₦airaland Forum

Dremca:
I would have tagged someone as regards the highlighted part but I don't like looking for trouble

You sef be winch
You like trouble! Lmao

chiboy429:
My question is what are the possibilities for Nigerians to get job and most importantly PR after studies in US?
Is this a good move or the advantages of US outweighs that of Germany ��

1. Nobody can predict chances. There are high possibilities depending on your course if it's in the sciences.
I have very very strong faith in Phd Electrical Engrg or Phd Computer Science and their affiliated minors.
There are many routes to permanent residency in the US.

But do not discount coded courses e.g Phd Material Science.
All this might mean something different depending on your course, work experience and specialization.

2. I can bet my kidneys that the US is the most immigrant-friendly country in the world today.
I can see many many job openings every day, if you have the right skills or you can even build them during your studies, you'll get a job.
Some skills are in higher demand than others.
Germany also has a language barrier.

Hope I have been able to convince and not confuse you with my answers.

Tyleet:
@Mackynaija, pls I have some questions about Mpower loan. 1. If I get approved for the loan but my visa gets denied, what will happen?
2. What if I get to the US and after landing I decide to attend a different school other than the one the mpower loan was approved for, what will happen?
Thanks so much.
Others who have an answer can chime in too pls.

Predstan and 1stGenAmerican were very close to what I'd answer.

My experience: I applied, got approved and it was disbursed straight to the school.
The school withheld taxes and gave me what was left after applying the Mp0wer payment to what I owed them.

1. If there is nowhere to disburse it to within the timeframe given, then they keep their money.

2. I know for the other lender I mentioned, they tie their approval to the school you are attending (they have a select list of schools they fund).
So you might have to ask Mp0wer if they can carry this over to the new school you intend to transfer to.

BunmiBie:
Actually, after reading all your posts I gingered my husband to apply to schools, in fact I dragged him to this thread and he was motivated as well.

He applied to many schools but got admission into TTU with out-of-state waiver for the first and second academic year. We were not even expecting any waiver.

He graduated in 2014 in the dept of mechanical engineering. He had his MSc from same dept too but he only worked has an engineer for let's say a year. Since then he has been working as a freelance writer.

Our worries now:
1) he applied for industrial engineering but I guess due to lack of job experience they redirected him to Engineering (MEN), which is interdisciplinary. He has the option to specialize in some areas. This department does not have GA, TA and internship. It's a taught course with OPT. What's OPT?

I am assuming you mean MSc in General Engineering?
There is a possibility to change departments after the first semester - he might have to take pre-requisites to qualify for an enrollment into the Industrial Engrg program.

i. BSc Mech should have already qualified him for this.
ii. He might lose the waivers after the switch; those waivers are for the MSc in General Engrg.

OPT na optional practical training. Has a sibling called CPT - in simple terms, he can do internships and is granted post-study eligibility.

Do you think he should go ahead with this and which area do you think he should specialize in; biomedical, aerospace, biosystems, Computer, engineering physics, environment, materials science and engineering, mechatronics, and nuclear engineering. uPdate
He mailed the department and they told him to select his first semester courses from industrial engineering dept to be able to switch fully after first semester.
So we are fine with this.

I just saw this after all the plenty explanations I did earlier.
Yes, select courses in IEEN and switch after first semester. Let him verify what happens to the out-of-state waivers.

2) without much work experience in Nigeria, will he be able to get a job in US after his program and will he cope with the system.

Very possible, he should highlight his 1 year experiences and he would get an internship.
These internships would show further work experience.

DannyFX2638:
macky see how your workers just day busy with work.. u day pay them well ooo

Buying is different in the US...

In the simplest form:
i. You get pre-qualified (moneylender/bank checks you have good credit and some money for down payment)
ii. You find a seller/builder, indicate interest, pay 'Earnest money' ($3k in our case)
iii. They build with borrowed money from a bank (so I think) till completion
iv. At 'closing day', you bring your downpayment 3.5% to as much as 20% and some other closing costs
v. Who initially pre-approved you at step 1 gives the remaining 80% to 96.5% to the seller (you repay normally over 30 years) and..
vi. Seller gives you the key.

You become a homeowner! Yayyy!


When person no fit keep up with the monthly payments due to lost jobs or other reasons, money lender don show for 'foreclosure'.
House don go be that.

Honlucas,
Both individuals above have answered your questions the way I would have.

Dremca:
Please why don't they build houses over there with block and concrete. I believe its the reason hurricane carry their house during natural disaster.

