American IT is in trouble, and not because of H1B.
Or rather, the H1-B program is just a *symptom* of the problem. America Big IT is where American Big Auto Makers were in the 1970s. Replacing American workers with H1-Bs leads to longer time-to-market, a lower quality end-product, and lower costs. The lower cost temporarily raises the stock price.
The modern IT 'Pointy-Haired Manager' only cares about the stock price. And that's what fuels the system.
The Real Problem is the 'Dilbert' World
The Real Prophet of Truth for the modern world is Scott Adams. His strip, 'Dilbert', chronicles what we in the IT industry see every single day -- massive mismanagement on a scale that would not be allowed in almost any other industry. You can not BELIEVE the things we all see.
75% of all corporate IT projects FAIL.
It is an epidemic.
To be a project manager for an Auto plant, you have to have quite a bit of knowledge about auto manufacturing. To be a project manager in just about *any* other industry, you have to be skilled and experienced in the product and production methods involved.
But as Scott Adams shows daily -- not in IT. For some reason, Project Managers almost never have any skills or experience in software development. Modern 'Big IT' is so poorly managed, and they use their power to squash (buy/copy/threaten/coerce distributors/etc) the entrepeneurs who would carry us into the next tech revolution.
It Has To Be Software
The tech revolution can't carry much farther on hardware. With the exception of bandwidth, the average PC user has far more technical power at their fingertips than they currently need.
If the 'tech revolution' is to move forward, it will be on the backs of software.
H1-B Outsourcing Does Not Save Money
I specifically work in my company's project management group. I see the numbers.
H1-Bs are *very* skilled people, on average. I've worked with many. But in the same way that Japanese Engineers tend to be very skilled. They grow up in a system that discourages individuality. They are very good at doing something 'off the rack'. If you tell them exactly what you need, and how you want it done, they excel.
But that describes almost no software design, unfortunately.
The Results Are Already Coming In
Giving the work to H1-B's is not profitable. It takes 3-4 times as long to come up with a finished product, and the quality of the end product is almost always far, far lower. Not because they aren't skilled, but because software design is not something that you can teach in a college. Design skill requires independent thinking, creativity, etc. That which Americans excel at.
One of my favorite examples is Dell's Phone Support, here in Austin. They outsourced all their phone support to India, and it now stinks. It's like pulling teeth to get any help.
But the executives in modern IT have no concern about the end-product. The 'Dilbert' "Pointy-Haired Manager" is so amazingly short-sighted and inept it's incredible.
Programmer Pricing In A 'Free' Market
The IT world is in a similar labor situation as the NFL once was. The management reaps almost all the reward, and the 'front-line' workers get almost nothing.
If you can develop code 3 times faster than someone else, you deserve 3 times the salary.
Do you think this happens? Not on your life.
Typically, only management gets bonuses. Management makes far more than 'talent'. In my company, I was actually told that if I wanted to rise any higher I'd have to go into management.
A 'Management' Revolution
Once, almost all quality TVs were made in America.
Once, the American Auto dominated the world.
The American Govt is now so mismanaged, it's hard to imagine how it can stand. America's most hopeful industry, IT, is killing itself.
The only thing that can save us is some sort of 'management' revolution.
But remember, my opinion is worth *exactly* what you just paid for it.
