Navigating Careers in the United States: Experiences of Iranian Highly Educated Immigrants in STEM Professional Fields

Iranian highly educated immigrants working as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) professionals in the United States were the target population for this dissertation study. The purpose was to explore career experiences of this group of immigrants and the strategies they used to navigate their careers in the host country. Many of the Iranian STEM professionals have made meaningful impacts on the U.S. knowledge-driven economy. Despite their contributions, there is a dearth of knowledge about their career experiences in the U.S. To prevent skill underutilization of a population of workers who are highly educated and competent, it is important to understand their career experiences in the host country. I conducted a basic qualitative interpretive study, informed by a constructivist paradigm. I interviewed 22 Iranian immigrants who have obtained at least a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline from an Iranian university, sought advanced education in the U.S., and worked as STEM professionals in the U.S. for at least one year. Interview transcripts were used for constant comparative analysis. Given the historic political conflicts between Iran and the United States, the most significant contribution of this study is highlighting the unique challenges of navigating careers in a context of political conflict (between the country of origin and destination). My findings suggested that despite of their qualifications, Iranian STEM professionals faced several barriers to obtaining job and career opportunities in the United States. These challenges occurred at three levels: (1) unique to Iranian STEM professionals (e.g., limited access to opportunities due to sanctions and export control policies), (2) experienced by other foreigner professionals with immigrant backgrounds from developing countries (e.g., language barriers), and (3) shared with highly educated American counterparts (e.g., challenges of the first job). Nevertheless, participants identified professional growth and collegiality of the workplace environment as positive outcomes of pursuing education and careers in the United States. Another significant contribution of my study is identifying psychological strategies used by participants to address the challenges encountered. These strategies are: adopting the growth mindset and developing resilience. In addition, from this study findings illuminated behavioral coping strategies, such as managing the immigration status and working hard. Finally, social support from a mentor, a colleague, or a hiring manager mitigated the challenges facing participants. This study have several implications for human resource development (HRD) and career scholarship and practice. Findings demonstrate that political conflict between host and home countries can interfere with highly educated immigrants' careers. The challenging context provided the opportunity to study how individuals responded to the environment in which their careers evolved. Further, findings from my study inform HRD professionals to better recognize and understand the challenges facing Iranian highly educated STEM immigrants in the U.S. A better understanding of challenges can help practitioners to identify appropriate interventions to assist them in addressing their career challenges