To H-1B Or Not To H-1B?

Are we facing an IT shortage of crisis proportions, or systematically destroying a skilled and capable homegrown workforce?

Countering claims that the United States is facing a critical shortage of skilled technologists, former IT professionals like Lovelace and Adler point to depressed wages and their inability to score even preliminary interviews as evidence that the market is already flooded. Yet at the same time, technology companies such asMicrosoft (NSDQ: MSFT), Google (NSDQ: GOOG), and Oracle (NSDQ: ORCL), asserting that their ability to function at full capacity is ... Full Story »

Posted by Dwight Rousu
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Member Tags: congress, H-1B
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Posted by: Posted by Dwight Rousu - Oct 23, 2008 - 3:35 PM PDT
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Edited by: Dwight Rousu - Oct 23, 2008 - 3:35 PM PDT
Chris Finnie
5.0
by Chris Finnie - Oct. 25, 2008

This is a brave piece for this publication as their advertisers are the very companies who are pushing for cheap foreign labor. It is also very true. I work in and live near the Silicon Valley and I know lots of experienced people who can't find work in the high-tech field. I think this article nailed the reason--they can pay far less for imported workers. Even still, why would they not offer the jobs at lower rates to American workers? I'm sure Americans would rather have even the lower wages than a fast-food job.

Dwight makes another good point. I keep seeing stories saying American engineering graduates are dropping. If they can't count on being able to pay back their student loans, why bother?

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Dwight Rousu
4.6
by Dwight Rousu - Oct. 25, 2008

The economic collapse is due in part to people not being able to find well paid jobs. This article suggests a part of the problem is big corporations with big donations to political candidates are recruiting cheap foreign labor to come into the country and take the jobs. Why get a tech education and education loans if Microsoft hires cheap labor from India?

“in my admittedly anecdotal experience, there’s no shortage of qualified American IT professionals to warrant raising the H-1B cap,” she said. Agreed ... More »

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Lyn Attreed
5.0
by Lyn Attreed - Nov. 2, 2008

Finally, an in-depth story in a major IT publication about the myths of the shortage of trained US IT professionals. I'm another former IT professional who couldn't compete with the H1-B deluge...

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William Davis
4.0
by William Davis - Oct. 26, 2008

This is a mainstream IT industry pub. I read many articles and agree with the other reviewers.

I can tell you from personal experience, 2000-2005 was not a good time for me or many others in IT. I can't see it improving much or soon. Corporations shot themselves and the U.S. economy in the foot by outsourcing IT work to India at a time when the dot-com bubble burst leaving many out of work. College IT enrollments plummeted because grads weren't finding jobs. Now there might be a shortage someday because of it, but I doubt it. There are just too many IT veterans looking ... More »

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