Slashdot Mirror
Increasing the Value of the Domestic IT Worker?
KoshClassic asks: "To state it simply, in today's global economy, the IT worker in America is in direct competition with IT workers in countries such as India who are willing to do the same job for less. Much of this willingness has to do with standards and costs of living in these other countries, and without lowering ours or raising theirs, the American IT worker can not compete on even terms if the only consideration is cost. What should American IT workers be doing to differentiate ourselves from our overseas counterparts, to add the kinds of value for employers that will make them want to look beyond direct costs and see other benefits that will make it worthwhile for them to keep these jobs in the US? I'm not sure what the answer to this question is, but I am convinced that the answer lies in trends and industry wide changes, rather than just individuals polishing their own resumes. When an employer decides he needs to fill a programming position, what is going to make him want to fill that position in the U.S. rather than overseas, even before individual candidates are considered"
The value of an IT worker will never increase as long as they are holding signs saying "will write 'ask slashdot' articles for karma"
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
How would can we get Linux to surpase Windows as the number one OS?
How can we get those SCO guys to lay off?
What can we do to make software more stable?
How can we stop famine, hunger and war?
The number one way I can think of to differentiate yourself from overseas IT workers is to become fluent in English - and I do mean fluency, not just a basic working knowledge that exhibits itself so thoroughly in the functional illiteracy that most Slashdot comments betray.
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