Comments on: Job market for techies to get healthier?

By: Sandra M. Business Systems Analyst, Louisville, Co

Sandra M. Business Systems Analyst, Louisville, Co — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:41:47 +0000

If the stimulus plan does indeed generate IT jobs, I’m afraid that ‘they’ will find a way of sending the majority of them to India.

By: Pat, Sherman Oaks, California

Pat, Sherman Oaks, California — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:34:18 +0000

LOL!

By: Peter, Bethpage, NY

Peter, Bethpage, NY — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:18:07 +0000

When are people in this country going to wake up. This is our tax money folks. We are paying for this. Our kids will be paying for this. On top of that, we are paying into the health care system. If this money goes to create even one job in India, then maybe Obama should resign.

http://www.straightchatter.blogspot.com/

By: Annie

Annie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:50:46 +0000

Maybe you were unconsciously thinking of Patsy Cline, the legendary country singer (same spelling of Cline!). “Crr-AY-zee for lovin’ you….”

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:52:56 +0000

Oops, didn’t see that Ms. Cline is actually Mr. Cline. Sorry about that.

By: Pat, Sherman Oaks, California

Pat, Sherman Oaks, California — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:46:50 +0000

Ms. Cline may have been factual about the 30 people her company hired and the 100+ people she hopes to see hired thanks to the stimulus package, but she didn’t say who those people were. I’m guessing they’re Hindus. Why? Because if you go to nextgen.com, as I did, and look at their webinar schedule, you’ll see two webinar titles: “CHC and Indian Health – Grants Now Available” and “Indian Health Center: Opportunities From the Economic Stimulus Bill”. If I didn’t know any better, NextGen appears to be saying one thing is public and doing something else behind closed doors. It makes me wonder about the people that other companies say they’ll hire with no experience and train. How much you want to bet those people won’t be Americans? Not whining here, just giving an opinion.

By: Pat, Sherman Oaks, CA

Pat, Sherman Oaks, CA — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:18:13 +0000

What’s business intelligence and data mining? I’ve never heard of those.

By: Peter, Bethpage, NY

Peter, Bethpage, NY — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:36:23 +0000

Whether there are jobs today is not the whole question. The problem is that theindustry is noy alive and well in the United States. Young people are not going to enter an industry that does not pay and that is being outsourced. If you are a technologist, ask yourself this question :
“Will I want my child to persue a career in technology?”.

http://straightchatter.blogspot.com/

By: Annie

Annie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:43:32 +0000

Ben, let me ask *you*: Are you saying Pat Cline (president of NextGen) is a liar and the tens of thousands of jobs on Dice.com are not real jobs? It’s easy to bitch about India but are there truly no opportunities for tech professionals in the U.S.? I find that very hard to believe.

By: Annie

Annie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:41:39 +0000

Anonymous — How do you know the IT money is going to end up in India? Do you have evidence of that, or are you simply assuming?

By: Doc, Wilmington, NC

Doc, Wilmington, NC — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:49:17 +0000

A fundamental component of technology is change. Technology seeks to discover new solutions to problems as they become solvable. Information technology seeks to solve those problems related to the acquisition, storage, management and distribution of information resources. As our needs, related to Information change, our technological tools change to meet those needs.

In most industries, there are those that design, build and maintain. IT is no different. If I recall, primary initiatives of the stimulus package are education, health care and energy. Each of these areas are in need of new technologies that improve the acquisition, storage, management and distribution components of their respective fields.

If the Obama administration is going to fund, via this stimulus package, renewed efforts in the mentioned fields, it is critical that this funding be managed properly and responsibly so that American workers gain the lion’s share of the monies. It will be the Obama administration’s responsibility to provide the management and oversight to insure this happens.

Sadly, the government track record for managing money is not usually very impressive or beneficial to Americans. Corruption, bid rigging, kick backs, pork projects and a long list of other examples of thievery and abuse cloud our governments past in managing such resources.

Yet, every day is a new day with new opportunities to do the right thing. We can expect a portion of this money to be stolen from the American people but we should expect and even demand that the lion’s share go to those it is professed to help.

In the IT field, there are numerous industry trade shows and organizations. I would suggest and hope that those organizations are taking careful observations of every stimulus dollar – where it goes, what it goes for and who it goes to. If the money is to go to us, then we, as an industry should decide where it ends up. If we could develop a collective IT industry plan as to how funding should be managed, maybe the Obama administration would take notice and accept our leadership.

If we allow CEO’s and other execs to grab the money I expect much of it will go into their own pockets. We have to accept that most of our executive managers are nothing more than politicians, with a real job. Grassroots workers can make better and more equitable decisions regarding financial distribution.

