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The real story behind this
The computer industry is maturing. Many software and hardware companies have a hard time maintaining good margins, staying (or becoming) profitable, and growing. The natural reaction to this is cost-reduction attempts by industry.

A large portion of the cost is associated with labor. This can be attacked in two ways. One is to offshore as much work as possible, and the other is to increase the supply of engineers domestically so that wages drop.

Companies are trying to pursue this two-pronged attack. Claims that there's a shortage of computer science graduates serve this strategy well. These claims make it look like companies have no choice but to offshore since there's simply not enough talent in the US. The shortage claims are also designed to encourage more people to study computer science so that the supply of people increases further, and wages and benefits can be reduced. After all, not all these jobs can be offshored, so cost reduction within the US is needed as well.

It's quite amusing to see these never-materializing shortage predictions pop up in the media once in a while. It's actually shocking that people can still make these claims with a straight face considering the vicious job market for computer engineers in the US, and the poor job stability, income growth, and long-term career prospects in this field.
Posted by: davesheffield   Posted on: 08/11/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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Source of problem?  Linux User 147560 | 08/11/04
Only Partially ...  coffeenite | 08/13/04
Old - Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 08/11/04
This all happened because of Microsoft  j.m.galvin | 08/12/04
Soon a real 'crisis' unemployed cs professors!  MyLord | 08/11/04
IT is DEAD  pgm554 | 08/11/04
Yeah, it's all the government's fault  Eggs Ackley_z | 08/12/04
Actually Eggs, the government does have a lot to do with it...  Stellardyne | 08/12/04
Government encouraging companies to move out  Mark Miller | 08/13/04
Penalizing companies is a bad idea...  doctormoriarty | 08/13/04
Business and corps pay little tax  voska | 08/13/04
been seeing my pay drop  Arrg | 08/11/04
I agree  fnash | 08/13/04
Too Much Incentive for Off Shore Outsourcing  anettis | 08/11/04
Cause: . . . Bush doesn't care about IT Jobs -- Supports Outsourcing  Plain Logic | 08/11/04
Right on !  Prognosticator | 08/12/04
You need to police your own rhetoric  taxhound | 08/12/04
Wow..Nice Attitude...Stupid Logic  itanalyst | 08/12/04
Hear hear!  Linux User 147560 | 08/12/04
Income tax illegal. You guys too?  voska | 08/12/04
Yes...  Linux User 147560 | 08/12/04
Some links for the US tax fraud...  Linux User 147560 | 08/12/04
Oh it's not that bad  voska | 08/12/04
Optomism is great, but lets be realistic  itanalyst | 08/12/04
I hear ya about the 100+ applicants  voska | 08/12/04
Another question....What Career Field Do You Switch To?  itanalyst | 08/12/04
I went into Database Admin/design  voska | 08/12/04
Oh yeah  voska | 08/12/04
Am Currently Doing the Teaching Thing  itanalyst | 08/12/04
Database  johnnyu | 08/12/04
Want money, try machinists  voska | 08/12/04
You're Right - its not that hard  tm_2004 | 08/12/04
animation and games  harish.mallipeddi@... | 02/17/05
You forgot the rest of the GOP lines  Prognosticator | 08/12/04
haha  johnnyu | 08/12/04
Good  nograin | 08/12/04
Ideals  johnnyu | 08/12/04
disgrace the GOP? LOL!  blahblahblah | 08/12/04
big talk  blahblahblah | 08/12/04
Corps ARE welfare cases  nograin | 08/12/04
you expect Bush to "change his mind" ?  blahblahblah | 08/12/04
Only if you count not cutting taxes enough....  doctormoriarty | 08/12/04
Food for thought? I can do better  eds_sucks | 08/13/04
The real story behind this  davesheffield | 08/11/04
increase the supply of engineers domestically so that wages drop???  anettis | 08/11/04
It's not my solution - it's what companies want to see  davesheffield | 08/11/04
It makes perfect sense...  Linux User 147560 | 08/12/04
Blue collar work always has paid more  voska | 08/12/04
Not for long  j.m.galvin | 08/12/04
For basic labour jobs sure but not for trade  voska | 08/13/04
It is all M$'$ fault  NonZealot | 08/11/04
You are a genius  zohnco | 08/12/04
examine the source code?  plappy | 08/12/04
I think these guys need to stop worrying  Mark Miller | 08/12/04
Smart Kids...  BitTwiddler | 08/12/04
Theres a few problems  johnnyu | 08/12/04
Call it the "Academic Effect"  WhoIsDaMan | 08/12/04
An age-old problem?  Mark Miller | 08/13/04
Student dropping CompSci Degrees  anti-zdnet-hype | 09/03/04
Sounds like the program was REALLY old!  Mark Miller | 08/13/04
Just taught  johnnyu | 08/13/04
Patent law is where the money  seosamh_z | 08/12/04
Patent law for CS is a weird one  justoneperson | 08/12/04
The Alphabet?  voska | 08/12/04
Excellent point  johnnyu | 08/12/04
media police  V Sanders | 08/12/04
These Kids are smart  jfp | 08/12/04
Hmmm. I also graduated in '97  ITGuy04 | 08/12/04
The just in from the No Screaming S--- Dept.  Chad_z | 08/12/04
RE: The just in from the No Screaming S--- Dept  sokushi jonez | 08/12/04
It's about time ....  wdterry | 08/12/04
No sure thing anymore. Haven't you figured that out yet?  Mark Miller | 08/13/04
those who should fear offshoring  James X | 08/14/04
I would probably fall in this category  Mark Miller | 08/18/04
no kidding  V Sanders | 08/12/04
Rand "think tank" must be on vacation  blahblahblah | 08/12/04
This is not a problem.  hayesk | 08/12/04
Well.....DUH!!!!!  Laff | 08/12/04
Change name to Retail Science  nitecourt@... | 08/12/04
Thank you GWB  nograin | 08/12/04
While GW and Co are a big part of this..this is not  Laff | 08/12/04
Wal-Mart and GWB  theforce | 08/12/04
?????  voska | 08/12/04
Gotta go (vacation) Voska..remember theforce:)  Laff | 08/12/04
And I said this in what fashion?  Laff | 08/12/04
Damn christians  seosamh_z | 08/12/04
Huh? Does one have to be American to be Elitest?  Laff | 08/17/04
How old are you?  j.m.galvin | 08/12/04
Amen!!!!  Laff | 08/12/04
Second that  James X | 08/14/04
Steady erosion of jobs?  Mark Miller | 08/14/04
Taxes  theforce | 08/12/04
Well "IF" you are going to have a strong central  Laff | 08/12/04
White House?  rapson | 08/13/04
NO BRAINER  PolarBear_z | 08/12/04
This was an IQ test  eds_sucks | 08/13/04
great post  James X | 08/14/04
Death and taxes are holding steady  Pinkerton | 08/13/04
Probably too many negative computer users  FilledOut | 08/13/04
Students dropping computer science degrees  anti-zdnet-hype | 09/03/04
What you need to do to survive..?  harish.mallipeddi@... | 02/17/05
Computer Science is NOT DEAD!! Far from it!  PHIL46 | 06/24/06

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