Why I Outsource Offshore

When the planes hit the World Trade Center, I was sitting in my cozy sunroom home office. Living in Fairfax County Virginia, we actually heard the plane that hit the Pentagon fly very low overhead. We knew something else was going to get hit. Then we actually heard and felt the explosion. The next minute my son and I were outside in the street looking up into the sky. We didn’t know what to expect.

I didn’t know that my life had radically changed that day; I knew the country had, that was quite apparent. But the downward spiral I was about to take wasn’t going to be pretty.

I remember telling my sons pre 9/11 about the phone calls I would get from headhunters, at least once a day. I would tell my kids’ that was real job security, having skills that were readily needed in the marketplace. I actually made $16,000 in about a day, tracking down a bug in a major government computer system. I remember working on another system on my laptop aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean (the cruise ships had just gotten email capabilities, and my client had no idea where I was, and didn’t care). Talk about working from home! We all probably all have many great memories of the good times.

The week after 9/11, nobody returned my phone calls. I had a couple of contracts with a very large city government. We couldn’t even get into the building. Of course I later found out that the city was much more interested in detecting anthrax and acquiring and placing cement barriers than the work I was doing for them, tracking the maintenance of the cities trees and processing abandon vehicles left on the city streets. I was instantly unemployed. It was the end of an era.

It was time to send out some resumes, nothing, time to get out the Rolodex and tap into my “old boy network”, nothing. A month goes by, then two. I remember going to the local shoe retailer, because they had a sign posted looking for a store manager. I showed the current manager my resume, and he told me not to bother applying, they knew I would be gone the instant I got another tech job. Time to send out thousands of resumes, all over the world, nothing. Several months pass. I tap into my homes equity to pay the mortgage, sort of like chewing your own arm off. All my friends are doing likewise. We talk with each other, it deadens the boredom and pain, misery loves company.

Ok, so I am going to re-tool, so I buy some on-line coursework to learn Oracle 9i. I start digging in 8 hours a day, going through the coursework; I hate every second of it.

I actually started reading articles about offshore outsourcing here on freerepublic.com. I was upset by this as most people were. I had lost my wife by then, and it is apparent that the house that I had planned to play with my grandkids in will be gone soon also. I am at my low point.

Just through dumb luck, a complete stranger calls me up one day, and tells me he ran into my resume, and was impressed with my background. He tells me that over the last year, he has cobbled together a team of programmers in Moscow that can write computer systems in just about any language. He tells me they are quite good, and I believe him because I have worked with Russian programmers before. The he told me one thing that would change my career goals forever. The Russians will write computer systems, Including Oracle systems for as little as $15 per hour. In other words, I am beating my brains out to learn a computer database system that can be done elsewhere in the world for about the same price as is paid to a cahier at the local grocery store. This changes everything. I rewrite my rather lengthy resume.

I cobble together a list of email addresses of headhunters and other companies from several job boards. The title I put on my resume is “Offshore Outsourcing Project Manager”. In my resume under the skills section I put the rather lengthy list of technical skills the Russians posses. The list includes just about every major computer system I have ever come across. It is the ultimate resume. I mail out a few hundred. I don’t have to wait for long.

The next day, the phone rings. Another telemarketing call, I am thinking. The man on the other end of the line tells me he is looking at my resume. He starts explaining a project he needs accomplished, actually two projects. I have no idea what he is talking about. And I can tell he is getting frustrated. He tells me that he is going to email me his address, and I should show up the next day at 1 PM. I am excited yet confused. I don’t sleep well that night.

I am ushered into a boardroom a little after one the next day. I didn’t eat lunch, partially because I really don’t have much money, and I am a little dizzy (lost 30 pounds through the last 12 months). They start explaining the projects to me, three guys, a marker board and me for 3 hours. The last hour I am just sitting there with my mouth hanging open. I am starting to get what they want, two computer systems for arguably the largest retail chain in the world. They are massive undertakings using cutting edge technology, and it is obvious it will take dozens of programmers and other specialists (maybe more). Then they tell me how much they want to pay for all of this, and it isn’t much. But it beats the heck out of what I made in the last 6 months, which was nothing. At this point I am only thinking that I want to just get something going, anything. I just want something to do, any form of cash flow, to make some contacts and get the hell out of my house once in a while.

