mike wrote:
in addition to the outsourcing of jobs, let's not forget the considerable
number of people (outside of microsoft) who left the computer field
because they found it too much of an insult to their intelligence to be
spending all their time supporting that which is always and by far the
weakest link in any computer infrastructure -- microsoft. i've watched
No, there's one thing still worse: when non-technical management manage
technical projects. It becomes a totally politicized, inefficient and
wasteful environment.
over two decades the inverse relationship between prestigious jobs in the
computer field vs. the growth of microsoft such that computer science now
ranks near the bottom of the academic desires of college students. and
who can blame them, working in computers has become synonymous with
supporting microsoft and one can find a more rewarding and respectable
career as janitor at the local sewage & wastewater treatment plant.
There was a thread on Slashdot recently touting another so-called
"shortage" of IT workers. I didn't chime in, though I should have.
Just read Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath". It's an old trick: if you have
50 jobs, advertise as if you had 500 or even 5,000. Then pick the 50
who'll work cheapest. It turns out, for instance, that IBM will have
more workers in India than in the US in the neat future. Is there a
shortage of IT people in the US? Not really. Real estate prices have
been floated too high here by the banks/lenders, causing labor costs to
shoot through the roof (housing being the single largest expenditure for
most people).
Given that IT people often put in 50-60 hours/week without overtime, I'd
say that this is among the more deplorable skilled professions to be in.
On the contrary, if I could re-do things I'd probably become an
electrician or welder and run my own business...
|
|
