[ale] IT moving offshore

[Fulton Green]

Great comments from everyone so far. My observations/questions:

- The article seems to address those whose primary (if not only) function
  is to write code from design specs. If most of those specs are actually
  drawn up stateside, then it might be high time for those of us that call
  ourselves "software developers/engineers" to start learning all about
  software architecture so we can be the ones drawing up the specs instead
  of watching our programming job(s) go offshore. Easier said than done,
  perhaps.
- Most of these offshore situations seem to affect the business software
  sector. Would it be advantageous to concentrate on computer infrastructure
  (OSes, compilers, routers), emerging technologies such as wireless and
  handhelds, and/or science and engineering apps? I've been toying with the
  idea of taking some biology classes so I can get into the bioinformatics
  market. And, obviously, most defense software has to not only remain
  stateside, but be written by US citizens (and in some cases, naturalized
  citizens don't count).
- Barring those options, there's always B-school. At least Atlanta has two
  top-tier fulltime MBA programs (Emory, Tech) and a top-five night program
  at GSU. The question being: should I concentrate on a technology-related
  specialty (MIS, e-business), or just totally abandon technology
  altogether, given these ever-increasing signs of treating technology as a
  commoditized skilled trade rather than as a profession?
- And when I accuse technology of being commoditized, I'm not thinking in
  terms of the offshore situation. I've just been increasingly incensed at
  all these daytime TV ads from the vocational schools that basically say
  the same false promise: "Laid off? Get trained as a (insert formerly hot
  technology job title here) and watch your future take off! Call (insert
  future BBB target here) today!". Look for the ads in between the
  ambulance-chaser attorneys and debt relief agencies.

BTW, the guy who runs DotCom Scoop ( www.DotComScoop.com ) is now posting
re'sume's from people who need work. Not saying that it'll get you
somewhere, but at least it's another option.

On Mon, May 20, 2002 at 10:56:32PM -0400, Transam wrote:
> want to protect their jobs, IT workers will have to acquire strong
> business skills. "Where all the development is outsourced, you've got
> to have people to manage that," explains John Brudi, a DB2 programmer
> at Radio Shack, who decided to take some business courses at George
> Washington University after the company announced its outsourcing plan

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