Alexgeneration:
Why using wood to build when there's snow,hurricane, fire and flood to contend with?

Do concrete houses also not get affected by natural disasters?
I know wooden house here can withstand snow and hurricane as much as a block house would... Sam roof loses.
Fire would have a likely total loss on wood. Flood almost same effect.

TWoods:
Simple answer - economics. It is cheaper (although it is debatable if the cost difference is as wide as we assume) to use wood and less complex. You can build a wood home in a few days.

When I did searches online, I learned some of it is historical.
Initial settlers used what was readily available which was was cheap and fast.

Truly it is very fast - their weight carrying columns are multiple Woods merged as one.
No rebars or waiting for concrete to dry.

Drove past yesterday and they were 50% done with roofing.

Sample Pix 6: Roofing plywood and water insulation done.
(Poor quality pictures taken thru my car window as there was active work at the site, will get a clearer one).
There is the "true insulation" done inside the houses.

December 12th 2021, I took pictures A and B. Upcoming community.

Pix C is what our street looks like now, in just 3 months the home with an arrow costs over $50k extra on the base price. Taken Feb 26th 2022.

Pix D is directly behind where I stand to take pictures. Taken Dec 12th, 2021. They have made more progress.

Don't delay, pull the trigger on your house purchase. You are never too young to buy one if you are thinking about it.

House is coming together..

Pix 5: Cornice installed (think parapet in naija building) and entire Siding done - basically plywood on the sides before tyvek (wraps to keep water away) and bricks.

Next should be plywood on the roofs before roof tyvek and roofing sheets.

If you no get money, at least get book sense:
An approximate narrative of a true story...

I met someone on LinkedIn last year when he came to solicit for funds to pay application fees.
He made a passionate plea and by the time I saw his post, it had already been taken care of by well meaning Nigerians.

Fast forward to the end of the year when he had to leave to start the Spring semester, he came looking for 750k but this time it was different...

He had been admitted and had a full tuition waiver - I wad blown away!
His i20 showed his total cost of schooling for the first year as $0, the school was covering all of it - this opportunity could not go to waste.

Story short - after he had raised about 100k, a well meaning individual came and covered the remaining cost of the flight ticket. People believed in his dreams.

He is settled in now, gotten his SSN, started on-campus assistantship and life is gradually beginning to make sense in America.

In summary, use what you have got to get what you need.
Read book, blast, show evidence and people will go to the moon and back for you.



Additions: I know someone that goes to educational threads on Twitt3r, Li1nkedIn and Nairal4nd to seek genuine and smart students that have financial needs they can help for studies abroad.

Dremca:
...I wouldn't be surprised because your role model, Donald Trump...

I don die for laughter
Later una go call am my papa.

I like the way you have spoken, devoid of any attack or insult.
See as all of una deh try to break my head because of immigration; mostly for the illegal people or processes.

As a principle, I don't discuss politics, religion and more recently I added race and immigration because people cannot set aside their emotions (me inclusive) to have healthy discussions when it comes to these topics.

Remember, this thread which started in 2017 was/is a part of my little quota to encourage Nigerians to come to the US.
Let us not allow our political views distract us from what matters.

Hi Justwise,
I have never had any issues with anyone posting here but Twoods is violating Rule 1 by derailing this thread.

He can create a topic and call me out there and that wouldn't be a problem but he is distracting those interested in some of the nonsense I have to say here.

In the last 3 months, I have
Occupied myself with taking care of my daughter,
Taking on more responsibilities at work and
Keeping an eye on the house construction.

Pix 1. Site prep was done immediately after we got into contract (they are currently prepping multiple lots before releasing for sale).
It has the footers and underground plumbing.

Pix 2. Foundation prep where they put the pre-tension cables and ground water Insulation (black nylon in naija terms).

Pix 3. Pouring the concrete and tensioning the foundation cables (I don't think metal rod are used in this style).

Pix 4. Framing where they put a bulk of the skeleton together and the roof trusses.

It is coming up nicely.

Dear Twoods,
Don't bother replying or writing anything aimed at me as I won't be reading it.

Thanks.

GdexFolami:
Please id like to ask something? What are the advantages of buying a house in US right before leaving for yankee?
@mackynaija

If you are paying in full, it's simple!
No monthly payments and a permanent place to live!

sonnie10:
Share your own first hand experience as an undergraduate, graduate student and then worker in the US. Thanks.

Abeg where that meme where okOcha burst laff?

You no get joy.

Olumighty123:
MackyNaija bro, it's been a while oo, hope everything is going smooth? Compliments of the season bro.

