A brain drain query: Why do they leave?

Infographic: TBS

Tasnim Ferdous, an architecture graduate from BRAC University, has been living in Winnipeg, Canada for a little more than two years now.

Earlier, she had applied for her master's degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Manitoba. "UofM has one of the best curricula in Landscape Architecture, and it's closer to my sister who lives in the United States," she said, adding, "We do not have Landscape Architecture back home [Bangladesh], so studying abroad was my only option."

As with most graduate programmes in Canada, Tasnim also enjoys working in a programme designed to bridge the gap between students and the job market – popularly known as co-op. "I started working this summer as part of a Co-op programme as a junior Landscape Designer and am continuing to work while doing my practicum," she added. Tasnim is scheduled to complete the degree in 2025.  

Are you planning to stay back? "I am currently considering staying back for some personal reasons," replied Tasnim. 

However, if given the job security, she said she would consider moving back. "It's not perfect here. There are problems here too, different kinds of problems, but a toxic work environment isn't one of them, at least so far," explained Tasnim, adding, "I genuinely don't think it's possible to have a healthy workspace in Bangladesh." 

Tasnim is not alone. Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis opt to apply abroad for higher studies and many feel the same. Although it is not easy to cite figures on how many Bangladeshi students who go abroad for higher studies opt to stay back, there is an increase in numbers of Bangladeshi students leaving the country for higher education. 

The latest figure was more than 52,500 in 2021, according to Unesco data. This year, the highest number of Bangladeshi students are studying in the US, surpassing 13,000, according to Open Doors Data 2023. Additionally, a 28% increase in Bangladeshi students was recorded studying in the US during the 2022-2023 academic year.  

Brain drain – the emigration of highly trained or qualified people from a particular country – continues to be in full swing. Droves of Bangladeshis leave the country for an undergraduate degree or a master's degree and opt to stay back. 

Because of brain drain, we are losing our best workers and best minds, to say the least. This is particularly problematic at a time of rapid economic development for Bangladesh, when the local economy is in need of more and more skilled workers. 

According to the World Bank's stats of 2021, Bangladesh has a value of 7.00 on a scale of 10.00, making us part of the top 20% countries susceptible to "Human Flight and Brain Drain." As per the Fund for Peace data, the brain drain index for Bangladesh was 7.6 in 2019, which is worse than the global average of 5.55 index points.

Brain drain is, of course, not new to developing countries. Normally, highly skilled people from underdeveloped or developing countries migrate to developed countries for quality education, better opportunities, superior platforms, decent social security, political stability and improved living conditions. 

According to a survey by the World Economic Forum carried out in mid-January of 2020, as much as 82 per cent of young people aged between 15-29 in Bangladesh expressed their desire to leave the country for good. 

While Bangladesh certainly benefits from its citizens living abroad through the billions that enter the country in the form of remittances, in the case of high-skilled workers, the equation is not that simple. After all, a significant amount of taxpayers' money is spent on educating and training a citizen to become a skilled personnel, especially if he or she was raised through the public education system. 

There is also evidence that highly skilled workers do not necessarily contribute heavily to remittance flows, especially after a certain period when they have also helped their immediate family migrate. 

Some countries in the past had tried to offset the impact of brain drain by imposing mandatory remittance requirements (Filipinos working abroad by law still have to remit 50% to 80% of their earnings back home), but such requirements are usually very difficult to implement. The only country that appears to have succeeded in such schemes is South Korea in the past, although largely because their migrant workers usually worked in companies owned by Koreans.   

It is therefore imperative that we systematically look into the reasons why migrating abroad still remains such a lucrative option for well-educated Bangladeshis and what can be done to reverse the trend. 

A sloppy job market

A study – 'Youth Matters Survey 2023' - conducted by Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) in collaboration with Brac University's Centre for Peace and Justice (CPJ), which surveyed 5,609 participants aged 16-35 via Facebook – showed 42.4% of young people plan to move abroad due to challenges.

The study cited the reasons as corruption, unemployment, economic crisis, inflation, adverse effects of climate change, etc. 

At the same time, 85.5% of study respondents said they wished to return to the country if the issues were resolved. 

Halima Nur (not her real name) is a BRAC graduate in engineering from 2015. She spent a year and a half looking for a job in Dhaka without any luck. 

"Mainly IT, tech sector first; then I was open to any management positions," she recounted, "the main setback was the lack of personal contacts." 

Amidst an absurd variation of explanation for not hiring, Halima also heard from recruiters things like, "because of your good CGPA, we are confident you won't stay here for too long," "you can't work late hours [this was from a multinational company], can you?" "Are you married? What is your family background? [this was from a local company]," and "Your English medium background is unsuitable." 

"It was frustrating," she said. Halima was also advised 'you should go abroad for higher studies' by several recruiters. She has also been told that "your family won't let you work this job" after answering 'family background' and 'marital status' queries. 

"The interviews were rushed too," she remembered, "it was clear, they were not interested in hiring complete outsiders." 

Halima moved to the US in 2017 for her master's degree at the University of Virginia. "The process [of recruitment] was certainly more open and transparent. A lot of big companies would come up to recruit from there. People from these companies wanted to hire you instead of just maintaining a formality to show up in an event; so definitely there were more solid opportunities," she explained. 

Halima moved to New Jersey for her job in late 2019. "I have been working for a technology services company for four years. It is related to my degree. I am managing my biggest project thus far, really motivated and hopeful [for professional growth]," she said. 

In terms of professional growth, Halima added, "I've been given the opportunity to take up projects that enhance the actual application my team works on. In doing so, I got great exposure to the industrial practices of data integration and development. This benefits my team in the long run, and since I am also continuously encouraged to take up professional training, it contributes to my overall career growth."

