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Wednesday, February 11, 2009
H1B Visas - The Dilemma
The baby boomer problem in US leading to starting of the H1B scheme, is diminishing rapidly. Again, this acceleration is solely due to the unemployment rates prevailing in the US now.
At some point US needed ready-made talent to pitch in and improve their economy because most of their working population was about to retire within a span of few years (due to the baby boom post WW-II). Thus came the H1B. India, China, Brazil and many other nations have capitalized on this along with the rise in Information technology and networking. Something like a global delivery model could be successfully implemented resulting in off shoring of thousands of jobs. This was a non-issue at that mid '90s because - (a) Americans needed ready made talent and (b)all these jobs were monotonous or too boring. I wont say that there were less IT/computer students in America to fit the role. But the boring and dirty jobs were taking up by people across the globe leaving the interesting IT research or managerial roles to be taken up by Americans. Also major corporations had a cost savings since they were able to get the work done from China or India.
For some time everyone enjoyed it. Personally, though I have worked with a lot of contractors who are American, seldom did I see fresh blood coming out of college into these boring support/call handling/ administration roles. Even those who did, just made the time (aka money) for a PhD or an MBA or some other job and then got lost. All seemed well. Since it was a capitalistic economy, the anti-outsourcing shouts lost relevance. More importantly American companies, their customers, vendors - everyone were making huge profits. IT pervaded more into businesses, resulting in more profits, part of which got reinvested in the IT departments. All was well, those who rode the wave became filthy rich.
Then came the damned depression. It affected every industry and business. Since IT is just a business enabler, it is more like the tail of a lizard - it would be first thing to be cut knowing that it can be regrown anytime. Unemployment and closure of business was so prevalent that senators started asking question about who loses jobs (eve the mighty Microsoft wasn't spared. But they gave a very diplomatic and reasonable reply.) So the million dollar question is what would happen assuming all the workers on H1Bs lose their jobs? Is that going to get employment for equal number of American workers? Hell no...
Those who hired H1Bs were supposed to advertise and wait for 3 months for an American (in good conscience) before hiring a foreign national. Let us considering only that 10% of the American companies can follow this rule - i.e., either plan their projects 3 months in advance or put it on hold for 3 months before hiring a foreigner. Shouldn't this question be asked way back when the H1 program started? Now the government says that which ever company is receiving the bail out package from them shouldn't employ H1Bs. Thing to remember here is that the bailout is kind of a loan - the companies receiving them should submit a definite plan projecting resurgence/profits in a certain number of years/months. That calculation would have been done by assessing their existing workforce and their capability. Wouldn't a shortage of highly skilled H1Bs affect that planning negatively? All this is assuming that there is a pool of American talent immediately available for recruitment that can effectively replace the H1Bs.
Protectionism towards your citizens is good if unemployment is your only problem. Sadly that is not the case. For the economy to improve, you still need experts and skilled workers. Motivating your students to train in technical areas would be a good long term solution. But in the short term, if US is serious about improving their economy immediately, H1Bs are an essential part of the equations.
Link1 - talks of how H1 has affected the American industry in a positive way
At some point US needed ready-made talent to pitch in and improve their economy because most of their working population was about to retire within a span of few years (due to the baby boom post WW-II). Thus came the H1B. India, China, Brazil and many other nations have capitalized on this along with the rise in Information technology and networking. Something like a global delivery model could be successfully implemented resulting in off shoring of thousands of jobs. This was a non-issue at that mid '90s because - (a) Americans needed ready made talent and (b)all these jobs were monotonous or too boring. I wont say that there were less IT/computer students in America to fit the role. But the boring and dirty jobs were taking up by people across the globe leaving the interesting IT research or managerial roles to be taken up by Americans. Also major corporations had a cost savings since they were able to get the work done from China or India.
For some time everyone enjoyed it. Personally, though I have worked with a lot of contractors who are American, seldom did I see fresh blood coming out of college into these boring support/call handling/ administration roles. Even those who did, just made the time (aka money) for a PhD or an MBA or some other job and then got lost. All seemed well. Since it was a capitalistic economy, the anti-outsourcing shouts lost relevance. More importantly American companies, their customers, vendors - everyone were making huge profits. IT pervaded more into businesses, resulting in more profits, part of which got reinvested in the IT departments. All was well, those who rode the wave became filthy rich.
Then came the damned depression. It affected every industry and business. Since IT is just a business enabler, it is more like the tail of a lizard - it would be first thing to be cut knowing that it can be regrown anytime. Unemployment and closure of business was so prevalent that senators started asking question about who loses jobs (eve the mighty Microsoft wasn't spared. But they gave a very diplomatic and reasonable reply.) So the million dollar question is what would happen assuming all the workers on H1Bs lose their jobs? Is that going to get employment for equal number of American workers? Hell no...
