[PLUG] Software Job Prospects (fwd)

[Darkhorse]

On Sun, 2004-02-15 at 15:39, Rich Shepard wrote:
> ---------- 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).

People want better quality and despite the Internet, I find it hard
to believe that there's no room for doing the software engineering
here.  I also think Mackie is discounting the room for competition.

For some of these countries that are being outsourced to, they aren't
paid enough to take jobs from us so the public should consider more 
than cost in software acquisitions.  My greatest concern is, is the
education on how to program moving overseas as well?  It's no secret
that places like Southern Africa rank better in math and science,
etc.  An economic system where it's cheaper for someone else to
do the thinking and production doesn't make any sense to me at 
all.
 
> 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.

By coding jobs does that mean copying jobs, or are these overseas people
actually designing the programs?  
 
> 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.

That supports fewer people than doing the coding here did.  At PSU there
wasn't much of a resource center I knew of to aid in the process of
evaluating coding methods, etc.  The programming assignments in cs202
were extremely hard and didn't make any sense.  It was not possible
in Karla's class to ask her questions for clarification and she didn't
teach us methods to decide what a project statement means on our own. 
Where's the career counseling?  If computer science is a painful dead 
end, why isn't more help offered to students to redirect their
efforts elsewhere?

> 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.

Why doesn't PCC help people who want to become professional programmers
in Linux environments more?  If we're talking about cost, you have to
get out of Microsoft software, yet there isn't anything for Linux
compared to what their is for Microsoft at PCC.

Outsourcing makes us intellectual slaves to foreign countries.  This is
dangerous and in the long run neither good for us nor for the country
we depend on if it comes to see us as a burden.  If anything, I would
think being equals is better for foreign relations.
 
What does not profitable mean?  After all, I don't think most people
feel computer science isn't worth it if they can't make as much as Gates
did.  I'm willing to program for a living wage, or $30-40k a year.  Is
that too much money to ask for?  It's better to earn that for ten+ 
years than a lot over a very short period, a quality of life issue
really.

If you have to have a Ph.d. to make it in computer science, there's no
reason to be in computer science unless a lot of the people out there
now start to retire.