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The dice message boards are chock full of posts like this:

"What can I do now? I graduated from some 'prestigious' four year university . . . with a 3.25+ gpa and have been looking for software work for close to a year now. Really, I am sick of looking for work + rejection now."

Please take a quick look at this blog article:

http://techtoil.org/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

What really matters is what employers want. This blog post will explain what I mean:

http://techtoil.org/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

Here is a quick look at the work experiences of real US IT pros:

http://techtoil.org/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

Occam's razor: off-shore labor is a lot cheaper, therefore employers will off-shore every possible job. If you do your job sitting in front of a computer, then your job can probably be off-shored - if not now, then certainly in the near future.

Furthermore, the simple laws of supply and demand dictate that the few jobs that are not off-shored, will have a glut of qualified applicants. The experienced developers who have their jobs off-shored, will clearly try to leverage their existing training and experience into the few remaining IT jobs that can not be easily off-shored. This causes a glut, and drives down wages.

The IT worker glut will be increased even more by improved automation of information system maintenance, standardization of software, and non-IT specialists who are increasingly sophisticated with information technology.

There can be nothing to stop this devastating trend, due to the following:

1) Corrupt USA politicians
2) USA IT workers are not willing to organize
3) Influential corporations have effectively distorted the issues

So there you go, it's as simple as that.

IMO: this trend is presently in it's infancy. The present trend has very little to do with the present economic slump. In fact, when the US economy recovers, this trend will accelerate even faster. The present situation for US IT workers is much better now, than it will be five years from now.

http://techtoil.org/doku.php?id=articles:no-brainer

Occam's razor: off-shore labor is a lot cheaper, therefore employers will off-shore every possible job. If you do your job sitting in front of a computer, then your job can probably be off-shored - if not now, then certainly in the near future.

Furthermore, the simple laws of supply and demand dictate that the few jobs that are not off-shored, will have a glut of qualified applicants. The experienced developers who have their jobs off-shored, will clearly try to leverage their existing training and experience into the few remaining IT jobs that can not be easily off-shored. This causes a glut, and drives down wages.

The IT worker glut will be increased even more by improved automation of information system maintenance, standardization of software, and non-IT specialists who are increasingly sophisticated with information technology.

There can be nothing to stop this devastating trend, due to the following:

1) Corrupt USA politicians
2) USA IT workers are not willing to organize
3) Influential corporations have effectively distorted the issues

So there you go, it's as simple as that.

IMO: this trend is presently in it's infancy. The present trend has very little to do with the present economic slump. In fact, when the US economy recovers, this trend will accelerate even faster. The present situation for US IT workers is much better now, than it will be five years from now.

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:no-brainer

In the US, IT workers typically have a life of constant turmoil. Rather than building a career, IT workers move from one throw-away job to the next. In most professional career fields (doctor, lawyer, accountant, teacher), it is normally expected that you advance and earn more as you get older, and more experienced, in IT it's often just the opposite.

Occam's razor: off-shore labor is a lot cheaper, therefore employers will off-shore every possible job. If you do your job sitting in front of a computer, then your job can probably be off-shored - if not now, then certainly in the near future.

Practically all IT jobs that are not offshored, will be filled by guest workers.

Furthermore, the simple laws of supply and demand dictate that the few jobs that are not off-shored, will have a glut of qualified applicants. The experienced developers who have their jobs off-shored, will clearly try to leverage their existing training and experience into the few remaining IT jobs that can not be easily off-shored. This causes a glut, and drives down wages.

The IT worker glut will be increased even more by improved automation of information system maintenance, standardization of software, and non-IT specialists who are increasingly sophisticated with information technology.

There can be nothing to stop this devastating trend, due to the following:

1) Corrupt USA politicians
2) USA IT workers are not willing to organize
3) Influential corporations have effectively distorted the issues

So there you go, it's as simple as that.

Take a look at this if you don't believe me:

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

Take a look at the link below. Even people with great degrees, and lots of experience are finding this market impossible.

