INet NYC: A Home Away From Home

Words by Ipshita Zutshi
​
You’ve packed your suitcases, flown several hours cramped up in a tiny aircraft, and just arrived in New York City with your head held high full of hopes and expectations. You’ve got your mind set on conquering the world and what better place than NYC to achieve those dreams? As you step onto the curb at the airport, a jaunt in your stride, you’re spared by inches from a cab speeding past you, trailed by an endless stream of the choicest insults. You shake your head numbly, take a few steps back, and with an inward groan, begin to question all your life decisions.

This is essentially what life in New York City is – an incessant, impossible juxtaposition of contradictions. And trust us, we get it – you came here to focus on your career, and somehow found yourself instead deciphering complicated acronyms such as DS2019, FSA or W4, worrying about credit scores, figuring out if the F train runs on weekends, and wondering why it takes you months just to get a doctor’s appointment. And in addition to negotiating all of these real-world problems, you are also expected to publish, network, and find yourself a job before your visa runs out, or before you get bankrupt from exorbitant rents.  Yikes. Clearly being a scientist is extremely challenging but being an international scientist in NYC is arguably more so.
​
This is precisely what INet NYC is here to help you out with! We are a group of international scientists, who, just like you, reached the United States only to realize that sometimes New York City can be a bit too much. As a team of scientists across all the major educational institutes in the New York area, we aim to bring people across different fields of science together by organizing a wide variety of events, such as monthly hangouts, workshops, networking sessions, immigration and tax advice, and career opportunities. Our hope is that these events not only provide short and long-term career benefits, but also provide an opportunity to make friends and enjoy all the millions of benefits that NYC has to offer. So, if you find yourself in search of a fun group of like-minded people, or would like some career advice, or have specific questions about research in NYC, give us a shout out, follow us on instagram and twitter and show up for our events! We will also now have regular posts on our blog with various updates about our events and life as a scientist in NYC. Stay tuned!