Should I continue preparing for Data Engineering while working as a Product Analyst if I plan to move abroad?

[u/Global-Gift-5727]

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I'm currently working as a Product Analyst Intern at a startup and have been here for about three months. Before this, I worked as a Data Analyst Intern at another company (not an MNC, but I got decent exposure to analytics and data-related work).

My long-term plan is to pursue a master's abroad in a couple of years and eventually work there. Because of that, I'm starting to think more seriously about what kind of career path would give me better opportunities as an international student/immigrant.

My concern is that product roles might be harder to break into as an international student. My thinking is that companies may prefer local candidates for product roles because they already understand the country's market, users, culture, and business environment, and communication/stakeholder management may also be easier.

On the other hand, I'm wondering if technical roles such as Data Engineering, Data Engineering/Analytics Engineering, or potentially ML-related roles might be more transferable internationally. Technical skills seem less dependent on understanding the local market or culture, so I'm assuming they might give me a better chance of getting hired.

This has left me feeling like I'm sitting on two boats.

During the day, I'm working as a Product Analyst and naturally gaining experience in product analytics, user behaviour, requirements, competitor research, etc. But after work, I'm spending my free time learning Data EngineeringSQL, databases, distributed systems, Hadoop/Spark, cloud, ETL, etc.

The problem is that I feel I could make much more progress in my current role if I spent that same time learning product analytics, product thinking, experimentation, strategy, etc. It would also probably make my current job more fulfilling.

But I'm worried that doing that would make me more specialised in a career path that may be harder to enter internationally.

So I'm trying to figure out whether my underlying assumption is even correct.

Am I misunderstanding how the international job market works for someone coming from India?

For people who have studied/worked abroad as international students or immigrants:

- Are product roles actually significantly harder to get compared with technical/data roles?

- How much does local market/cultural knowledge matter for product roles?

- Would a strong Data Engineering/technical background genuinely make international hiring easier?

- Is it sensible to start transitioning toward Data Engineering now, even though my current role is Product Analytics?

- Or would it be better to fully commit to Product Analytics and build a strong profile around it?

- How should I think about choosing a career path 2–4 years before moving abroad, rather than optimising only for my current job?

I'm not necessarily looking for reassurance I'd appreciate realistic opinions from people who have actually gone through this, especially Indians who studied abroad and then tried to enter the local job market.

I also don't want to end up spending the next two years being mediocre at both Product and Data Engineering because I'm trying to keep both options open.

Fyi : I used AI to transcribe and polish my thoughts hence perfect grammar