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

When you are doing reading corporate propaganda from a lobbyist group. You might want to take a look at comments from real IT pros:

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

A BSCS is almost as difficult as a degree in engineering, but it's as worthless as a degree in Liberal Arts.

Look at the job ads, employers don't give a damn about your silly BSCS, they want experience - many years of professional, verifiable, recent experience, and in many different technologies, and no jobs have the same requirements.

Maybe there are few slashdot readers, who don't live in caves, who may have noticed that practically ever major tech employer has been laying workers by the thousands - especially US IT workers. And yet you are going to believe this corporate sponsored bullshit? You have my pity.
 

Why is everybody is such a wad about Indian temp workers? What about all the US workers who can find jobs because the market is so glutted? Doesn't the US have a right, and a responsibility, to take of it's own interests first?

Please take a quick look at this, if you don't believe me:

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

How are people supposed to "pay their dues" when even people with college degrees can not find entry-level employment?

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

I read dice message boards fairly frequently. I could not help but notice how many college graduates could not find decent employment in IT. I collected some of the posts, and put them in a blog article:

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

The old "there a shortage of skilled labor" myth.

First off, all we have is the anecdotal exposition of one person.

See my other posts on the skills shortage. I've posted this before:

http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/~matloff/itaa.real.html [ucdavis.edu]

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/85/essay.html [fastcompany.com]

http://www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?708&bus [upenn.edu]

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:shortage_myth [techtoil.org]

All companies want are disposable interchangeable people who will work for nothing. This concept is doomed.

What, exactly, Bjarne, is the definition of a qualified developer? Developer of what? Software for what?

The entire concept of a "software engineer" or "developer" is meaningless. Take for example the statement "I am an Engineer". That statement is so broad to be meaningless. What type? Electrical? OK, what type? AC or DC? Electronic? Computer? Servo systems? Architectural electrical? Power grids?

Do you get my point?

Ok, now to developer. Database applications. Financial systems. HR. Medical systems. Commercial systems. Academic records. I've had a5-6 IT and development jobs and each domain was unique requiring becoming a psuedo expert in a few short months. Expecting a "one size fits all" approach to work is a recipe for failure.

So before we prescribe a solution, we need to determine what exactly we are trying to solve.

I could not help but notice how many posts from seeker.dice.com forums, and elsewhere, are of the same nature. Here are just a few recent examples:

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

Makes me wonder if tech degrees are worth the time, money, and effort.

Just get rid of it.

There is no labor shortage to begin with in the first place:

http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/~matloff/itaa.real.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/85/essay.html

http://www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?708&bus

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:shortage_myth

I hope you don't mind if I added you to my growing listing of recent graduates who can not find a job. You are the second person I have added just today. The dice discussion boards are filled with people in the same situation, here is a brief listing:

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=articles:news_and_commentary

Can you believe that corporate CEOs has the gall to sit before congress and claim that there are sever shortages of US IT workers? The pop-media is flooded with articles about how IT jobs are recession proof, and the US IT field is red hot and growing faster than ever.

Would should employers hire US IT workers, when offshore labor is cheaper? Both candidates are strong supporters of allowing more guest workers.

Try finding responsible, capable people at a good rate when the employment rate is less than 8 or 9%. It's very, very hard to find capable people when none are available unless you're willing to spend an exorbitant amount of money.

Are you posting about the official unemployment rate, or the real unemployment rate?

Define "capable."

BTW: I can find "capable" people easily, with the current unemployment rate. You can always find "capable" people if you are willing to pay for it. I don't know what you consider excessive pay, but I see jobs for experience, college eduated, IT workers, for rates around $35K a year, all the time. Take a look at my salary survey:

http://techtoil.org/wiki/doku.php?id=salary_survey

I don't think the article mentions where the survey was conducted.

BTW: here is quick photo of India - you know the place with all "best and brightest" computer geniuses?

http://techtoil.org/