My super fan, thanks once again, jist deh unto the current major project- house...
Na small sabbatical I take, addiction is real.

If I say everything smooth, na lie I deh like but I still give Oluwa all the Glory.

I finally finished reading the whole of this thread, thank you for sharing your experience. Well appreciated!

u are doing a great job, u have kept the thread alive for years.

I wish to have a thread like this when I enter Yankee too, but for now make I go find garri weh I go drink. Eye deh turn me

..
Thank you both.
Richmond, garri go damage your eyes o

sbot:
Thank you for this crucial information.

For instance, the 10% you did mention here, is this the total interest rate for the entire duration of the loan?

Thank you.

Technically No, percentage is on an annual basis.
Advanced knowledge: it compounds daily.

Timiofak:
Bros macky, I just finished my first semester over here. Most of your insights are very great and I used them. the basic thing is if you go to class and you do assignments you can have an A before finals. Anyways I had a 4.0 this semester and even won a grant as an exceptional student. I hope next semester is the same . Thank You.

Since you already imbibed the principles, you'll do better.
Do graduate come covert your degree to USD!

BunmiBie:
Yes!!
Done reading in less than three days

Oga Macky, I salute you one million times.

At some point I was reading and laughing, some times I get emotional that I wanted to shed tears.

You have motivated me and reoriented me about US of A.

God bless you and yours forever.

Thank you and hopefully you come to the US someday.

Olumighty123:
Hey MackyNaija, i hope you're good, it's been a while, Hope you were able to finish up with your housing deal? Here's wishing you a merry Xmas and a prosperous New year ahead, cheers

I'm doing good.
It's a medium term project- should take 6 to 12 months, supply chain and manpower issues might cause additional delays.

My friend in Dallas is yet to 'Close' after 13 months since he went into contract, initial protection was Sept last year. His closing date has been moved 4 times this year only, locked in interest rate expired yesterday.

Hopefully ours does not take this long

sbot:
Dear all,
Could you help interpret what the total cost of attendance of this course would be. It's a two(2) years course.

Thank you.

Do you still require assistance this?

I have been on NL for 16 years (not six) and to avoid an addiction- I periodically take 30 to 90 days off.

Back for now and tried randomly picking questions to address but e plenty...
Will go thru all.

... I will be glad if you have any to dispose off no matte the condition as long as it can be fixed. I can pay the cost of shipping to Nigeria, thanks.

I do not have any at this moment.

TWoods:
That’s false and outright silly.

.. But to call it socialist is staggeringly ignorant of what socialism is.

Bros you’re black, the laws don’t apply to you the way they apply to whites, What a joke.

Sigh… the Nigerian mentality... You weren’t really smart...

Twoods, opinions are like a55holes - everybody has one.
It would have made more sense if you stated yours just like I stated mine; thread title is 'MY thoughts and MY experiences'.

When I was 10years younger, I wasn't insulting people the way you do. Please grow up, our mates don deh manage big businesses for yankee.
Allow people state their opinions and have a clean discussion with them if you disagree.
Golden Rule: Respond, don't React.

Lastly, see the picture below - you and others like you are fighting a lost battle.

Let's keep it civil here. Thank you.

Guontey:
Almost natural progression for your typical immigrant. Looks like you got there pretty fast though. Firstly, desirous of any element of a good life and willing to sacrifice anything for it, including getting into immigration troubles, voting democrats, etc. Once they attain the lifestyle they have so longed for, they start to see everything wrong with where they were coming from. Sooner, they start to vote Republicans.
You find them everywhere, including in Canada where they come in through immigration and then, years later, start voting against immigration!

I laughed when I read your post.
Only error is that I have always been a Trump supporter even before I got into the US.

Same way I campaigned Against GEJ and now campaigning against Buhari - parties don't matter much, the individuals count the most.

With the way I 'attack' Democrats (actually meaning California) and not Newsom, it is a contradiction you might say...
No, I use magnifiers when reviewing American Dems.

I will gladly vote Republicans as long as the Democrats have anti-American policies.


To your last line, I am all in for LEGAL Immigration.
Na illegality make embassy cancel Dropbox- think about it.

Cutting the long stressful story short...

They found someone in 2 weeks but the new tenant required a full month before they could move in so it only cost us 1.5 months in rent to end the lease.

The stress to fight them tooooo much and so many back and forth with a property manager that does not know the law so if you are not in Cali or New York where rent costs between $3k to $5k MONTHLY, just pay the two months rent and break the lease.


