people in IT: are you worried about employers outsourcing?

[JMaster]

I'm starting to get worried at the increasing number of companies that are outsourcing more of their IT department. I have a couple quarters before I graduate college, and it looks like nobody is able to find a job. And it doesn't help that the economy is bad too.
Do you think outsourcing is going to be a big problem to programmers/IT in the US?

 

[Gunslinger08]

Not especially.. we have a few Indians working for our company, and in general, they produce nothing but crap that takes us hours and hours to fix.

 

[lowtech1]

Yes

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
Not especially.. we have a few Indians working for our company, and in general, they produce nothing but crap that takes us hours and hours to fix.

:beer:

 

[AlienCraft]

Yes indeed it is. The changes the Gov. has enacted for visas for workers guts any protection that US Citizens used to enjoy.
We are nothing but a cost of doing business to be reduced to it's lowest possible factor.

 

[vi edit]

It might work for entry level tech support and some programming needs, but in my experience, outsourcing to a country that has people on the phone that sound like Abu from the Simpsons just isn't what the people that buy something based upon quality support want.

Those companies that outsource like this may save a buck now, but it will eventually end up costing them money in lost sales because people don't want to put up with the BS associated with working with a strong foreign accented tech who is just glacing over step by step documented procedures and really knows nothing about the product.

 

[brunswickite]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
It might work for entry level tech support and some programming needs, but in my experience, outsourcing to a country that has people on the phone that sound like Abu from the Simpsons just isn't what the people that buy something based upon quality support want.

Those companies that outsource like this may save a buck now, but it will eventually end up costing them money in lost sales because people don't want to put up with the BS associated with working with a strong foreign accented tech who is just glacing over step by step documented procedures and really knows nothing about the product.

its Apu from the Simpsons.... not Abu

 

[Ranger X]

Bought my ticket to India already.

 

[Encryptic]

Not really. My boss doesn't exactly have the means nor the need to outsource any IT personnel.

 

[vi edit]

its Apu from the Simpsons.... not Abu

Sorry...my bad.

 

[TommyVercetti]

Yes, very much. I am jobless as of right now, I just graduated from college, and looking for a job. I do believe that very soon there will be a job crisis, as more and more companies start outsourcing.

I don't even know what field I should go in, I am so confused. I sure as hell don't want to live thinking that any day my job could be outsourced.

The best bet seems to get a job where being a US citizen is a requirment. I thought the Defense industry was solid, but I have read several articles saying that even they are outsourcing.

 

[Utterman]

Just take a look @ what Dell has done the past year. They have change so much for the worst that makes me not even want to recommend them.

 

[rh71]

I've learned not to worry about anything till it actually starts happening. What can ya do? You have no idea how many rumors float around with action never being taken...

 

[vi edit]

And BTW - Small to medium businesses make up the majority of employers in this nation. These companies are not outsourcing over seas. Never will.

You just aren't looking hard enough or haven't networked yourself out well enough.

 

[wyvrn]

Well lots of outsourcing is done in the US. My last job was for an outsourcer that handled helpdesk, desktop, software and hardware for other companies. I agree on the lack of quality from Indian workers. At the moment, they are cheaper but you definately get what you pay for. If Indian IT workers become more proficient and learn to speak English more clearly, then we all have something to worry about. But I believe that process will take years and training dollars, and US companies will probably realize they won't save as much as they thought they would. Plenty of business mistakes have been made in the past...

 

[lowtech1]

Originally posted by: TommyVercetti
I don't even know what field I should go in, I am so confused.

Mechanic, construction, or nurse.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
And BTW - Small to medium businesses make up the majority of employers in this nation. These companies are not outsourcing over seas. Never will.

You just aren't looking hard enough or haven't networked yourself out well enough.

It's true that small/medium businesses don't outsource much IT work. But the big companies are most certainly going full speed ahead and I read about it weekly in the computer trade magazines. They can pay 10 Indian programmers for what it costs for one here. And while I agree that it's probably stupid in the long term, few companies are worried about the long term especially with respect to IT issues. They just want to make it to the end of the year.

