Techies Sound Off on Offshoring

Monster Technology ^ | Allan Hoffman

[FR_addict]

Our technical jobs, including R&D, are being sent to offshore companies, mostly Indian companies, while the top execs compensate themselves with huge bonuses and kickbacks from these companies. This is a very short term solution and the results will be felt for years to come.

[jdege]

It's up to us, as tech workers, to keep our productivity up to where it's more cost effective to use us, rather than off-shore workers.

If we can't make the advantages of language, easy access, education, and technology work for us to the extent that we're more effective and more productive than off-shore workers, we don't deserve those high salaries.

[Ed_in_NJ]

Also an open door for our enemies to send spyware, etc., along with the 'application' code.

[MelBelle]

Thanks for the post, my job currently being reviewed for "offshoring"...just waiting to see. I work on a legacy system so I heard my company won't outsource it, but then again, who knows. I have been preparing myself to teach so that I can at least pay the mortgage, even if I have to take a $35,000 pay cut. I'm almost 42, female, working on the mainframe...it's not like I can waltz out to another company and get hired on, they are all offshoring. I keep hoping for my musician/singer husband to get that record deal quick so I can just ride a tour bus instead of work....

[lelio]

I'm waiting for spyware to be introduced or a security leak at an offshore firm.
It will take just one case of a bank's records being compromised or an individual's medical records as the company sent a recording offshore to be dictated. The individuals affected should sue and sue big time.

[FR_addict]

I have kept current all my career and continue to study and learn.

We are competing with workers may be getting as little as $5,000 a year. Now you tell me how we are going to compete.

There are also kickbacks going on. With such low salaries being paid to the workers, the offshore companies can easily afford the kickbacks. Some of the execs recommending the offshore companies are on the board of directors of the off-shore companies. The real problems are poor upper management and the US worker is suffering.

The current crop of top level execs are milking the companies. It is going to catch up with these companies eventually, but in the meantime, America is losing out.

[lelio]

I feel for you, sort of in the same boat here. I know its not any compensation, but most offshore software projects fail. Course most local software projects fail, but with offshore you have the addition of:
language barrier
time difference (ie send out an email on Monday, they get it on Tuesday, and you hear back on Wednesday if you're lucky)
workers that don't have the technical skills, but will work 80 hours a week
no face time
nepotism about who gets the jobs

But if the company can do it for 1/4 of the price it would take to hire Americans then they view it as a savings. Unfortunately we're a victim of shortsightedness.

[expatpat]

Is there a small silver lining?
There may be an opportunity to let the offshore guys do the grunge work of actual programming while US ITers do higher-level, better-paying work such as system and software design, and managing offshore projects.

[Admin Moderator]

What's the source of this article? Thanks

[lelio]

It looks like http://technology.monster.com/articles/offresponse/ from a google search. Its from a "Monster Tech Job Expert" no less! You can get the other parts of the article from there too.

[RogueIsland]

We are competing with workers may be getting as little as $5,000 a year. Now you tell me how we are going to compete.

Right there with you, man. The American dream is NOT to live like a third world country to compete with them on wages. There has to be another way.

[PatrioticAmerican]

I no more want off-shore programmers taking job in America from Americans than Microsoft wants illegal copies of their software in China.

What the Hell is the difference?

[JRandomFreeper]

I have changed careers. I was a unix sys-admin and process/tool developer for many years. I'm now in culinary school. Not too bad a transition at 41.

You want fries with that?

/john

[PatrioticAmerican]

Microsoft hires foreign workers illegally, so why shouldn't foreign people illegally copy their software?

They both are stealing.

[PatrioticAmerican]

"You want fries with that?"

At least you are serving American fries!

[BuddhaBoy]

There has to be another way.

There is.

Be Excellent.

I consult for many of the largest IT Departments in the country. In almost every case, they are staffed by 10-to 20 excellent well trained and disiplined staff, and the other 80 to 90 percent are worthless wannabe's who would rather collect software and porn on their company's computers than to improve their skills.

I'm the guy who comes in and recommends who should be fired, who is worth training, and who is good enough to keep. Most people in IT dont know enough beyond being a danger to their company. This goes double for people working on homogenious Windows networks.

Excellent IT workers never have to fear unemployment. Their companies depend on them, and pay them almost whatever they ask. The problem is that it is hard to be excellent at IT, and a lot of people are sold a bill of goods by one of those fly-by-night technical training schools, who give out certifications just for showing up.

[RogueIsland]

I would say that you are correct if you are talking about a shop run by competent people. Unfortunately, some of us work in shops where even the IT director is, um, technologically challenged. I'm not sure some of these bozos are able to recognize the good talent from the zombies.

[Tokhtamish]

Excellent IT workers never have to fear unemployment. Their companies depend on them, and pay them almost whatever they ask.

Yes and bad things never happen to good people, all Saturdays have excellent weather, and the sensitive, caring guy always gets the girl.

No American IT worker is so good, so irreplaceable (unless he is maintaining some legacy system written in Latin) that he cannot be replaced with an H1b who is every bit as smart and technical as he and will work for very much less.

When they came for the auto workers, I did not cry out because I was not an auto worker. When they came for the steel workers I did not cry out because I was not a steel worker. When they came for the textile workers, I did not cry out because I was not a textile worker. When they came for the middle managers, I did not cry out because I was not a middle manager. When they finally came for us techies there was no one left to cry out.

[jz638]

Any job worth doing is worth management mucking up. In my IT experience, bad management has cost much more to companies than lazy (largely the ignored and demoralized) IT worker bees.

[OldFriend]

IT going to Manilla, Philippines too.

From what we have observed, eventually these jobs will be back 'home' because the productivity is not there nor is the skill set required.

Unfortunately, man years of talent will have been lost.