Some H-1B workers underpaid, federal auditors say

TalkBack 30 of 36:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

sad realities of H1B Visas

Being a resident of Washington and an IT worker I have gotten to talk directly and candidly to folks with an insider?s view of working for the largest software company in the world, yes I refer to Microsoft. News Flash - Microsoft is hiring!

The reality is everybody in the industry knows that Microsoft is hiring, Microsoft is always hiring. Why, because they are perpetually understaffed. Why don?t I work there; because I?m not Microsoft material. Like many folk in the industry I am an excellent administrator, I can simultaneously keep a dozen Microsoft small business networks running with virtually no downtime, but that doesn?t mean I have skills needed to program or even test for Microsoft.

The reality is there are X number of Americans capable of programming or testing software at a level which makes them qualified to fill the open jobs at Microsoft. Of that number there is a smaller number, Y Americans, that are willing to live in Seattle (short summer, worst traffic in the US, very high COL, etc., etc.). Since Microsoft, while the largest, is not the only software company in the Seattle area they are not even assured that all of the Y workers will take Microsoft jobs and to fill all its available positions Microsoft needs 2Y workers or more.

By expanding the available worker pool to the world it is much easier to find workers with the necessary skills who are willing to live in Seattle. To many Americans, Seattle is simply not as desirable a place to live as __________ USA, thus there are only so many Americans willing to work on the Microsoft Campus. The choice between Delhi and Seattle is a much easier sell, foreign workers are simply less concerned about amenities, weather, recreational opportunities, etc., etc. than Americans are.

Now amplify Microsoft?s problem times several hundred software companies. Each is located somewhere and each of these locations can only attract Y number of qualified workers. The more desirable a give location is perceived to be the more companies it is likely to attract, the worse the traffic, the higher the COL, etc., etc. thus even a seemingly idyllic location will only attract so many workers. This pool of workers, no matter how large, is unlikely to be sufficient to meet the demand for extremely skilled labor in a highly specialized industry.

In my experience most of the folks who complain about foreign workers stealing American jobs expect to be paid more than their skills are capable of earning, rather than face that reality and accepting the salary their skills will earn them or improving their skills; they complain that foreigners are undercutting the US job market. American software companies pays extremely well and are willing to employ virtually every QUALIFIED person who applies. And there lies the rub, according to what I?ve been told only about 50% of the folks who think their qualified to work at Microsoft actually make the grade, the other 50% have to be let go; many of these no doubt go forth and join the ranks of those who grumble that a foreigner got their job.

The reality - H1B Visas are necesary, sorry folks but there it is.

Bjorn A Freeman

Posted by: bjornafreeman@...   Posted on: 06/24/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now
• Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Infrastructure VMware VMware virtualization software has been adopted by over 120,000 enterprise ... Download Now
• Live Webcast: Activate Today! Realize ROI with Intel(r) vPro? Technology and LANDesk Intel Join the team from the Intel vPro Expert Center for an informative Webcast ... Download Now