[PLUG] Software Job Prospects (fwd)

Rich Shepard rshepard at appl-ecosys.com
Sun Feb 15 15:41:02 UTC 2004


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2004 13:50:27 -0800
From: Michael Trigoboff <mltsoftware at comcast.net>

I sent this out to my classes at PCC yesterday:
-----------------------------------------------

On Thursday, a student of mine asked me about software job prospects.
Yesterday I heard a presentation by local software industry expert (and old
friend of mine) Pete Mackie. Here's my understanding of what Pete had to
say:

Coding jobs are being outsourced overseas. There are plenty of places (e.g.
India, Russia, China, Rumania, Klingon) where smart people are willing to
write code for as little as one-ninth of what you would currently earn here
in the USA. It's not a smart move any more for you to pursue a job that
consists strictly of writing code. Those jobs are not likely to continue to
exist here in large numbers in the long term (or if they do, the salaries
will be significantly lower than they are now).

Outsourcing currently has problems. Many companies that try software
outsourcing have bad experiences. But the economic incentives are so great
that companies have a large motivation to keep trying and they will
eventually get it right. This means that a number of coding jobs will
continue to be available locally, but that may be a short-term proposition.

What will continue to be needed here in the USA, and will earn you decent
$$$, is the ability to manage the offshore coders. To manage a remote
project like this, you need to be a good programmer. You need to be able to
understand a software project, and have a good idea how long it would take
to implement. You need good communication skills. You need to be able to
evaluate what the offshore team tells you. Are they communicating accurately
with you?  Are they reliable?  Do they know what they're doing?  You need to
be able to evaluate the status of a project, the quality of the code, how
closely they are following the job specification, and whether they're going
to meet the project schedule.

Speaking of the job specification, you need to be able to read one and tell
whether or not it makes sense. You might be the one who writes that spec.
You need the ability to understand the business you're working for, analyze
their software needs, and come up with a sensible project proposal.

You need good interpersonal skills, good writing skills, good management
skills, and good programming skills. If you have this skill set and pursue
the kind of job described above, you will be well-positioned for a promising
career in the software industry.

I want to add one cautionary note: Opinion on this topic is not totally
unanimous at the moment. You would be well-advised to continue to pay
attention and adjust your plans as the situation changes. The high-tech
world is moving very quickly these days. You need to be alert.

-- 
Michael Trigoboff, Ph.D.
Instructor, Computer Information Systems & Computer Science
Portland Community College
http://spot.pcc.edu/~mtrigobo
http://www.pcc.edu

Software Engineer
MLT Software, Inc.
http://mltsoftware.home.comcast.net




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