Technology Crisis

I'm an American Information Technology Specialist. I'm lazy, greedy, dumb and wasteful.

It's sad that a country that loves it's technology so much (i.e. America), is desperate to bring qualified engineers into the country from elsewhere on the grounds of both lower wages and higher skill levels. Apparently there are a lot more geeks outside of this "great" country that are smarter and cheaper than myself and others who are more qualified. Just read any diatribe on the H1-B Visa issue that's flying around the tech world right now. We consume, but we cannot produce.

Competition isn't just about saving money - it's about having a superior product or (more commonly) service. It's a simple cause and effect: If American workers can't produce innovation for the same price as workers in other countries, why hire them? This is the age of the global economy has produced a crisis.

Meanwhile, rather than trying to better themselves and be more competitive in a growing arena of outsourced positions, Technology workers are getting out more and more. From the looks of it, I can't see a lull in this trend anywhere on the horizon. It would appear that if things continue to go the way they are going now, we're going to have a country devoid of domestically produced Technology and Technology support. You think it's bad calling Tech Support now? Wait until you get someone in China who can't speak Engrish berry good.

Obviously, we started out with high expectations for wage, job autonomy and security. Now, all of that has been thrown out. Either innovate your job, or be outsourced. You may work for less money in the future. You may be expected to know more and continue to improve your education.

So why would anyone want to endure such "torture"? There are plenty of opportunities in this great countries for ex-techies.

I can't give you a good answer without being labeled a hypocrite or fascist. Oh wait, when has that ever bothered me?

If you are truly concerned with the American Dream, it's your duty to raise the bar. Learn a new programming language - trust me, they're getting easier. Accept that you're going to work harder (possibly longer hours). Heck, if you do it right, you likely can work fewer hours and produce more because you are smarter. Don't give up just because you don't get much of a raise or have to take a pay cut. Remember that we here in America have been living off of the spoils of the rest of the world for decades. Spend some time in Mexico or Cuba and you'll see what I'm talking about. We're got it good here, Chuck. All of a sudden, driving a Hybrid Camry vs. a Ford Excursion seems like a really, really good idea. Living in a 1300 sq ft house instead of a 3000 sq ft house is an upgrade.

Change sucks. Guess what? It's going to happen to every other industry, too. Tech is the easiest to do this to. We have the Internet, which has made a commodity out of international communications. Good work, geeks. Wrote your own demise, huh?

Back to work. I've got to learn Cascading Style Sheets and ASP this weekend. Bite me, uneducated slobs.

Slobingly,
Gregsta'