Why is it so unpopular to be a US citizen these days? So many in the US, including IT professionals, moms and pops and college grads have bought in to the “media-hype” about globalization and the need to compete with the “best and the brightest” in other countries… really?
No, the shift in IT jobs, from the US to other countries) isn’t about skill set, experience or qualifications… rather as many of you know, it’s about who can do the work the cheapest$! Clearly, an unfair disadvantage for US IT workers, who paid college tuition in the US, has a high cost of living, and who simply cannot compete with someone who can live comfortably earning $10 per hour.
Although the US Non-immigration guest worker program has documented rules and guidelines for safe-guarding US jobs, they watch as US corporations find ‘loop holes’ and continue socially irresponsible practices, which harm US IT workers…In the meantime, while the government continues to put US workers at a clear disadvantage, … IT workers are told to re-invent themselves, … accept it and stop “whining”. I shake my head, much like Scooby, hhhmmmm?
The logical answer is that IT workers, in specified areas (e.g. Help Desk, support, QA and some programming) simply cannot compete in this scenario that the US government/ corporations have created. In all cases when possible, the company is going to chose the “cheapest” option, plain and simple; fair competition, skill set, experience, education, interviewing skills… sadly none of this is part of the equation. A sad reality that they treat US jobs, US workers like “widgets” to be traded for higher corporate profits.
What’s worse, is those who’ve bought in, those who use fuzzy logic, or no logic, and tell the unemployed IT worker to stop “whining”, really this sort of thing really drives me nuts…
What can be done, or what should be done is part of another discussion, however for starters we can stop underestimating the concerns, experience, education, and skill-set of those IT workers from the US, who have lost a jobs to insourcing, or outsourcing… If we buy into the hype and accept this as so called competition, well… we’re buying into non-truths; hurting the morale of unemployed US workers; allowing US jobs/and training opportunities to be lost, and naturally we risk a loss of potential opportunities for college grads and those thinking about getting into IT.
One poster recommended I talk about what can be done, so here it goes =)
-1 Learn about these issues and write your politicians about e-verify, Doha Rounds, and the impacts of the H1B program.
-2 Write the Obama administration and ask about the promise made to raise taxes on companies who off-shore US jobs.
-3 Support unemployed, US workers and stop suggesting they are not the best and brightest…=) or that they should just accept it and move on… In a sense yes you have to accept everything that comes you’re way; however there are things that can be done… refrain from hype and bogus talk.
-4 Blog, email, talk about how Insourcing/ and Outsourcing has impacted you! Were you forced out of a job? Are you unable to find a job? Was your job assumed by a “guest worker”?