy in last few years, there’s been a dramatic change in this attitude according to the Tech Crunch which is reporting a reverse brain drain to India and China.

Tech Crunch found in a recent survey of recent arrivals from India, over three-fourths indicated they were planning on returning to India. In a separate study of foreign students, a majority stated they did not think the U.S. was the best place for professional development and they planned on returning to their homes. Some of you reading this may think there’s little wrong with immigrants returning to their homes. The reality is, there is a price to pay if highly skilled workers go back to their home countries. As Tech Crunch states:

… A growing body of evidence indicates that skilled foreign immigrants create jobs for Americans and boost our national competitiveness. More than 52% of Silicon Valley’s startups during the recent tech boom were started by foreign-born entrepreneurs. Foreign-national researchers have contributed to more than 25% of our global patents, developed some of our break-through technologies, and they helped make Silicon Valley the world’s leading tech center. Foreign-born workers comprise almost a quarter of all the U.S. science and engineering workforce and 47% of science and engineering workers who have PhDs. It is very possible that some of the smart Indians who sat in the room with me holding their hand up on Columbus Day will start the next Google or Apple. Many of them will build companies which employ thousands. But the jobs will be in Hyderbad or Pune, not Silicon Valley.

Perhaps many of those planning on returning home will end up staying like my parents, but in this economy there’s definitely a higher chance of these immigrants going home. In my particular case, I’m happy my parents stayed, as I’ve definitely had more opportunities than my cousins who grew up in Taiwan. The question for these new arrivals is whether they and their children will do better in the U.S. or back in their home countries.

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  • I kind of like to think the US has thrived on "Draining Brains" since its founding.


    My family's friends and aquantinces from Asia mentioned that the US is still highly prefered for immigration and raising kids. For many reasons. So, we'll still see many more people wanting to move to the States, both skilled and non-skilled workers.

    One interesting negative comment I heard from them was that many immigrant parents from Asia didn't really like the Primary/Elementary school education here. No society is perfect but then the opinions of the parents seem justified.
  • I've known a number of technical people, from regular engineers to world class scientists, who migrated to the US and then went back home. Some have left for a better lifestyle, and some for what they see are better opportunities. I remember that one of them said that other high level scientists asked him why he had stayed in the US so long. He said that life in the US was fascinating, "like watching a train wreck." He eventually went back to Europe. Some leave because they can't get the visas that they need to work here, as some companies didn't want to bother with what they saw as a troublesome process. Also, a lot of the funding for fundamental research, by the federal government and by American corporations, that would employ Ph.Ds has been drying up. So the US educates people and then sends them back home to compete with us. It's a very troubling situation.

    I should say that I have also met people who came from Asia, went back to Asia and then moved back to the US! My current boss did that. His motivation was to get work and life in balance, as most of his direct reports like myself lived in the US and the resulting time zone problems made him work almost around the clock.
  • JC
    I maybe a minority but I'll never want to raise my kids here. You may have more opportunity than your cousins in Taiwan, but you've suffered a lot more racism and you're basically a silent minority, who rejoice at seeing someone with your skin color in a minor TV role. The children of your cousin has the opportunity to be whatever they choose in Taiwan - don't kid yourself into thinking your children can do the same here. No, my sons will not be an "Angry Asian (American) Man". He will be a regular Asian Man who grew up with good food, close-nit family, and life-long friends. So many immigrants talk about sacrifice when they move here - that's because they lowered their quality of life by hoping for a fatter pay check and a bigger house, yet what they've brought is an life of relative isolation and systemic racism to themselves and their family. My parents were ignorant of the reality of life in the land of the Mighty Whiteys, but I'm not, and I'm not going to put my children through the same AA bullshit we all went through and believe it's "normal". Plus, the future of the world is in Asia - that much is clear. Living in Taiwan is 1000% more fun and rewarding than living in the US but that's something I guess most ABCs will never know.
  • I'm quite aware of your point, but I think we need to consider a bit when and where the Asian immigrants came from. Each decade and country kind of makes a difference. Moving here for professional reasons is different than being war refugees. Those from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore even Mainland China (to some degree) will have a different mentality than those who literally don't have much to go back to. They can but it will be very different.

    Things are getting much better in throughout Asia but there's still quite a lot who might do better if they are willing to "cross the seas". Especially the people of Chinese descent, they've (we've) been doing this for many generations going to places and prospering everywhere we go, not just in Western Countries. Sure, it's a huge gamble with our lives and the next generation(s) but risk-taking is kind of in our "blood" so to speak.

    I'm more optimistic and realistic about the future. Asia may be place to be, but I think for it to prosper (material, artistically, and intellectually) greatly, it will have to and want to uplift the rest of the world.
  • timat8asians
    I don't disagree about suffering racism, but in Taiwan almost none of my relatives went to college. Here in the U.S. my siblings and my cousins in the U.S. not only attended college, but many if not all have gone to graduate school. That alone has made many more opportunities for us in the U.S. over those in Taiwan.

    I do believe my daughter will have less racism and more opportunities than I have had, mostly because we live in the Bay Area, where there's less racism and more diversity. As part of my job, I've traveled quite a bit and it never ceases to amaze me when getting on airplanes to other parts of the U.S. how incredibly homogenous the crowd on the plane happens to be, but whenever I'm coming home to the Bay Area, it's always refreshing to see how diverse the people on the plane are, and a reminder why I live here in the Bay Area.
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