Starting to sweat bullets yet?

A recurring topic of conversation around the office as of late is Outsourcing. OUCH! Yep. I said it! the “O” word. What can we do about it? I'm not really thrilled about the future of IT in this country. I would hate to see my job go off to another country, as have jobs in industry and manufacturing in decades past. Here are a couple of interesting articles that I found recently:

CNN/Money article 1

CNN/Money article 2

So what do you think? Working in technology is all I've ever done, and all I've ever wanted to do. But as a contingency, I'm toying around with the idea of going back to school for a “backup” degree. Who knows what the next 15 years will bring? It's best to start thinking about it now.

I appreciate the feedback.

Published 29 September 2003 08:33 AM by eking1013

Comments

# Jakub Skopal said on 29 September, 2003 09:25 AM
Hi,
one can see a couple of companies here in Czech Republic rely only on out-of-country jobs. Number of companies specialize in selling people/work off the country.
Anyway, you can always move here and start programming here :-) I know a couple of Americans who actually made thei're visit here
a whole-life stay :-) They say it's great experience and more fun here :-)
# Eric King said on 29 September, 2003 10:27 AM
Alrighty. Email me some information @ eking@unumprovident.com. I'd love to hear more about it.
# Dave said on 29 September, 2003 01:03 PM
There are some certainties in this economy.

First, many large consulting firms will outsource junior-level programming jobs to the lowest possible bidder.

Second though is this - a quality programmer capable of thinking outside of the box who can provide innovative solutions and has practical knowledge of areas not at all affiliated with IT will always have a job in this country too. I just saved my employer $30k in consulting fees because I was able to integrate two large commercial apps with a $30 component and now our customers can view their safety documents online. Before this, I was able write a custom applet inside a large HR system to query and build employee group for pension calculations. Most of our 'crack' technical staff could do neither. One involved very technical coding and developing and the second involved knowledge of HR processes. Outsource my job? They may someday, but I'm quite confident I can find employment elsewhere very quickly.

The third certainty - reread my last paragraph. Be critical about my writing please. Yes, a bit wordy. But was I able to clearly express myself and communicate my thoughts? Eric, you do not need another college degree. You only need to use other skills besides the technical ones you acquired while getting your first one. Namely, communication. Look around you at work. Talk with others who have outsourced. Communication skills are rarely considered while the decision to outsource are made, yet are immediately missed afterwards. A programmer that can speak clearly and on the listener's level has just increased their value to their employer.
# Eric said on 29 September, 2003 01:14 PM
Thanks for the comments. The fact of the matter is that I never finished the first degree. I just wound up working and never was able to get back to school. But now I find myself working for a wonderful employer who will reimburse tuition. So as I consider taking advantage of the opportunity, I ask myself if a degree in something other than Computer Science would be advantageous. Would someone with a degree in Finance, but 10 years of IT experience mean anything? Particularly if it became difficult to find work in IT?
# Don said on 15 December, 2003 02:52 AM
I got laid off last year from Bank of America because my job was outsourced to India. I was a Senior Vice President and I had 13 years of experience at the time.

I now work for Microsoft. I think good people will always find a job however, I moved from the east coast to the west coast and I had to leave a city where I spent the last 11 years.

What do I think about outsourcing? I think if it goes unchecked it will ruin American IT workers. Also it will make college students think twice about getting a degree in CS or engineering.

Don

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