Thread: 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

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.

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.

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.

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.).

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.