Tazrin Haque (not her real name) gained her bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering in the United Kingdom in 2012.

On returning to Dhaka, "I was applying for jobs in airlines because there aren't any in aerospace," she said. For a brief time, she worked at an airline company. Initially, she was supposed to work in maintenance, which meant late night hour shifts. 

"There were concerns of safety [from the employer], working at night at the airport," she said, chuckling, "it's supposed to be one of the safest places. So I did 9-5." 

Tazrin stressed how it is difficult to work in the technical field as a woman. By 2014, she was in the US and secured an associate degree in aviation maintenance technology diploma. Tazrin returned to Dhaka again and worked at her family construction company. 

"I also liked maintenance work, I liked hands-on work. I was not getting that in Bangladesh. It was also difficult to have people take orders from me, especially in the beginning. I missed my lifestyle in the UK and the US," she explained.

Tazrin applied for Express Entry in Canada and by 2020 she arrived. Currently, working as an electromechanical technician – "This is a lot closer to what I studied," she said, adding, "I have the freedom to make my choices, I like the people I work with, it's great."  

Motivation

Do you feel motivated? "Yes, 100%! Because I work in corporate economic development and government grants; it is really rewarding to help businesses grow," replied Fatima Kazi (not her real name) who completed her bachelor's degree from UoT and is currently working full-time in Toronto. 

"I love that I get to see the results of my work. This industry is currently in high demand and will remain so since the government is going to be investing more money as the economy grows and inflation rises." 

She added, "I don't see much growth in my field in Bangladesh career-wise due to the bureaucracies that exist within the system."

Tahsin Mahmud, who is currently based in the East Coast, explained that "as a graduate from a STEM background, we have ample opportunities to transition to the workplace from graduate school in the US." This is not quite possible back home. 

Tahsin graduated from IUT in Gazipur, Bangladesh with an engineering degree. He then worked as a process engineer at a multinational consumer goods industry in Dhaka. "Applying abroad was always my long-term goal," he said, adding that he was eager to experience the best learning and research opportunities in the world. 

Tahsin went to the United States to pursue his master's and PhD at Virginia Tech University. And is currently working at a Fortune 200 tech company.  

"Research is valued in the US," he explained how a PhD degree in the US would open doors to several opportunities in both academia and industry in the US. Moreover, in the last 10 years, industry leaders have understood the business value of research for their company.  

"This is different in Bangladesh, with a PhD, the only career pathway would be transitioning to academia, where I would argue mostly as a teaching-focused faculty member. The career pathway in academia in Bangladesh has its limitations as well - the biggest one being, public institutions only hire faculty members who have bachelor's degrees from their own institution," said Tahsin. 

He also cited nepotism in academia, not enough opportunities to apply your technical and professional competencies in real-world engineering in Bangladesh.

The work culture both in academia and industry in Bangladesh is very inefficient. Tahsin further added, "I have not experienced a 9 to 5 work day in the office. This is an example: I once called a meeting at 2 pm with a group of 5-6 team members that was planned for an hour. Most team members (including the manager) arrived around 2:25-2:30 pm. Our manager had to order lunch before the meeting and also insisted on waiting before "cha" arrived, so another 30 mins. The meeting started at 3 pm and ended at 4:30 (food in between)."

The work culture is certainly different in developed countries. But some say there are small changes that can be implemented by individual companies and organisations – simply as an initiative to retain talent. 

"I am currently also working [for free]," said Atri, "and since our work is taxing — we deal with difficult cases such as domestic violence, etc — my work-week is set at four days [in New York]. I know this will not be possible in Bangladesh, even the recognition for this need is null." Atri is working to become a licensed therapist. 

Previous internship experience in Bangladesh in the field did not bode well, in fact, it was far from it, she said. 

Atri finished her undergraduate degree from Clark University and stayed back to pursue a master's degree. "At this point, I think I will stay back. I get to work with Bangladeshis [as clients]. There is that, but let's see. Moreover, most of my family already moved abroad."  

For Anupam Debashis Roy, things had been a little different. "I have always wanted a research and teaching career, preferably in Bangladesh. However, even Bangladeshi universities do not value Bangladeshi degrees very much, possibly because of the lack of academic rigour. 

I moved to the UK where I would be academically challenged and be able to learn new skills and work towards a PhD," he explained. 

Anupam completed his bachelor's degree at Howard University in Washington DC, US. Then moved back to Dhaka and worked in media. "The lucky part for me was that I had connections with people through my earlier work as a vlogger and columnist. In that sense, I had a foot in the door. Therefore, I did not have to struggle much to secure a job. 

But I can imagine that someone without such connections would have many setbacks. I believe networking is key to landing a job."

The independence

"Security for women, being able to be on the streets, do my job, live my life..basic things," said Tasnim. 

Atri Hassan, another student doing a master's programme in Counselling Psychology at Columbia University, New York, echoed the same. "I can take the train and let's say visit my friend in Connecticut in a heartbeat. If I were back home, travelling the same distance would mean so much planning, taking permission from the family, etc," said Atri. 

Not just that, but the independence lies in small things such as "back home I would have to rely on a chauffeur. Moreover, here, I don't only get to commute at ease but I also do my taxes, cook, etc. Here I can run a lot and I feel completely safe," she added.  

Fatima added, "I love the personal space I get to grow as an individual. I have learnt a lot of things ranging from small things like housekeeping to navigating my personal brand. 

I really had to go out of my way to carve out opportunities and build my networks for growth. However, there are a lot more diverse opportunities here for someone with my degree – which is political science and environmental policy – than I have heard from friends in Dhaka."