The Dying Profession?
The software industry has been going through a drastic change during the last few years. There was a time where even English majors were jumping on the IT bandwagon [no offense to English majors]. Not anymore…! IT recruiters have become a lot more selective and the number of skill sets they require has been increasing. The success of the American worker has always depended on how well one adapts to the new trends in the economy and perhaps it is time for many to get off this bandwagon and find another path. Although at the moment, IT jobs in the NYC metro area are not scarce (thanks to the strong financial sector), the honeymoon of the nineties is beginning to end. This is mainly due to the booming off shoring phenomena.
Most fortune 500 companies have already off shored some parts of their IT operations to countries like India and they will continue to do so. Not only programmers in the third world countries can do the same work as well as a programmer in the United States; they can do it for a lot cheaper. Countries with reliable telecommunication sector, power sector, and, competitive educational system have been able to leverage this trend to their advantage. Meanwhile countries like Ethiopia are failing to get a piece of the action. Although the current government claims to spend some 10% of its GDP on the development of ITC, Ethiopia has not been able to gain any ground because of certain basic policy related problems. In my opinion the main reason for the failure has been the government's intransigent position on the privatization (semi-privatization) of the Ethiopian Telecommunication Agency (ETC) and the Ethiopian and Electrical Power Corporation (EEPCO). These two corporations have not even been able to keep up with the local demand let alone to offer the 24x7 reliable services the off shoring business requires. Someone who has tried to make a phone call to Ethiopia or try to use an internet service in Ethiopia clearly understands the extent of the problem. Then again, in a nation where the economic policy is centered on the so-called “Agriculture-led industrialization”, I am not sure if improving the efficiency of the two mentioned corporation is a priority. The lack of quality educational institutions [science and language in particular] is also a major hindrance for the growth of the IT sector. India is ripping the benefits of the heavy investment it made on education since decolonization. I do believe, however, given the opportunity there are limited number of highly trained Ethiopians who can do small scale projects and kick start the growth of the IT sector in Ethiopia..
As for those of us who live in the states, it is time to jump to a different sector or acquire the necessary application knowledge that are difficult to dispose as the IT part of the business is being shipped to some distant land. Our jobs may not stay around in the present form.
Like all engineering, IT's past and futre lies in one thing: innovation. There are two kinds of technologists, innovators and developers. Outsorcing is for developers. Stick with innovation (which, of course, means stay on your toes) .... and you shall be free (and very busy)! Go to school, do research, develop your business skills, be creative, do your homework and remember to think new and different. (Comment this)
To see what I mean, have a look at:
http://softwareindustrialization.com/DisplayPost.aspx?PostID=29
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I know of an American company which moved its manufacturing from America to Phillipines to China and now to India. Hey what next... America maybe, Botswana then to Ethiopia probably :). Why the hell not, if they are competitive. But first we have to get rid of this "MaaNeko" = choking, "DoaMa"=moron EPRDF government from the economic scene and then the Ethiopian people will show you what is possible.
Mitch Barnett, I think you hit on something there. Our understanding of software engineering is pretty screwed up. Fundamental things should be examined. I remember one article somewhere asking the question "What does it mean to be a software engineer?" Try to answer this question without using the words "software" or "program". Just try... (Comment this)
1. The software engineering/programming jobs will not continue to exist in the present form..and many would have to adjust to this new reality. As a software engineer in the US, I would like to be ready for any possible outcome. I agree with Tobian's comment regarding innovation being the solution.
2. Ethiopia and other African countries are once again being left behind... and our governments need to wake up.
P.S. By the way, I do believe that jobs are being shipped off. That is fine because that is the competitive advantage India etc have and corporations are always trying to raise their bottom line. As long as the standard of living in those countries does not match up with the US, they will continue to have a competitive advantage. These jobs ain't comn' back any time soon unless the cost of labor in the US goes down or in India and China goes up (that is what happened with the manufacturing sector). US, however, can focus on new innovations and create jobs based on these new innovations. (Comment this)