The IT Market: Cyclical Downturn or New World Order? [Slashdot]
This is one of those articles that can really put you in a bad mood. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like I hear more and more about globalization and its affect on the U.S. IT/technology industry. On the one hand, it provides a great opportunity for people in other parts of the world to get a shot at a better life for themselves and their families, but on the other hand what does this mean for me and people like me in the tech industry that have invested, and continue to invest, large amounts of time, effort, and money advancing technical skill sets. Will I be able to remain in this industry until I retire, or will I need to move on to something completely different? As my kids grow older, should I steer them away from technical careers?
The foreign outsourcing of what have in the past few decades been American strengths (manufacturing know-how, technological prowess, highly skilled workforce) opens up an even larger set of questions about where the U.S. will be in 25 years. Will we become a nation of doctors, lawyers, media moguls and burger flippers/Walmart greeters?
This subject also makes me wonder about the responsibility that corporations have to their (current) employees. Is it right for execs to boost their pay levels into the stratosphere while moving jobs overseas where they can pay people incredibly small wages? Do corporations only have allegiance to the almighty stock holder, and not to the rank and file that make the company what it is? I say no way on both counts. There has to be a reasonable medium where companies can make decent (although probably not huge) profit, while keeping executive pay, stockholder return, and both domestic and foreign jobs levels in balance.
Globalization is a complex issue that is here to stay. I have more questions than answers, so here are a few different perspectives on this subject:
11:16:09 PM 
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