.NET Brain Droppings

Just be aware that candidates (both Republican and Democrat) are unlikely to be entirely candid on the issue. Republicans probably will de-emphasize the issue, while reiterating their general support for free trade, while Democrats will attempt to demagogue the issue, and will propose "solutions" that will in all likelihood be worse than the problem (if a problem it is).

Neither party will openly discuss whether free trade in labor (or skills) is beneficial in the aggregate, despite the pain that it may cause to individuals in affected industries.

We know fairly clearly that free trade in goods is beneficial in aggregate to both parties trading, even when some individuals are worse off (that is, the lower costs and improved effeciencies make most people better off, even though some people may be temporarily displaced from their jobs). It's less clear that the same is true for outsourcing, because we have less experience to go on.

Personally, I think we should be careful about wishing for politicians to "solve" this problem until we establish clearly that it *is* a problem, and perhaps even after. Politicians aren't economists, after all, and they have a tendency (on both sides of the aisle) of being fairly ham-handed when it comes to "solving" economic problems.

When it comes to politicians, one of my favorite sayings is "Don't just do something! Stand there!" :-)

I'm a sometimes software developer by trade, and I've worked in a variety of settings. Sometimes for a product company, sometimes in an enterprise environment, sometimes for myself.

Something I feel you have to remember when thinking about this issue is the fact that for a lot of companies, software development is NOT their core competency. Often it is something that is done to support their business. Back office applications, web sites, B2B integration etc. In a world were the tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it easier and easier to implement business applications and decreasing the need for specialized knowledge, is it really strange it becomes commoditized? I'm not sure it is. It strikes me as the natural progression of the industry.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm not scared that the work that I do today will perhaps be shipped abroad at some point, but I feel like the only way for me to make sure that does not happen is to make sure that I possess skills that can not be moved from whomever I'm supplying them to. That will set me apart. I also firmly believe that there will be backlash. For those of us that have been around for a while, we've seen similar trends before. The industry will at some point self-regulate and find the right balance for outsourcing and off-shoring work. But don't think that it will go away, it won't.

I don't know how to make sure that your job will not be cut in favor of outsourcing. I've been unemployed. Right now I'm fortunate enough to be gainfully employed, doing something that I (most of the time) enjoy. Will that always be the case? Probably not.

All this to say, don't count on the politicians to put breaks in place to stop this trend, or for the industry to stop. It won't happen. You have to count on yourself to stay ahead of the curb, Darwinian as that may sound, it is probably the truth.

-AnonDude