Hooray for Computer Scientists!

I just saw a posting in the UofT newsgroup regarding job outsourcing, specifically for computer jobs. It was a forward from the ACM newsletter. I guess it must be true??

It's a pretty short article, but I would like to say a few things about it:

• I can't believe that Canada is the most popular destination to outsource computer jobs! I wonder what the reasoning is. If they think that it's cheaper to hire Canadians, I say we should all ask for a raise!!!!
• Only 2% or 3% of computer-related jobs are being lost to foreign countries??! It seems that we lost a lot more. But I guess statistic is also relative. How many computer-related jobs did we have in the first place?
• Kent State University. Who??? I decided to do a little more research about this. They were named "A Best Midwestern College" by The Princeton Review. Who?? I rest my case.

Here's the article:

Outsourcing of Computer Jobs a MisconceptionDaily Kent Stater (03/08/06) Whinnery, MeganWhile the perception that computing jobs are migrating overseas dampensinterest in math and science among college students, a recent ACM studyhas found that the widespread outsourcing of tech jobs is largely a myth.The fear that jobs are disappearing could sap the domestic labor supply,warns Robert Walker, associate professor of computer science at KentState University. ACM's task force of computer scientists, economists,and social scientists found that between 2 percent and 3 percent ofcomputer-related jobs are being lost to foreign countries, while new,higher-level domestic jobs are being created in their place. "Theoffshoring of jobs in the computer industry isn't a big problem," saidC.C. Lu, computer science professor at Kent State. "No matter howoffshore it's going, we still need a lot of software engineers here." TheACM study also found that Canada is the most popular destination foroutsourced positions, followed by Ireland. India ranks third, though muchof the work there is in low-level call center jobs. Call center work isconsidered a career in India, and Walker contends that the country lacksthe infrastructure to establish the research required for advancedcomputer jobs. "I hope the guidance counselors and teachers don't givestudents wrong information," Walker said. "Things aren't bad now, thereare plenty of good-paying jobs." Walker cautions, however, that fears ofoutsourcing could become a self-fulfilling prophecy if they discouragestudents from studying math and science, forcing U.S. companies to lookoverseas for skilled workers. The NSF has found that computer sciencegraduates earn the highest median income among all science graduates. Toview "Globalization and Offshoring of Software--A Report of the ACM JobMigration Task Force," visit http://www.acm.org/globalizationreport