Posted on 11/13/2002 10:28:24 AM PST by dark_lord
Yet readers of the articles proclaiming a shortage would be perplexed if they also knew that Microsoft only hires 2% of its applicants for software positions, and that this rate is typical in the industry. Software employers, large or small, across the nation, concede that they receive huge numbers of re'sume's but reject most of them without even an interview. One does not have to be a ``techie'' to see the contradiction here. A 2% hiring rate might be unremarkable in other fields, but not in one in which there is supposed to be a ``desperate'' labor shortage. If employers were that desperate, they would certainly not be hiring just a minuscule fraction of their job applicants.
Here is a table showing the actual number of job applicants hired for a variety of companies:
| American Management Systems | 2% |
| Broderbund Software | 1% |
| Cisco | 5% |
|
|
|
| Cohesive | 2% |
| Datascan | 5% |
| Deltanet | 4% |
| ECbridges | 2% |
| Flashpoint Technology | 2 to 5% |
| R.D. Raab | 1% |
|
|
|
| H.L. Yoh | 4% |
| Inktomi | less than 5% |
| Microsoft | 2% |
| Net Perceptions | 2% |
| New England firm | 1% |
| Qualcomm | 4.5% |
|
|
|
| Radiant Systems | under 1% |
| Red Hat Linux | under 1% |
| Tangis | under 1% |
In other words, there is no shortage of ``bodies,'' i.e. there is no shortage of experienced computer programmers. The problem is that employers are not willing to hire them. Employers are only willing to hire from three narrow categories of programmers:
* New or recent (within a few years of graduation) college graduates, who have cheaper salaries. Note, though, that even among new computer science graduates, fewer than half are hired as programmers.
* Foreign nationals on work visas, who have cheaper salaries.
* A relatively small number of experiencedprogrammers who have background in certain highly-specialized software technologies.
Dr. Matloff says: "Hiring managers have often complained to me that their firm's Human Resources Dept. screens out resume's of applicants who the managers feel qualified. HR apparently decides to screen out the applicants who are too expensive or too old - and then complains that there is a ``shortage'' of applicants...There does seem to be coordination among the HR departments of the various firms. The HR departments of the major firms in Silicon Valley hold monthly meetings, at which the firms exchange information with each other on policy, salaries and so on. (Personal communication from Paul Donnelly, IEEE-USA, June 30, 2000.)...All the firms hire an extremely low percentage of their programming applicants, due to the fact that all the firms overstate job requirements...Almost all firms aim for applicants having three to seven years (or two to eight) of experience."
He says: "It seems safe to say that experience may not be the most valued commodity, according to a survey of 200 IT managers nationwide conducted by InformationWeek Research in May. Though age wasn't specified in the question, only 2% of the managers said they would most likely hire a worker with 10 or more years' experience. Almost half-46%-preferred to hire a worker with four to 10 years' experience, while 26% said they would hire a worker with less than three years' experience, and another 26% wanted an entry-level worker or recent college graduate."
And you are most certainly one of them.
In one case some managers in our company decided there was some problem that needed fixing. They proceeded to hire a bunch of H1Bs from a body shop and started them working. The managers neglected to tell any of us programmers what was happening.
I spent a bunch of time answering a bunch of questions from a guy who was obviously desperate to do a good job, but with no real direction.
They eventually canned all the folks with nothing getting done. And it only cost our lame-o dot.com company about $1,000,000! One of the cheaper mistakes they made.
And as you succinctly described, it is SOLELY due to the greed of those who are wealthier than the majority of the US population.
I generally have no ill will against those who are H1-B workers. They are simply coming here in response to lies told to them that there is an abundance of jobs here that either can't be filled or that lazy Americans simply don't want to apply for them..
They eventually canned all the folks with nothing getting done. And it only cost our lame-o dot.com company about $1,000,000! One of the cheaper mistakes they made.
Another executive blunder, one of MANY blunders made by those who sit in judgement of us and deny us employment.
EitherAdmit that you were totally and absolutely wrong, apologize for your insolence, and admit that US workers are worthy of respect.
You're very welcome WRhine. I speak of this not just for the benefit of those of us in the software industry, but for ALL Americans, as it IS all Americans that are suffering the consequences of these failed and insane policies.
Our government does a great job in representing and promoting foreign interests.
Sadly, they do more for foreign interests than they do for the American People.
BTW blueriver, I forgot to thank you for that link. Thank you kind sir...
Hmmm. I've never seen anything like that. Basically, I've attended meetings where we discussed design issue between engineers in order to formulate a design. We drafted documents, had more meetings in order to review those documents, then finally agreed to a design. We invited QA and architects, who then reviewed our design and test plans. We then finally agreed on all of that and proceeded to code. We had code reviews, then agreed that the code was good. The code was checked into the version control system, yada, yada, yada...
As far as conferences, we didn't really go to any, although I suppose we could have if we would have had the time. We never did as we were too busy going to meetings and writing code. Financial matters were in the realm of upper management, and we didn't really have to worry about any of that at the time. I was involved with technologies such as telecommunications and defense systems.
bmv is nothing more than a blathering idiot that knows not of which he speaks.
not=naught
I totally and absolutely disagree with that statement. I've virtully never seen any rivalry between engineers and management. I HAVE seen rivalry between engineers, and those rivalries can at times be fierce.
Only in one instance have I ever seen a manager attempt to get involved with design issues other than functionality, as he came up the ranks and thought he knew more than everyone else. He in fact didn't know more than everyone else and ended up totally mismanaging the project. After the project was hopelessly flawed and delayed past deadlines, that manager was fired. That happened a decade and a half ago however, and has nothing at all to do with H1-B workers.
Generally, managers delegate authority to team leaders who ARE engineers and who DO involve themselves with design issues, scheduling, testing, and even coding issues. Managers typically ensure that promised deadlines are met, and that the projects are proceeding according to schedule. They allocate resources as needed, and are responsible for their department's budget and expenses. Issues such as resources and needed equipment are raised and discussed at meetings and addressed by the manager as necessary.
Managers interface between the development team and upper management, who typically are more involved with sales and marketing than anything else. It all depends on how big the company is..
The managers I've worked for have all for the most part been pleasant and have never engaged in any heated debate concerning any topic concerning work or otherwise.
Those of us involved in this dillema know full well the reason for the H1-B crisis. It is GREED. Simple, pure, and unadulterated greed on the part of those top executives who are so filthy rich they could swim in a Olymipic sized pool of $100 bills and still have money left over. Of course, we COULD speculate as to OTHER reasons why industry would be compelled to replace Americans with foreigners, but that is for another day...
As we all wait for the sh*t to hit the fan.......
I don't think the switch is on. Instead of simply turning on the switch however, they want to replace the fan with central air...
"Coders"? Is that what you in the lofty towers call them? "Coders"? How insulting.
I'd give the opposite advice. If you are suited to the work and don't expect that the world owes you a house on easy street to maintain your status, you can go a long way in IT. Yes, you bust your rump staying ahead of the curve, but it's a pretty cool way to keep your mind sharp and the job unboring. If you have no initiative or are content to sit on the things you've done forever and expect to be rewarded for it, you might be in the wrong job.
Throw in the entire medical profession too.
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