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Bill Gates Speaks Out Against Immigration Policies
Jeian writes "None other than Bill Gates has spoken out against tighter immigration policies in the US. According to Gates, the US is losing skilled immigrants to other countries that are easier to immigrate to. Among his comments: "I personally witness the ill effects of these policies on an almost daily basis at Microsoft.""
Microsoft is also a fond supporter of H1B visa immigrants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1B_visa/ From my own personal experience working as an IT recruiter in the past, H1B Java Developers with similar education and experience often would work for about 30% less than a US citizen.
Microsoft already has research centers in Bangalore, Beijing and Cambridge,
not forgetting Redmond and Silicon Valley.
Microsoft have a policy of not employing software engineers over 30 - apparently, according to Bill Gates, a software engineers skills peak at age 26, and goes downhill from then on.
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
This is something I definitely wouldn't want to deal with.
After 3 days without programming, life becomes meaningless
- The Tao of Programming
A corporation exists to do things that are difficult or impossible for individuals to accomplish. It provides the legal structure for teamwork. Part of that is limiting the liability
There exist other structures for organizations that wish to accomplish things beyond the ability of an individual. The corporation is the only one that limits liability. QED.
It may be cynical, but it's not misleading.
-- Alastair
Microsoft have a policy of not employing software engineers over 30 - apparently, according to Bill Gates, a software engineers skills peak at age 26, and goes downhill from then on.
That can't be a real engineer, then. A person who wants to become an engineer has to take and pass the Fundamentals of Engineering/Engineer in Training examination, a seriously difficult exam (all day, about 8 hours) that requires knowledge at the Bachelor Degree level. The exam is often taken after the graduate has been in the workforce for a year or so. After passing the FE/EIT, the prospective engineer has to work several years (typically 4-5 years) in an Engineering position that the state board finds acceptable, and then must pass another exam, the Professional Engineers Examination, before they are credentialed as an Engineer.
You just don't find many people at age 26 in the engineering community that have acquired a Professional Engineer's license, and, to be blunt, I wouldn't consider them to be at the peak of their profession for many years after that.
Now, if you are looking for a coding drone who can type out reams of C++ really fast to a predefined specification, well, that's different. That's a skill more analogous to a construction laborer than to an engineer. Being able to set forms really quickly doesn't make one qualified to design a bridge.