So, to finalize, there is money available to improve the quality of life for all Americans. The areas of education, health care and energy have been specifically chosen as places our leadership wants to focus on. Technology, which includes Information Technology stands ready to take on these new challenges with innovation and a willingness to get to work. We only ask that the money be managed well, distributed fairly and targeted on projects that are well defined, well planned and highly visible to those of us in the industry that are expected to get it done. We want to see the last dollar spent go in the pocket of we that gave it in the first place and see a good result as an outcome.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:17:42 +0000

Let’s get real here! My country has to stop giving, giving and giving with getting nothing in return. This is my tax money. My tax money should not be used to generate jobs in India. If India wants jobs, perhaps the Indian government should do something to stimulate their economy by taxing their workers 20, 30 and 40%. For straight talk read my blog:

http://straightchatter.blogspot.com/

By: Peter, Bethpage, NY

Peter, Bethpage, NY — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:10:46 +0000

Let me ask you something? If you are a technologist in the U.S. getting paid 100k, how can you possibly compete with somebody get paid 20k in India. Perhaps, if we lower our living standards. Maybe, I can stop paying taxes, stop financing social security for our seniors, stop financing the war, stop financing the bailout of firms that continue to outsource jobs. Better yet, maybe I should become a journalist and pretend I know about an industry that I truly know nothing about.

By: Annie

Annie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:49:23 +0000

Peter, nobody said you are whining. But some people are whining, and it doesn’t help them. There is a BIG difference between discussing an issue intelligently and saying, “The world sucks, I’m just going to cry about it without having to change my own behavior or attitude at all.” It’s patently not true that “we have outsourced everything” — but it probably is true that, if you can’t prove why you’re worth more than some indian guy, then maybe you’re in the wrong business. And P.S., Indian costs are catching up with U.S. costs, so maybe at some point it will be a truly level playing field. One can hope!

By: Peter, Bethpage, NY

Peter, Bethpage, NY — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:39:57 +0000

Every time people bring up an issue that is affecting their life and indirectly the lives of others, some people call it whining. If we do not bring up these issues, how do we expect to resolve them. I for one have no regrets about leaving the tech industry that I’ve been in for 20 years. I’ll start a route delivering potato chips, coach my son’s baseball team and lead a normal life. The real question is not about whining or about my job or my life; it’s about this country becoming dumber and dumber by the minute. We have outsourced everything. Technology is in it’s infancy and if we outsource this, we are outsourcing the very guts of the future economic growth in this country. Believe me, nobody is whining here!

By: Annie

Annie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:21:16 +0000

Pat, I would refer you to Jeff from Baltimore MD, below. Not all tech jobs go to India. (Too many do — but not all.) Time to quit whining and figure out your next step.

By: Pat, Sherman Oaks, California

Pat, Sherman Oaks, California — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:15:39 +0000

I was simply agreeing with those who pointed out that the jobs created by the stimulus package will be outsourced to India and the Philippines, and that the “Ask Annie” March 27th article didn’t reflect the realities of that particular marketplace. But I can do is ask where I might find the training to least find a part-time position even if the pay is low. If I can’t, then it’s career change time.

By: Benoit Dallas GA.

Benoit Dallas GA. — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:26:59 +0000

As an IT professional soon I will be able to underbid overseas competitors because I and everyone else is becoming poorer in this country. Look at the tent cities on the news. The way to get the government to pay attention is to vote out incumbents every year. I try to buy American and local products only. If its made overseas then I do without or buy a used version to hurt the multinationals. If we don’t do this it will keep getting worse

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:06:29 +0000

What we are seeing today is the result of sending all jobs overseas. Companies want to save money. They do not want to
pay the American wage, but they want the American consumer. As you can see the boo hand in hand. Today with less and less Americans with jobs, there is less purchasing power. The companies are biting the hand that feeds the. Outsourcing is a big issue that is not on everybody’s radar as of yet. I would like to make this issue well known. Please write your congressmen and Senator. I have a blog where you can post you comments and ideas on how to get media attention on this important subject.

http://outsourcingtheusa.blogspot.com

By: Martin Ontario, CA

Martin Ontario, CA — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:23:27 +0000

I am an Senior Programmer and have yet to meet a programmer from India that can keep up with me. Most of the time they are in their cube on the phone talking to someone back in Mumbai on how to do something. They rarely take the initiative to do something, they only do what they are told to do and it drives me crazy. Some of the best foreign programmers I worked with are American, Russian, English and German. Yes, there have been exceptions but more often then not I am not impressed and agree with Downtownplaya. We need to educate our citizens instead of taking on H1B’s or outsourcing. I get so sick of trying to explain the business rules or workflow to Indians I end up programming it myself.