The Unstoppable Shift of IT Jobs Overseas

514x0r writes "The spectre in the back of many of our minds is that in a few years we may be replaced by an underpaid programmer in India. Newsforge.com is currently running an article about why this is unstoppable, that actually ends on a positive note...sort of." Newsforge and Slashdot are both part of OSDN.

Green mustache?

[ogre2112]

"corporate biggies outside of software companies tend to consider their IT people as somewhat ... strange ... more often than not. This is not a new phenomenon. I remember a guy who worked as a mainframe tech for a bank back in the late '60s who went by the name "Paul the Prophet," and had a dyed-green mustache."

Ok, that's just hilarious.

Fine

[MRsackler]

This just means that I could get a low paying job as a programmer, and hire an indian coder on half my salary to do all of my work for me. Sounds great! :)

Wonderful

[the Man in Black]

So, not only am I competing with hundreds of other unemployed IT workers for every job from sysadmin to help desk, I have to factor in companies saying "Well, we can just outsource this position. Much cheaper". This is doing nothing for my positivity.

14 weeks of unemployment left. *sigh*

30 or 40 years ago?

[holzp]

First of all, I want to point out that American programmers and other IT people were outstandingly unsympathetic when factory workers' jobs started going overseas 30 or 40 years ago

Yeah those 7 guys were real assholes.

speaking of job creation and destruciton...

[infonick]

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said someone may steal from it at night; so they created a night watchman, GS-4 position and hired a person for the job. Then Congress said, How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning position and hired two (2) people, one person to write the instructions, GS-12 and one person to do time studies, GS-11. Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Q. C. position and hired two (2) people, one GS-9 to do the studies and one GS-11 to write the reports. Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" so they created the following positions, a time keeper, GS-09, and a payroll officer, GS-11, and hired two (2) people. Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative position and hired three (3) people, an Admin. Officer GM-13, Assistant Admin. Officer GS-12, and a Legal Secretary GS-08. Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall cost," So they laid off the night watchman.

Good career choice

[Doctor Sbaitso]

So let me get this straight: American IT workers are being replaced by Indians. At the same time, they are being replaced by humanoid robots [slashdot.org].

I'm sure glad I decided to become an Indian robot designer instead of a fireman!

Re:Exporting of Jobs

[antic]

Yeh! He's arrogant and even though everyone wants his products, they're too expensive!

I'm all for the exporting of Jobs too!

Oh... *jobs*...

Re:Advocates of freedom don't advocate this.

[Kevin DeGraaf]

I refuse to support people who want to screw me.

I, for one, do emphatically support people who want to screw me.

Re:Optimisim?

[holzp]

Why would they? Those guys only sold a handful of Segways. I hardly call that an industry.

Does anyone notice...

[Slime-dogg]

How amusing it is that an article about jobs moving overseas is posted by a guy named "514x0r?" It seems that the reason is given before the actual problem is stated...

Re:Exporting of Jobs

[Leers]

I'm actually thinking it might be a good idea to move offshore myself.

I too was thinking about building a floating platform off the cost. The rent would be cheap and I could commute to san jose by speed boat. Oh wait, thats a stupid idea.

Re:Bad?

[Dispader]

Actually, I don't have any clothes made in Thailand, China, or Indonesia. And, while we're on about it, those should be taxed, too.

I don't want to get too much on a soap box, but this entire article pisses me off. It's just the warbling of a disenfranchised or compeltely turned-off generation. "We can't possibly do anything as a society to better things, it's too hard." Whiner.

I know this post is just trying to respond to an apparent hypocricy in another post, but it's about time that this angry, "we-can't-do-anything-but-complain" generation just grew the hell up. I'm not a hypocrite, and the only reason you assume that all his clothes are made in Thailand is because it's become nearly impossible to buy clothes from workers who aren't exploited.

And let's be very clear here... the fact that it's nearly impossible to survive in this freaky economy-as-it-stands without buying something made from sweat shop, oppressed, or just plain slave labor is the problem in the first place.

...and using that abysmal state of things to proffer a cheap ad hominem attack on someone down on their luck because they're out of a job is just inhuman.

So here's another smiley-faced ad hominem attack just for you, but it's not as guileful: go f*ck yourself.

Jake

Re:Learn how to sell

[Tablizer]

Put yourself in situations where you are forced to meet new people - preferably 10 a day.

As a slashdot nerd, I think I would rather take the mechanical pencil out of my pocket protector, remove my glasses, poke myself in the eye with the mechanical pencil, and then put my glasses back on.