If you're looking for work, focus on the small and medium businesses. It takes more legwork, but you'll have a better chance of success. You might need to relocate, you might need to adjust your salary expectations, but it's doable. The hardest-working people get the jobs when jobs are scarce.

If you're concerned about whether your job might go away, think about it from the perspective of the company. What types of IT work could they have done without daily supervision? What types of IT work don't add a lot of value to the company's operations? PC help desk is 99% phone calls which means it can be done from anywhere on the planet. What companies see as a commodity gets outsourced. Things that are strategic or essential to day-to-day operations don't get outsourced.

The guy who programs the CNC machine that cost $2 million doesn't get outsourced, because every idle hour on that machine costs the company thousands. They want immediate action. Compare that to the guy who writes MRP reports. They are important, but as long as the whole thing can be done via email, it doesn't matter where the job gets done.

 

[her209]

Nope

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: rh71
I've learned not to worry about anything till it actually starts happening. What can ya do? You have no idea how many rumors float around with action never being taken...

Wait a minute... you work for IBM, right? I've heard that a third of their development team has already been outsourced to India, and almost every tech support guy that I can get a hold of over there has an Indian accent.

Face it, man, you're already screwed! You just haven't admitted it do yourself, yet. Hell, I'll bet that even your cafeteria is serving outsourced Indian food now!

 

[bleeb]

GET OUT OF IT... ASAP! Get into your own business of some sort. The U.S. caters to businesses. People who have salaries are getting JACKED.

 

[BatmanNate]

It would be difficult to outsource what we do because of the sensitive nature of the data.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob

Originally posted by: rh71
I've learned not to worry about anything till it actually starts happening. What can ya do? You have no idea how many rumors float around with action never being taken...

Wait a minute... you work for IBM, right? I've heard that a third of their development team has already been outsourced to India, and almost every tech support guy that I can get a hold of over there has an Indian accent.

Face it, man, you're already screwed! You just haven't admitted it do yourself, yet. Hell, I'll bet that even your cafeteria is serving outsourced Indian food now!

I'm not denying it can happen. To my knowledge, it hasn't yet. There was a Yahoo article about it last week. All I'm saying is I'm not worrying about it till it does. What can I do? Join a union?

 

[Descartes]

I'll make it simple: if you're a cubicle monkey, you're in danger of being outsourced. The rest have nothing to worry about as you can't replace the business value of a palpable entity to a faceless one overseas.

I was once a cubicle monkey, and I know many as well. I transcended and concentrated more on consulting, yet many of my colleagues prefer the rhythm of working in an isolated corporate environment. They have absolutely no value outside of pushing out the code, and thus they will be replaced.

 

[The Stigenator]

Unfortunately its a capitalist market, companies are going to go where they get services cheaper at a decent level of service.

Dell, Microsoft, BT, GE Capital, Citibank, etc etc are doing it. Frankly it sucks. I can never get things done with an "indian" CS person than with an american one.

The problem is that its not just them going to india to get outsourcing, they are relying on indian companies (the way this works is that they have to have an indian subsidary in India to outsource or have an office there before they can do so) and the problem is many companies are just doing technical tieups with indian companies and having them handle teh CS end. They do teh hiring and all teh stuff and the US company pays them. However since the indian company is hiring their criteria isnt the best.. and hence CS levels are dropping.

I know someone who has a technical hookup with an indian software firm in india to handle their software stuff. Needless to say these guys cant program. The company is saving money but in the long run the program is more buggy. Most of those programmers are out from so called "Educational schools" where they learn how to program in C and SQL and other stuff. But most of them are just below average programmers, and cant scope out what's beyond a certain level.

In the long run this is bad for US companies..

I got fired today because part of my job was done by automated scripts that I suggested and programmed by a german dude. Needless to say Im not happy.

 

[enis083]

Last year my manager held a meeting telling us about a new program our company was starting to move jobs to India. She said that our customer would not mess with their money making sales force whom we did level 1 and 2 tech support for. This past April, we were told that our jobs are going to India before the end of the year... Let me tell you how shocked pissed off we were. We never expected this since we supported in house apps that takes over a year to learn.

I learned that its good to have a manager who cares about her employees; never say something can't happen because your work is invaluable and to make sure that your resume is always up to date.