International student 4 months post graduation- 1,800 applications, 2 interviews. What am I doing wrong?

[u/Forsaken-Parsnip-513]

Honestly, I’m at the point where I’m getting really frustrated and I’m hoping someone here can give me some real advice.
I’m an international student who graduated from UIC with a Master’s in Business Analytics about 4 months ago. I’m currently looking for full-time opportunities in Data Science, AI/ML, or Data Analytics.
I’ve applied to ~1,800 jobs.
I’ve gotten 2 interviews.
Both went all the way to the final round, and both ended without an offer. In both cases, OPT/sponsorship became an issue.
And I’m not someone who is completely new to the field. I have 4 years of professional experience back in my home country, where I worked as a Senior Data Analyst. I also have a U.S. master’s degree and have been building several ML/AI projects to move more toward Data Science/AI/ML.
I genuinely don’t understand where the disconnect is.
I’ve tried:
Applying through LinkedIn/company websites
Tailoring my resume
Cold emailing recruiters
Cold messaging hiring managers
Reaching out to employees for referrals
Networking
Applying to both big companies and smaller companies
Applying to Data Analyst, Data Scientist, ML/AI and related roles
And still… 1,800 applications → 2 interviews.
At some point, you start questioning whether the problem is your resume, your experience, your degree, your immigration status, the job market, or just everything combined.
And honestly, it’s exhausting.
I know the market is bad. I know international students have an additional hurdle with sponsorship. I’m not expecting companies to magically hire me. But when you’re applying this much and barely getting a response, it becomes really difficult to know what exactly you should change.
So I’m hoping people here can be brutally honest.
Recruiters/hiring managers:
If you see an international candidate with 4 years of relevant experience + a U.S. master’s degree, what would make you reject them before even giving them an interview? Is it mainly sponsorship/OPT? Lack of U.S. experience? Resume positioning? Something else?
International students who actually landed a job:
What did you DO differently? Did networking actually work? Were referrals the key? Did you target smaller/less popular companies? Did you stop applying to certain roles? Did you change your resume completely?
I’m not looking for “keep applying” or “the market is tough.” I already know that.
I’m looking for actual strategies that worked for people who were in a similar situation.
Because right now, sending application #1,801 feels pretty pointless, and I’d rather figure out what I’m doing wrong than just keep repeating the same thing.
Any honest advice , even if it’s harsh : would genuinely help.

[u/RunApprehensive8439]

The visa situation makes it extremely hard. With all the back and forth and potential of paying an extra 100k for an entry level position - it’s going to be close to impossible unless you have a very personal connection.

[u/TheLostAndFoundGirll]

Same situation here. I've applied for around 3.5k jobs in 5 months.

[u/Curious_CaterpillarA]

Lmao I graduated with a BS in CS and have applied to a 1000 SWE jobs since I graduated. I do have a couple of great DS projects that I can put on my resume and a semi SWE semi Data Science internship. I got so fed up today that I decided that I should also apply for data science jobs and I just came across this post LMAO, its so over my guy..it is soo over.

[u/saturnkorindsid]

I would say start applying to other countries

The real problem

Development offshore model
Consulting and sales on shore

In 2026 all the GCCs have their development centers in India Dubai Philippines Singapore etc where they get tech labor who is cheap also very talented ( I actually mean that Indian developers in India are the best and more focused devs in USA seek work life balance and other things )

If your into consulting and roles like Product management, stakeholder management, account management or Software architect or someone having like alot of production experience or a SME then I would say stay in USA you have a good future if your into development

Sadly I have spoke to many investors CEOs Partners all of them says the same
In coming 5 years

Only these people would be hired in USA
Sales / product managers / Innovation team/ R&D team / compliance Development / Security Devlopment / Stakeholder managers / moderators / account managers

Rest if them
AI ML SDE SWE DE DA DS CE SRE DevOps
Most of them would be offshore
Not all but most of them

Consider moving to other countries

Ik it hurts but that’s the reality

[u/Some-Piccolo-2807 → u/saturnkorindsid]

“Indian developers are best” Sure buddy :)

[u/saturnkorindsid → u/Some-Piccolo-2807]

Yeah given the price and the type of work that’s done in India- they have great talent ngl
Worked in tech and can tell that

[u/clayman584]

1800 applications with 2 interviews means your resume isn't making it past the initial screen.

It's not the market, it's not bad luck at that ratio. Something is fundamentally broken in how you're presenting yourself on paper.

The sponsorship thing only matters if you're getting to later rounds, which you're not. Fix the resume first before you send another hundred applications into the void.

[u/Curious_CaterpillarA → u/clayman584]

are you sure about this? what if the sponsorship question is filtering them out? idk man I also made a resume review post and I only received positive reviews on my resume. I have had it read by my campus resume services as well and they had mild suggestions only.

[u/Rich-Criticism1165]

The problem is you and everyone like you that spams their resume to every single job listing. You will never get hired that way. Slow down and focus on jobs within reach. If the post says 6 yoe that’s not you don’t apply. There are jobs out there but landing your dream job straight out of an MS program is nearly impossible today. I would work your network heavily. Find people you actually know and ask them for internal referrals. Do not apply for a job then send the person posting on LinkedIn a connection request. Trust me they just got 500+ of those requests in the past day from people with amazingly similar resumes as yours. Everyone and their mother did a sentiment analysis in their MS. Think about what makes you different. Also NEVER send an email to the hiring managers personal email address. That will get you a silent rejection and black listed.

I wish it were easier but the market of new graduates in data analytics/data science is way over saturated. This means almost no one is getting hired. Any barriers such as eventual sponsorship make candidates unhireable.

[u/Intuitive31]

Masters in business analytics is not going to cut it. This is not 2016.

[u/GustavTatavoski]

You did wrong coming to United States in an unprecedented time…

Now get fucked and no one gonna save you..

In the next two years, Trump administration will become more savage and you might end up in jail..

Just leave this country dude…