I instant messaged the Russians the next morning. They couldn’t believe whom the project was for or the massive scope of the undertaking. I had my Visio thing going most of the night, and I had some pretty dead on flow charts of what was explained to me, which I emailed to them. They started sending over some very impressive examples of XML scripts based on my previous nights work and the hours of conversations we had. The client liked it all. They were impressed. I could not believe what I was getting into.

We all signed the clients NDA’s, and wrangled over some small details in our various contracts. We put together a scope of work, and set a timeline with invoiceable milestones in MS Project (the Russians are very good at this also). My project leads wife had a baby, and we all send each other pictures of our kids. Weeks pass in preparation. I am starting to get to know these guys, and they work together as a precise seamless team (woman are not allowed in there office building). They work late into the night (5 PM EST is 1 AM Moscow time). The client is happy, we are busy and I can’t provide any further details for legal reasons. Suffice it to say your mother/sister/wife will probably use this system at a store near you within the next few months. And I get to point to it and say, “I did that”. I didn’t make much money off of it, but it sure beat sitting at home all day playing computer games.

They don’t speak English, but they read and write it well. In the late 80s the Russian defense industries essentially imploded, and a lot of very intelligent people were left jobless (sounds familiar). It was at about this time the Internet came into its own (well email initially). They started getting possession of US computer systems documentation. Many of them learned English by mastering these systems. It took them several years to do this. Thousands of hours of hard work and study. They are very good technical writers and write proposals and documentation like no others that I have seen. They are very productive, and are slowly getting rich (by there standards). I have never met any of them personally, but look forward to doing so someday. I do enjoy working with them. They are slowly becoming good friends.

Am I taking jobs from Americans, yes, do I feel bad about this, yes, do I have any other choice other than waiting tables, no.

He broke no laws and persecuted no one. Perhaps we should try to walk a mile in his shoes.

He spoke eloquently about his wife's SLAPDOWN, and how he misses "the VAGINA" that delivered his Children!!

My Vagina can relate to that!!!

At a time that a MAN loses his sense of self [9-11], IN THE NAME OF G_D be understanding.!!!

What do I do?

Right now, my full time job IS TO FIND A FULL TIME JOB!!

Get it yet? People like you are one of the reasons I cant find work. You didn't hire an American, you hired a Russian, and you think you are so smart because you 'found' something to keep you busy.

What you did was help keep an American out of a job.

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps we should try to walk a mile in his shoes.

His shoes walked away from his own country. He willingly took a position that hires non Americans to do work for Americans, While still in America!

What he did was abandon his countrymen all the while he himself knew perfectly what they were suffering because of his own knowlege and experience in the field.

What he did was allow another slave wage organization to take the place of His Own Countrymen who went to school, paid their dues, and played the game as they were taught, but cannot find work because a Communist country decided to get involved in the operation.

There is such a thing as keeping integrity while remaining employed.

I have been unemployed for 17-18 weeks now, you dont see me going to work at the local strip bar

or casino,

or abortion clinic, do you?

Whether it was made in Japan or in the US is besides the point with you.

Some people care, some don't. You obviously don't. Amana and Kenmore made refridgerators in America. They are sold at Sears, but as sinkspur says, you shouldn't shop at Sears because WalMart has the same stuff cheaper. And while you are there you can use your savings to buy some extra chinese-made crap.

Since when does globalization mean global governance???

Heaven forfend! I am against any supranational organization which usurps sovereignity: UN, World Court... Globalization refers to the increasing economic interconnectedness inherent in widely practiced trade.

