Job Migration Is Draining Silicon Valley
from the there-go-the-jobs dept
A laid of Silicon Valley worker talks about how many of the jobs that used to be here have moved overseas. Unlike some, he doesn’t seem all that angry about it. He basically says that tech workers here either need to reinvent themselves or hope that there’s another technology boom that needs their skills. Since the technology boom scenario doesn’t seem likely to him… he suggests techies reinvent themselves and look for different types of jobs.
Comments on “Job Migration Is Draining Silicon Valley”
As a Tech Worker Myself...
I haven’t had any problem finding jobs in the last year or two. Of course, I’m not in Silicon Valley, but as far as I can tell there are still plenty of jobs available. I am a hardcore OOP developer doing C# work in Phoenix, AZ… My wife is a developer and we have lots of friends who are developers and most of us aren’t having too many problems.
For the foreseeable future, I can’t imagine businesses running out of development needs or outsourcing even more than a small minority of them overseas. On the contrary, I think that demand for good developers will continue to grow. Technology is not dead!
Re: As a Tech Worker Myself...
I agree. Lots of jobs available for “real” tech folks and we’re still having a very hard time finding qualified workers. This is in the Pacific Northwese.
Re: Re: As a Tech Worker Myself...
What to you mean by “real” tech folks? I’m here in the northeast. Most of the ads here are looking for a server admin, sql guru and a webmaster all in one and want to pay them $50,000. The job descriptions (here at least) are ridiculous and the pay is worse. For some reason companies here seem to think their IT workers are supposed to give up the lives and their relationships for as little pay as they can give.
We've gone through this before
10 years ago, books like “Decline of the American Programmer” were bestsellers.
Fact is, foreign workers, either offshore or H-1B, do not have good language skills. Their code is poorly documented, if at all. In the office, they have poor social skills, form their own cliquish groups, and alienate themselves. We’re beyond the phase where any grunt who can program is a good worker.
As software becomes more sophisticated, integrating into daily life, taking on legal importance, one needs tech workers with excellent English writing skills. I have a liberal arts degree and code/manage a public DNA matching service in the biotech industry. Every single word shown on the screen has important legal ramifications. A coding whiz who can’t speak English could never do my job.