Finally, NEVER allow them do a final walkthrough of the apartment without you being present. Be there so they tell you what they'll be charging you for or fixing, you sign the checklist and get a copy before you leave.

MackyNaija:
I am working on escaping the $5,200 charge for ending our lease in California.

There must be several options I have thought to myself...
So I set out to discover new things.

Will send an update on lessons learned whether or not it works.

I don officially escape California finally.

The genesis of this escape plan stemmed from the Apaartment Complex's ridiculous requirements to either:
i. Pay the full remaining 9 months amount left at move out and get 'some' refund later.
OR
ii. Pay two months of rent in full and move out AFTER giving one month notice. That's 3 months rent in all.

As I no be mugu, I refused. Most things are negotiable I thought - asked them to take one month rent at move out, they refused. So I turned to Mungo Park.

Most states have Laws guiding tenant-landlord relationships. For Cali, it was Civil Code 1951.2...
I could choose to cover the difference between when I move out and when they got a new tenant. I emailed them stating the Law and that I was picking this option. Them no get choice but to accept - it's the Law.

Reasons why I chose this
i. I no get money to waste on frivolous charges (free money for Landlord)
ii. The total cost was high (2 months worth of rent for free) due to high rent so it made sense mathematically.
If you live where rent is $1k, no need to pass thru this stress.
iii. The Bay Area housing market is hot, I was 'sure' I could get someone to rent the place in less than 2 months.

gees101:
Happy Thanksgiving bro
God bless you

Richdee1:
Happy Thanksgiving bro!
Drop pictures for us abeg

Thank you both.
Depends on wetin you wan see In a happy mood, if not for rain, I for snap plenty pictures of beautiful America for you.


Just made the last payment on my Camry!!! Yayyy! Outright ownership! Current ASSET value = $21,000! Oporrr!
Now on replay... WurID Birthday Song!

Kai! Nobody wish me happy thanksgiving for here...

Spent both days well...
i. Scoped out the new Call0fDuty-Vangu4rd all day online... can't wait for 'Mad'Friday rush to end so I can jejely scroll into the store on Saturday morning to pick up a copy. Itching to get my hands on it after demolishing COD-ColdWar...

ii. Didn't buy shyte over this period, na who get money deh do buy buy... Nigerian billing don finish me. E remain small make I broke.

iii. Watched 6 latest movies in two days, I sweaaarrrr... I love being in Tx! I lazy die!

iv. The most interesting part of my long holiday and by extension why I love being in America...
I can easily afford to run unnecessary 'pet projects' very comfortably: Resurrected an older laptop that had gotten slow - 8gb RAM, 1000gb HDD. like play I opened AmzDotCom, placed an order for upgrade parts and just completed the hardware installation and operating system cloning..

I learned a whole lot along the way and experienced the huge transition in technology (I had gotten rusty, last tinkering was in naija university with my desktop and post graduation with a troublesome laptop).

I now have a factory reset windows10 system with Core-i5 8250u processor, 16gb RAM, 1000gb HDD, 256gb M.2 NVME and a dedicated graphics card... omo! the system deh flyyyy!
Priced for cheap: a quarter of a million naira ONLY

Maybe I go open my current lappy to see the next unnecessary project to run!
My Lexus Rx go suffer for my hand once our house complete. A big garage, large enof to get my hands dirrrty! Can't wait!


***Posted from my abandoned Asus Vivobook.. It runs great!

biolaowo:
I have a sister at Uottawa canada. She wants to know about the loan and do i need to pay weekly or monthly , also about the interestrate

I can't remember but it was either...

- interest only payment in school or no payment in school
- grace period of maybe 3 months post graduation before the payment starts

I believe I have written the rate somewhere here (could be around 10%, can't remember becos I have refinanced multiple times and current rate is 2.75%).

Original duration was long, maybe 7 or 10years, monthly payment post graduation was not upto $300.

With the current refinance rate, total interest will not be over $1500 for the remaining 5 years, so I'd rather not payoff early and use my money for a Camry.

bukhety:
Hi bro,
I have a question about mpower. Assuming I have a GA that covers tuition but not fees, can I collect a loan that covers for fees and dependants? Will it look okay?

If you are yet to come into the US, prodigy is better off.
Mpower deals strictly with immigrants so they need strong proof that you'll be successful in America...

That's why it is advised you have foots on ground, have done a year of studying (you are likely to complete the 2yr program), have done an internship (so at graduation, a job is more likely) and your past work history gives an indication of your future.

To your question, YES, the loan can be used to support "anything"... living cost, fees, car purchase, relocation for internship or full-time work and so on.