Consider this passage from the Englishman Sir Henry Parnell, who published a book entitled "On Financial Reform". A quote from this book:

"If once men were allowed to take their own way, they would very soon, to the great advantage of society, undeceive the world of the error of restricting trade, and show that the passage of merchandise from one state to another ought to be as free as air and water. Every country should be as a general and common fair for the sale of goods, and the individual and nation which makes the best commodity should find the greatest advantage."

And add to that this quote from Jefferson:

"Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations -- entangling alliances with none."

And there you have it in a nutshell.

Perhaps we should try to walk a mile in his shoes.

Oh my G*d, you actually read and understood the whole initial post?

No offense FoxPro but I could easily do your job, except my team would hail from India (already have contacts). The problem is I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I did. It's good to see that you got past that little thing called a conscience.

A man of God would not willfully screw his fellow man for a paycheck. Sounds like you got past that little issue pretty quick.

You would think Jefferson a socialist because he would use the constitution to look out for America's interests instead of communist china. There is no free trade. We are not conducting free trade now.

All the that someone needs is a little double speak in the title and most "conservatives" are fooled so completely they'll call the constitution socialism and slave labor "free trade".

"Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations -- entangling alliances with none."

This results in something quite a bit different than the englishman's shortsightedness.

Okay, first, you are doing what you have to do given the current rules of the game. Of course what you are also doing is making the argument for tariffs on softweare coming into the USA given the differences in cost of people and the simple fact that there is also political risk in what you are doing. Remember that software engineering is a critical defense skill also as such it does have a case for protection from that standpoint alone.

Would tariffs on the products you import the software, destroy your business or you personally? No. However, they would provide a better overall standard of living within the USA, and maintain a vital industry.

Actually just wait until he has to compete with IBM's offshoring group. They are promising up to 80% reductions in cost of development with the IBM name behind it. IBM has done a great job of driving the little guys out of the game domestically. Why does anyone think their offshoring effort will be any less successful?

A couple of questions.

Do you maintain political risk insurance and/or currency convertability insurance?

Have you tried hiring Amnerican programmers for the same rates you pay Russian programmers?

I have read through this entire thread and as I stated before this thread is one of the best arguments for a short term tariff on imported software. but the two questions asked aqbove are also very significant.

When you have a global economy, you have to have global agencies to govern it. An economy is what a government is based on. No economy, no government; conversly once you have a government, an economy follows. The two are inseperatable. Once you have global governance in one area, the the other areas just naturally follow.

People resist a global regime, as you do. But people can be halfstepped into anything. Incrementalism makes it hard to draw a line. With small changes, drawing a line in the sand can be easily spun as stubborn and intransigent, making the act politically infeasible. The economy is a big halfstep, which is why it is advanced first.

But if we do not draw that line, we will find ourselves minor characters in a science fiction story about a future abusive world power.

"People resist a global regime, as you do. But people can be halfstepped into anything. Incrementalism makes it hard to draw a line. With small changes, drawing a line in the sand can be easily spun as stubborn and intransigent, making the act politically infeasible. The economy is a big halfstep, which is why it is advanced first.

But if we do not draw that line, we will find ourselves minor characters in a science fiction story about a future abusive world power."

This is a very good point and well put. The blue collar workers were hardly noticed when their jobs left the country. Now that the middle-class is being gutted, and at such a rapid pace, Globalism is being noticed by at least some of America.
There is a disconnect though; those who believe in "free trade" fail to see that we do not and probably never will achieve "free trade". Their indoctrination is so complete that they are blind to the enormous Trade Deficit and 200 years of Protectionist Tariffs in America. (Those would be the first 200 years that built a strong country and a stable middle-class.)
More importantly, they fail to see that they are falling into the hands of the Globalists.
I'm not sure what the next step will be, a one-world currency? Erase the borders? It's around the corner.

I'm not sure what the next step will be, a one-world currency? Erase the borders? It's around the corner.

Erase the borders. 1) sovereignties are trying to do it already and 2) global "free" trade implys no political boundries.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.