Is Outsourcing Tech Jobs Good?

I'm still young, but the newspapers those with real worries read are asking questions about outsourcing technology jobs to India and elsewhere from within the United States. Is this a good or a bad thing? Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape, has decided not to support the Democratic Party this year because of John Kerry's "anti-business" stance (i.e., removing tax incentives that encourage corporations to replace U.S. employees with jobs overseas), according to the Monday, April 12, 2004, issue of the New York Times (1). Andreessen claims that outsourcing (not coincidentally what his current company consults other technology companies on) provides gains for businesses, U.S. employees, and the countries where the jobs are moving to.

Opponents claim that outsourcing does the opposite. It reduces salaries for U.S. employees while unpatriotically enriching corporations. I'm not especially inclined to listen to such anti-market sob stories, but the patriotic touch makes me reconsider.

Because I'm a naïve young go-getter, I'd like to know what the rest of you--young and old alike--think about this issue that profoundly affects us.

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/12/te...gy/12give.html

How could it be good? It's only good for companies looking to save money. People in other countries work for pennies compared to what US programmers/technicians make. Sure, it's good for business and bosses looking to fatten their pockets... but it sure ain't good for you or me. You think it's hard to find jobs now..........

Yea wait till 5 years from now, it'll be near unheard of to find a good job. American computer jobs have been valued and pushed as "the wave of the future" for years now, which has caused the market to flood with people demanding high pay or terms, which in turn forces companies to look elsewhere.

The majority went for too much too soon.

Well i am an Indian and its good for my country(as of now).. but in the long run i feel there has to be a mutual benifit.. May be the US will hold jobs related to R&D etc where as mechanical jobs can be outsourced..... But overall i dont think whats happening is not good for the US in the long run.. people there have to have money to buy the products they make...

outsourcing jobs is very good for India and other countries because of how many jobs it provides people. providing jobs is always a great benefit to a country as it helps the economy so much.

it is not good for America because jobs will now be harder to find.

but in my opinion, as long as it does not go too far, Americans should be able to handle it. maybe it will motivate us Americans to actually work for a change instead of being so lazy.

I have heard it is very bad and also think the same. On the other hand I have heard what they are paid is actually better due to the countries economy they are in, so the money they are being paid is worth more even though it is less than what we would get here.

anonytmouse, outsourcing doesn't really refer to countries buying their technology from other countries. It sounds like that's what you're talking about. They are talking about workers being hired from other countries. Entirely different topic.

I doubt very seriously that in the case of, lets say India, it would make much sense for a company to outsource American workers as they cost much, much more.

So tired of this argument.

The Outsourcing Bogeyman by Daniel W. Drezner

Summary: According to the election-year bluster of politicians and pundits, the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries has become a problem of epic proportion. Fortunately, this alarmism is misguided. Outsourcing actually brings far more benefits than costs, both now and in the long run. If its critics succeed in provoking a new wave of American protectionism, the consequences will be disastrous -- for the U.S. economy and for the American workers they claim to defend.

Read the full article HERE

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anonytmouse

>> anonytmouse, outsourcing doesn't really refer to countries buying their technology from other countries. <<

So, you would be happy with Microsoft or Oracle shifting there entire operation to India, as long as they "shrink wrap" the software they ship to the US?

A company buying a copy of Windows (developed in the US), a chip from Intel(designed in US), a database from Oracle(developed in US), a mobile phone from Motorola(designed in US), or searching on Google(developed in US), buying a book on Amazon.com(developed in US) are all examples of outsourcing development and technology design to the US.

>> I doubt very seriously that in the case of, lets say India, it would make much sense for a company to outsource American workers as they cost much, much more. <<

When an Indian company needs 10000 computer chips, they don't hire Indian designers and developers, they outsource the design and development to Intel in the US.

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Anonytmouse:

what you are describing is not the outsourcing of scientific research/development to the US, but the importation of US designed goods. They use our technology because the cost of implementing their own is too much of a capital investment issue(when the latest intel plants cost 1,000,000,000,000 USD to make, there is no way india could do it themselves).

the problem is the US has been getting too used to the idea that it is the top dog in technology/education/design and is now getting shown how a Indian Technical university can release graduates as skilled as MIT grads for a fraction of the cost(I forgot the name of their main university, but it is the only university in the world AFAIK to get a 5 out of 5 rating by Carnegie Mellon.).

anonytmouse, EvBladeRunnervE is correct.

For American corporations, outsourcing jobs is a wonderful idea. They pay a small fraction of the amount an American would be paid to software engineers in other countries. It is similar to how most companies pay a pittance to slave laborers to produce their highly overpriced goods (such as Nike in Indonesia, for example). As good as it might be for large companies, it may not be as great for the US economy in the long run (depending on how you look at it), but either way, there is no way that outsourcing is beneficial for American software engineers. You don't have to be a mongoloid to realize that.

There are several different perspectives from which to view this topic and as many opinions. Personally, I would prefer that computer jobs stay here, but surely companies, Indians, and other foreign countries would disagree.

so does this mean that 5-7 years from now when i can get a full time job as a software engineer, it would be better to move to india? I don't really know much about this whole thing, but from what I can tell, it doesn't seem like a good thing.

Points of view:
Person outside of the US (for example, in India)-
Sure, it's fine, because we're getting more jobs and more money than we did before

Corporate Head of some business in US-
I love the idea because I only have to pay a fraction of a price of what i'd normally have to pay to people in the US!

Software Engineer in US-
I now do not have a job

i dunno, that's just what it seems like to me, probably wrong *meh*

no, you cannot move to india to get a job there as india IIRC has a law that an Indian company cannot hire out of country residents as workers if their is an Indian who is capable of doing the job.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EvBladeRunnervE

Anonytmouse:
shown how a Indian Technical university can release graduates as skilled as MIT grads for a fraction of the cost(I forgot the name of their main university, but it is the only university in the world AFAIK to get a 5 out of 5 rating by Carnegie Mellon.).

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That must be the IIT's (Indian institute of technology).. Only the best of the best make it in there... China is studying out IIT models to be implemented in china... It is from the IIT that most of the initial s/w professionals and researchers came out....

"The smartest, the most successful, most influential Indians who've migrated to the US seem to share a common credential: They are graduates of the IIT,"


In 2002, 1,69,563 high school students appeared for the screening test of the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and 3,878 (approximately 2.3 per cent of the candidates who appeared for the screening test) were offered admission to IIT.