<p>please tell me your thoughts</p>
<p>With regards to which field? In general, it's fairly overstated...</p>
<p>Engineering unemployment is absurdly low. Lower than most other professions.</p>
<p>I think it would depend on what industry you work in. I work in power generation. I don't think we plan on building transmission lines to get power from China.</p>
<p>Outsourcing is inevitable.</p>
<p>If that discourage from getting into engineering, leave then. Nobody is stopping you, choose another job that can be outsource too :)
Seriously, do it cause you love it. Anything can be outsource...</p>
<p>Program related jobs have been outsourcing to India for many years already. Electrical engineering is a little bit safer.</p>
<p>My thoughts? It's wildly overstated. And I'm in a field that has supposedly been hit very hard by it.</p>
<p>There are definitely career fields that are less subject to outsourcing than engineering. Classroom teaching, dentistry, food service are a few examples of things that aren't going overseas anytime soon. But engineering job loss to outsourcing as a whole is a greatly exaggerated phenomenon, And, as jutinmeche has suggested, there are many engineering fields which are just about as safe from outsourcing as the other fields I mentioned.</p>
<p>It can happen in any field, but not for every position. Even for civil engineering, I know some CAD detailing work and shop drawings are sent overseas to be done. However, you will always have on-site engineers which can't be outsourced. </p>
<p>If anything, you will see more partnering in the global economy and less straight up outsourcing. My company is actually expanding INTO India via a joint venture. I know there are a few large infrastructure projects in Asia that are actually being built by joint ventures where one of the partners is not from the local area. Some of the Dubai projects are actually being managed and designed by American firms.</p>
<p>so if obama gets elected, do u think outsourcing will be really cut down</p>
<p>etranman1: the president isnt gonna do a whole lot to alter the global economy. but lets not get into politics</p>
<p>
[quote]
so if obama gets elected, do u think outsourcing will be really cut down
[/quote]
</p>
<p>absolutely not.</p>
<p>If you are the boss,you will also seek the cheapest labor to maximize your profits. And if you don't want to do that, other business man will outsource and gain more profits than you.</p>
<p>Any job can be outsourced, offshored, or handed over to someone on a work visa, especially if the person who is currently doing the job is asked to train their replacement. Some jobs are not outsourced, and perhaps never will be. IMO, it is best to be prepared for the possibility that you might lose your job, and it might be a while before you find a new job. Do not incur a lot of debt. Make sure you have enough money to live at least a year without income. Also make sure people outside of your last company know what kind of contribution you can make to a prospective next employer. For example, create a website with samples of your work, or join an online community where you are known as a key contributor.</p>
<p>BTW @yucca, people such as Steve Ballmer have been touting a (presumed) lack of math and science skills among US (software) engineering job candidates, not cost, as the reason for looking outside of the US. This is part of the problem. If the Ballmers of the world were more honest about the H-1B visa programs and the like, saying they use them to find less expensive labor, we might have a more productive discussion in the US Congress about the criteria for issuing visas.</p>
<p>By outsourcing, jobs will go directly to countries like india, which has nothing to do with H-1B visa.</p>
<p>@yucca,</p>
<p>Outsourcing (to countries like India) and the H-1B visa are related. For example, the majority of H-1B visas have been issued to Indians. For more information, read the articles at Norm Matloff's ITAA</a> site.</p>
<p>Even if that weren't true, that does not invalidate the rest of my post. Anyone can lose their job and go for some time without one. Instead of asking "how vulnerable is my profession to outsourcing", one should ask "how do I best prepare myself for unemployment?" Many people who have acted as if it could not possibly happen to them found themselves in very bad shape, emotionally and financially, after losing their jobs. It is always a good idea to prepare for the possibility of at least a year without work.</p>
<p>I still don't get it....how are they related? Just because it's all about Indians?</p>
<p>I've read some of the articles just now. The proposal of F-4 visa is totally a joke.</p>
<p>I never said it was all about Indians. It just so happens that a lot of outsourcing (of software engineering work) happens in India, and the largest number of H-1B visas are issued to Indians. As to my general comment, the reasons stated for issuance of H-1B visas and outsourcing of work is often the same: the companies claim they cannot find qualified US (software) engineers.</p>
<p>The shortage is a major reason,but the cost of labor is another one.</p>
<p>In the testimonies that Gates, Ballmer, and the like have given to the US Congress, cost of labor is not an issue. It is the (presumed) lack of qualification among US (software) engineers.</p>
<p>If the companies were being honest about the cost of labor issue, they would allow all prospective employees to offer their services for whatever price the market would bear. Instead, you hear that even people who stated a willingness to work for wages as low as are paid to people in low-wage countries such as India still lose their jobs to people in these countries.</p>