Young Indonesian students at the University of California Berkeley understand that having those letters after your name as an alumnus creates a buzz back home, but still they'd rather work abroad after graduating.

They are studying in one of the world's best universities, they argue, and their parents have invested a lot of money in their education. They face the greatest work opportunities in developed countries.

"My best option is to work in the information technology industries in Silicon Valley, California, just as other UC Berkeley computer science graduates usually do," said Shendy Kurnia, a final-year computer science student from Surabaya. "I have got used to the international challenges in here."

He agreed that UC Berkeley alumni have built a strong reputation in Indonesia thanks mainly to the alumni elite known as the "Berkeley Mafia", who laid the foundation of the country's economic development in late 1960s. Nevertheless, he said, he wasn't guaranteed a good place to work.

Among the members of the Berkeley Mafia are Widjojo Nitisastro, Ali Wardhana, JB Sumarlin and Emil Salim, who were ministers during the leadership of the late president Soeharto.

"I might go back to Indonesia but perhaps after working here for years and pursuing my master degree," Shendy said.

Nico Kutadinata, a mechanical engineering student, and Alexander Surya Jaya, a first-year student, have the same strategy. Another student, Arlene Sutjiamidjaja, has a slightly different idea: She is considering looking for work in Singapore to be close to her family in Jakarta.

The four are among 50 Indonesian undergraduate students at UC Berkeley. There are about 3,000 RI students in the San Francisco bay area, Sacramento and Washington in Seattle, according to the Indonesian Consulate General in San Francisco.

Nico said it would be unwise to go back home for work; a friend of his, he said, who graduated from a US university, was offered a monthly salary of only Rp 3 million (US$290) by a big Indonesian company.

"It really devalues our knowledge," he said.

In the United States, new graduates can earn between $50,000 and $60,000 a year, or $4,200 to $5,000 a month.

"That makes us more valuable," said Alex, who plans to get a master's degree in either the United States or the UK.

Given that living costs in Jakarta are about four times lower than in the San Francisco bay area, a firm in Indonesia would need to offer a salary of at least $1,100 a month to tempt a UC Berkeley graduate to come back home.

But only a small number of multinational companies in Indonesia - perhaps some in the oil and mining, consulting, banking and securities sectors - could afford a starting salary at that level. Local firms could not pay a graduate that amount.

The preference by Indonesian students at UC Berkeley to work in developed countries is also related to their parents' heavy investment in education.

Parents of students such as Arlene and Alex, who are accepted into a UC Berkeley four-year undergraduate program, must spend $120,000 over four years for the school, excluding living costs, which can reach $14,000 a year.

"My parents have to pay $15,000 per semester in UC Berkeley," Arlene said.

For students such as Shendy and Nico, who take a two-year college program before transferring to UC Berkeley for another two years, their parents must earmark $12,000 for their college fees and $60,000 for UC Berkeley.

In sharp contrast, tuition fees for the regular program in Indonesia's number one university, University of Indonesia, reach Rp 7.5 million (U$680) a semester, according to www.ui.ac.id.

"Studying at UC Berkeley is indeed a huge investment, but worth pursuing," Arlene said. "It also shows that you have the ability to compete with other students worldwide."

She said that for her application for the four-year undergraduate program in UC Berkeley, she was required to send her school report, her final national examination (Ebtanas) results, her TOEFL score, a personal statement and an essay about her leadership experiences; she also had to take the university's entrance exam.

"I cried when I learned I got into UC Berkeley," said Arlene, who graduated from West Jakarta Senior High School SMA IPK.

Shendy and Nico were less fortunate than Arlene: They had to struggle to get into college before being able to fulfill their dream of studying at UC Berkeley.

"I could not apply for a four-year program in UC Berkeley as my grades at senior high school were not really high," Shendy said.

"So I applied for a two-year college program in Los Angeles through an agent. After earning a high grade point average *GPA* and winning various awards in the college, I applied for a transfer to UC Berkeley."

Nico, who went to Senior High School SMA K 1 Jakarta, said his parents had sent him to a US college partly because of its lower tuition fees and partly because of his poor command of English.

But it doesn't really matter how they got into UC Berkeley - now they learn at a top school that counts Nobel Prize winners among its reputable lecturers and has a huge collection of books and other materials in the libraries, a fast Internet connection and laboratories kept up to date with new equipment.

They are also able to build networks with US students, international students and other Indonesian students through the Berkeley Indonesian Student Association.

"My logic, critical thinking, problem solving, and innovation skills have improved dramatically here thanks to the stiff competition among students," Shendy said. "My network is also growing fast."

Shendy said his network had helped him get a part-time job using his computer science skills during the last summer break, proof he was good enough to work in the United States.

Although it is clear that Indonesia may not be able to use their skills in the near future, in the long term, these students, if they maintain their idealism, will be able to help improve their country.

Nico, for example, dreams of building an institution where young people in Indonesia can fully develop their potential.

He doesn't want to build a school as it seems too formal.

"It's my long-term project," he said. "I will see what I can do to make it happen."

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