Replies

I agree with you, 100%.

I am sick of Americans thinking that they are intitled to employment without competition. The other person using this death to advance an agenda which suggests that Americans need help to deal with foreign competition is even worse than the suicide.

I do not understand what the big deal about IT workers is anyway. Things change. Why didn't the man training his replacement just resign? Did he have no savings and living paycheck to paycheck? If so, who's fault is that?

We are currently supporting 39 weeks of unemployment insurance for those who cannot find work. I think the coward would have just found another reason to give up if not for this one.

Americans just do not realize how good we have it over here. There are people in other countries willing to work harder for much less. Maybe instead of trying to keep them out, we should develop a set of values that insure we do not become less valuable workers to this nation's employers.

Americans just do not realize how good we have it over here. There are people in other countries willing to work harder for much less.

If their cost of living was as high there as it is here, then perhaps they couldn't be willing to work harder for "much less".

Maybe instead of trying to keep them out, we should develop a set of values that insure we do not become less valuable workers to this nation's employers.

There are 2 billion ppl between China and India. Good luck.

Okay we could become a third world country, then I could live on the $10 dollars an hour.

Isn't the point of technology , especially info technology to streamline work and operations to make things more efficient?

If technology allows for world wide buisness operations it makes sense.

I agree that he should not have killed himself, and that his death should not be used to to advance any agenda.

That being said, I've gotta ask you what you do. Why? because I am an IT worker. I'm skilled at what I do. I like the work I do. There are not that many people in this country that are as interested or as good as I am.

I used to work in Electronics, I was very handy with a schematic and a soldering iron. I loved that kind of work. Oscilliscope's and multimeters were always on my wish lists for holidays. I can count in binary - while I sleep. Other than perhaps HAM radio, those skills are pretty much useless now.

I want to know what you do. What it is that you enjoy, what kind of job makes you feel like you have occomplished something during a days work. What is it that you do that fuels your creative urges and drives your mind to work harder.

Why do I want to know? Because if the current trend keeps up, I will need to change my carreer feild again. I'm pretty bright and I might just be a hell of a lot smarter than you. Also, I'll be willing to take less pay - because I'll be unemployed. So tell me, what is it that YOU do?

I do not understand what the big deal about IT workers is anyway. Things change. Why didn't the man training his replacement just resign? Did he have no savings and living paycheck to paycheck? If so, who's fault is that?

We are currently supporting 39 weeks of unemployment insurance for those who cannot find work. I think the coward would have just found another reason to give up if not for this one.

I know of some people who were in the same position (however, not the same company). First off, the company was offering a small severence package. Secondly, the employees were told, flat out, that if they didn't train their replacements, then they would immediately be fired, that there would be no severence, and that the company would fight to deny them unemployment. 4 weeks of salary, plus 3 months staying on the company health plan (with the ex-employee paying 100%) wasn't much, but was better then nothing. They felt they didn't have a choice.

Mark

I am sick of Americans thinking that they are intitled to employment without competition.

So Americans are supposed to compete with workers from every third world shit hole that will work for 1/3 what we can?

"we should develop a set of values that insure we do not become less valuable workers to this nation's employers"

you make me laugh

how naive .....you think value is what they (Big Business) want? they dont give a flying f*ck if you even know how to do the job. they just want the lowest labor cost possible. because that creates great qtrly numbers and yields nice bonuses…….. .in the short term, that is.

ive seen LOTS of consultants and contractors come and go....all to get replaced by some other guy that is called in to fix what the first guy F'd up.

why do they (upper mgt) keep going this route? its the f*cking dollar man. lowest labor cost possible.

im not saying (in this particular example)that these outsourcing co.s in india aren’t providing quality skilled workers. im just saying that this isn’t the greatest driver in these decisions.

im speaking as someone that started out sweating in the muddy manholes for a baby bell and has moved up all the way to technology selection and network architecture & engineering for a global company

im grateful to have had the experience and seen and done the things I’ve done that have resulted in global networks being deployed.

but something im not happy to have witnessed is that over the last 2.5 years millions of my fellow IT and telecom workers have been put out on the street.

ive been though 9 rounds of layoffs myself, so i guess i have some value????) and there are at least 2 more rounds headed my way. ive been actively searching for a way out for the last 2 years. ive been sending resumes out like crazy. the problem ? well nobody is hiring!

within my particular skill set, you may find the odd job here or there but guess what?

at least 2000-3000 other people applied for the same job. but those millions of jobs are NOT going to be reabsorbed. (I see this tech / telecom downturn much like the defense contractor downsizing of the 80’s it lasted 10 years and I predict so will this one.)

i dont know what you do for a living but try competing for your job every 2-3 months with 2000-3000 people that have PHDs. there are PHDs ive worked with that are now working at starbucks.

try putting 2 kids through college on that salary slick! sure they have retirement savings and between 6- 12 months layoff funds set aside. but thats gone now. we're going on 3 years and the college doesnt take IOUs.

oh the fed govt is hiring but they want you to come in the door already possessing a secret or TS clearance HA....yeah ive got one of those around here somewhere.

Just to be clear:
as long as i have a roof over my head, food in my kids belly, clothes on their back, and they are healthy... i can be happy. but don’t shovel that bullshit you're spewing

i in no way feel that i am ENTITLED to any job. but after investing the LAST 10 years in highly skilled & technical training because technology was supposed to be the FUTURE of our country ....one gets a little pissed....to see our jobs being handed out to the lowest bidder in another country.

ive trained and spent countless hours away from my family to feed the machine, to make myself a "valued" employee, to get my family to this standard of living.

and once ive been given the pink slip and the emergency funds ive stashed away run down. i most likely will have to take a 30% pay cut. and sell my home. and retrain for another position and eat some entry level pay for the next 3-5 years. yeah no problem.

this NAFTA BS is is just that... BS. it means F*ucking over your fellow american and smilling with that shit eating grin while pukes like you spout the virtues of competition.

I guess when someone offers to do your job for 5 cents on the dollar. you'll gladly hand it over and say " WOW I LOVE competition and now I have nowhere to shop my skills ive spent 10, 15, 20 years building.

ill survive. but one thing for sure...is ive climbed the mountain of big business and taken a GOOD LONG LOOK AT THE TOP. ive worked side by side with SVPs and VPs and some that have now become CEOs. and you know what?
f*ck all that bullshit. i want to go back to working with my hands.
at least then you know you've done something at the end of the day...instead of redesign after redesign because NO ONE at the top knows what their doing

now go be a good little "valuable" worker. until someone somewhere that nafta hasnt tapped yet pipes up and says ill do it for less much less than that guy can afford to live on....ha ha ha ha ha