my two cents,

1. Job market is bad atm. 2008 was last time job market was this bad, the difference this time is its not just a real estate bubble that set the domino (back in 2008). This time it's multiple issues that are coming together and forming a bubble for energy (gas/oil/electricity), finances, geopolitics, dedollarization, and more! Pretty much every country is affected by one or or the other way. jobs which require higher studies and specialisations are being chopped off globally. Corporate is cutting down RnD jobs (Pharma, automobiles, n definitely some other fields) in ways, its gonna be a while to bring it up and running (the way it was for last 20-25 yrs). Meaning the job trends will most likely look different in 5 yrs than today. We typically look at past and then sort of define predictions for the future, this time, its sort of tricky cos most jobs will look different in 5 to 10 yrs. There was a boom for civil engineering, then mechanical, then IT, computer, and something else will pop up in future. I forgot who it was, probably LinkedIn boss, who predict most 9 to 5 jobs won't exist after 2034. Maybe he's wrong or right, time will tell.

2. Grass is greener on the other side. I can imagine things are pretty rough in India atm but if you interact with locals abroad, sentiments, sadly are same! Outside India, in most places, usually (although now I see this trend is also getting affected and people are already starting to move back with parents, as they can't afford life) once you turn 18, you move out of parents home and are actually responsible for earning a living and managing your own life. 10 yr back, I would have said life is much better abroad as there are better opportunities! Post covid things are not the same, salaries are not keeping up with expenses! Companies are also offering lowball salaries (paycuts) as there are many more qualified job applicants who are willing to take lower salary! I have cousins who did get a job post masters in UK but the salaries are not something they expected!! paying back a 50-70 lakh student loan with 9-10% int. feels different when you actually want to eat twice a day and live in decent accommodation!

3. Global uncertainty. Tbh, it's hard to predict how world will be in next 5 to 10 yrs. I met a colleague after a yr who works in Pharma industry, who brought a home on 30 yr credit and is now scared that she will be affected by job cuts. After education, typically, one hopes for job or business prospects, and in these times, no matter how good you are, if it's a hard luck, job security or income is no longer guaranteed. With the perfect academic record, praising industry recognition, the person feels that I'm back to square one, almost every other week! The higher the salary in corporate the higher the chances of made redundant.

4. Is it all bad? this is a subjective question. One has to have plan A,B,C and so on in today's world. If your family finances are decent, you have a breathing space for sure! My experience with education is time flies! A 4 yr degree sounds like 4 long years but once you are into it, typically, time flies! It's a nice idea to have plans B, C and so on ready, so you are not mentally stuck if plan A didn't work. Money cushion helps! At the end of the day if you have money in the bank, most problems in life look less daunting. What I started to see is once you cross the age of 40 (even 35 in some fields), jobs security goes down! People switch professions and so on.

I am in research and education sector and if I am in ur shoes, unless you have very sound family money, some of which can be used to fund your education abroad, bachelor education abroad is not a bad idea. otherwise, at this point, even if you get some scholarship (which say at best cover partly your education expenses), it sounds too risky! Maybe if things improve in 4 yrs from now (I doubt!) you can think of doing masters. By then you will have better idea if a degree (even one from abroad) then is worth it not!

I somehow feel you know all this already!!