How I Traveled From The United Arab Emirates To The United States To Achieve The American Dream

Abstract

A person can determine its growth over the years, I personally have grown with experiences I gained through a rough patch in high-school. Rough times in life help you mature; some people mature at a young age, and some people don’t even at the age of 50. I am happy that life took me through a roller coaster, the ride was bumpy but rewarding. I graduated and moved to Houston to achieve what people call, “The American Dream” I want to pursue a degree in business Intelligence and built a career as a BI Analyst, the financial perks vary from $82,000 – $96,000 per year depending on the location. Houston has been great so far, but I am intrigued to check out the living experience on the north side of the country.

Though the thought of moving to San Francisco or New York is exhilarating, nevertheless it can hurt one’s bank; the average cost of living in each city can range from $25,000 to $28,000. I plan to weigh all the options before concluding with a decision, I want to live a comfortable life where I can earn and enjoy the little things in life. Giving back to community holds a special place in my life as my parents always taught me that God has created us all equally and we should treat the ones with less fortune with extra care and help. I aim to accomplish the goal I have set of becoming a BI analyst, so I can work for the mentioned objectives followed by a rewarding deed.

One Flight Per Day

I traveled from the United Arab Emirates to the United States to achieve the American Dream. I am a freshman at Houston Community College and I am dazed by the culture shock that I experienced in the past three months. During the period of high school, I always took my education as a second priority, being an average student who was pleased by C’s. I took much interest in hanging out with friends and spending time in front of the screen for hours playing games. In the senior year, I was terminated from my high-school due to technical issues and I was blamed for incorrect reasons.

I was devastated for the disrespect and stress I caused my parents and promised myself to change to a better person and I owe that to my parents. I transferred to a different school and it was time to start fresh, I had to work day and night to put in the effort to bring up my grades and pass the IGCSE’s. Realization hit me hard, and I discovered that I have the potential to succeed in my studies if I manage my time carefully. I created a calendar and to-do list that helped me to stay focus and determined. I was ecstatic after receiving the report card with the grades I achieved. It is time that I followed and worked hard for a better life for myself and parents.

After graduating from high school, I joined my dad’s business since he needed a helping hand, I worked with him, he taught me the importance of time and customer service in the business. He said the key to a successful business is to treat it like your baby, one has to nurture it and give it all the time and effort, so it grows. Keeping his words in mind, I want to pursue a career in Business Intelligence. During the study, I will learn and improve decision-making skills, as that is the key factor in this field. The potential benefit of BI degree will help me to guide executives, managers, and corporates with efficient data that will help them with competitive gains. BI can also help the company to recognize the market trends and advert business complications that need to be addressed. Some of the duties that this role entails refer to technologies, help customers by building optimal and scalable BI applications, hence the main purpose is to support better business decision making.

Aside from studying a subject that will give me an outcome of great knowledge and skills to improve the business industry, I can also enjoy the financial perks. According to extensive research, I found out that a Business Intelligence Analyst in Houston, TX, earns $82,000 along with that many companies issue full-time health insurance, paternity leave and vacation paid time off. Comparatively, in San Francisco, the Business Analyst earns an average base pay of $96,000 per year. My third choice of place in New York the average pay in NY for my position is $85,000. Three months have passed by since I moved to Houston and I am not fully in love with the place and yet have to explore a lot more and learn to grasp onto career opportunities.

The United States of America have a very stable living style. I come from a middle working-class family and back in Dubai you have to work twice as hard to afford a decent living and education for your children, both my parents work in order to afford living and education of us, three children. In Houston, the houses are big compared to houses on the north side. The average cost of living in Houston for a single person is expected to be $1,020 per month for a studio apartment. Utilities come into consideration as well, according to the research a basic utility package for a studio apartment can cost around $150.00 and to top that off with the internet, it will add up to $45.00. Houston is a city full of diverse culture and food, for a person like me who enjoys cooking; a monthly food expenditure sums up for $50.00.

Houston is a great place to live since it is very reasonably priced. Moving onto San Francisco, the home to techies. Golden City is the most expensive city in the country. Even though this is the highest paid city the cost of living is skyrocketed. The average rent of a two-bedroom in San Francisco is $4,650 which is half of the median salary of a full-time worker. Transportation expenses is another factor, owning a car in the Bay city can be costly, average parking rates around downtown can cost $200 per month. Eating out in the city can break the bank, the city caters some of the finest restaurants and eatery experiences. Home cooked meals are budget-friendly options but aren’t necessarily cheap.

Keeping all the factors in mind, the average cost of living in the city is expected to be $25,000. The last but not least the New York City, taking all expenses into account the cost of living in NYC is double the national average. The average rent for a bedroom apartment in the city is $1,600. In addition, the cost of utilities is $147.00. Even though owning a car in New York City is not a viable option due to traffic and the cost of parking the cheapest way to commute is through subways. A monthly transit-pass in the city costs $116.00 per month. All the cities have their upsides towards expenses, but one can afford the costs if you are determined towards the goal. All these expenses also correlate with your lifestyle.

I want to conduct a comfortable life, where I can support myself and enjoy the experiences. I realize that life is short, and I want to earn enough and work hard to be able to support the pleasures in life. All these decisions come with enormous opportunity costs, I left my parents back in Dubai, so I can pursue a better education and make a career. Leaving your loved ones is not an easy task. However, I keep reminding myself about the bigger picture; I want to work for a big four, live in the city because I am not a suburb person. I see myself traveling around, trying new things and meeting new people. Eventually, I want to help my dad with his business and help him and mum accomplish their dreams.

My family has always supported education and have been my backbone for every decision I made. After accomplishing and succeeding in my career I want to support an organization that will care and that provides education to the less fortunate ones. I strongly believe providing education to a child is one of the greatest gifts a person can give. In recent years my mother came across TCF it is an organization that funds schooling for less fortunate kids in Pakistan. Donating $144 can put a child through school for an entire year and the thought of this just gives me the joy and hope. I am at phase where life is all exciting and this is a learning experience, I shall not pass with flying colors in the test of life but at the end I want to be able to look back and not regret the decisions I have made.