ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the career trajectories of Indian engineers migrating to the United States of America (USA) from the 1980s to the present. Through nine life history interviews with Indian engineers in the USA, the research thematically analyzes narratives to identify two empirical indicators of these career trajectories: “enduring aspiration” and “intensified aspiration.” These themes enable the conceptualization of varied aspirations for engineering careers in the USA as labor, further dissecting the emotional and affective aspects involved. The use of aspiration as a conceptual framework effectively ties together generational and situational perspectives. The chapter fundamentally argues that the aspiration to pursue an engineering career in the USA is a significant aspect of the broader aspirational trajectories of Indian migrants and deserves theoretical attention. It underscores the importance of career histories within the broader life histories that often depict the exotic migrant story in the USA.