Those who hired H1Bs were supposed to advertise and wait for 3 months for an American (in good conscience) before hiring a foreign national. Let us considering only that 10% of the American companies can follow this rule - i.e., either plan their projects 3 months in advance or put it on hold for 3 months before hiring a foreigner. Shouldn't this question be asked way back when the H1 program started? Now the government says that which ever company is receiving the bail out package from them shouldn't employ H1Bs. Thing to remember here is that the bailout is kind of a loan - the companies receiving them should submit a definite plan projecting resurgence/profits in a certain number of years/months. That calculation would have been done by assessing their existing workforce and their capability. Wouldn't a shortage of highly skilled H1Bs affect that planning negatively? All this is assuming that there is a pool of American talent immediately available for recruitment that can effectively replace the H1Bs.
Protectionism towards your citizens is good if unemployment is your only problem. Sadly that is not the case. For the economy to improve, you still need experts and skilled workers. Motivating your students to train in technical areas would be a good long term solution. But in the short term, if US is serious about improving their economy immediately, H1Bs are an essential part of the equations.
Link1 - talks of how H1 has affected the American industry in a positive way
Monday, February 09, 2009
Control That Consumes Us..
Just came across this documentary from BBC
If you do have the time and patience please check out all 10 parts. It is about a bunch of scientist, with ideas so radical and ahead of time, that they faced so much public criticism. And the extent to which they dedicated their own lives to to prove the unprovable - starting at one side and ending up on the other side of the line separating genius and insanity..
We see it all around us - uncertainty scares the sh*t out of us. Everything external has to be under control. Our craze for control, often leads to panic when stuff goes wrong. All that is around us needs to be certain and every change predictable..
Having an escalator for a gymnasium is the perfect example - I would chose not to exercise my body till I get into the gym. THAT is the place for exercise - why the hell do I pay these guys if I have to do the exercise climbing the stairs? But don't you dare ask me why those stairs exist - you are questioning my freedom of choice to have a stair case. But NO I wont use it..
We try to control everything from the temperature in our living quarters to nuclear fusion in reactors. Our fear of the unknown and uncontrollable is so great that it has consumed us. Ironic, isnt it? We try so hard to control things, in the process get controlled by the very thing. I just remembered one of the quotes from an old movie called "The Gods Must Be Crazy". Narrator compares the African bushmen with civilized city dwellers. It goes something like this..
"Civilized man refused to adapt himself to his environment. Instead he adapted his environment to suit him.So he built cities, roads,vehicles, machinery.And he put up power lines to run his labour-saving devices. But he didn't know when to stop.The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier, the more complicated he made it. Now his children are sentenced to 10 to 15 years of school, to learn, how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat. And civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings, now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt...every hour of the day to his self-created environment. For instance, if it's Monday...and 7:30 comes up, you have to dis-adapt from your domestic surroundings and re-adapt yourself to an entirely different environment. 8:00 means everybody has to look busy...... 10:30 means you can stop looking busy for 15 minutes. And then,you have to look busy again. Your day is chopped into pieces. In each segment of time, you adapt to new circumstances...."
The worlds leading economy, run by the most brilliant minds, the people most obsessed with control, is crumbling. It is ironic that Americans, the control-freaks, did not realize their lack of control measures to the stop this depression. So why they hell did I start with the documentary?
Reason is that control may be a good thing, but every once in a while we may have to reevaluate them and restructure them so fit the present. Else our control laws would be controlling our lives than the stuff we wish to control....
If you do have the time and patience please check out all 10 parts. It is about a bunch of scientist, with ideas so radical and ahead of time, that they faced so much public criticism. And the extent to which they dedicated their own lives to to prove the unprovable - starting at one side and ending up on the other side of the line separating genius and insanity..
We see it all around us - uncertainty scares the sh*t out of us. Everything external has to be under control. Our craze for control, often leads to panic when stuff goes wrong. All that is around us needs to be certain and every change predictable..
Having an escalator for a gymnasium is the perfect example - I would chose not to exercise my body till I get into the gym. THAT is the place for exercise - why the hell do I pay these guys if I have to do the exercise climbing the stairs? But don't you dare ask me why those stairs exist - you are questioning my freedom of choice to have a stair case. But NO I wont use it..
We try to control everything from the temperature in our living quarters to nuclear fusion in reactors. Our fear of the unknown and uncontrollable is so great that it has consumed us. Ironic, isnt it? We try so hard to control things, in the process get controlled by the very thing. I just remembered one of the quotes from an old movie called "The Gods Must Be Crazy". Narrator compares the African bushmen with civilized city dwellers. It goes something like this..
"Civilized man refused to adapt himself to his environment. Instead he adapted his environment to suit him.So he built cities, roads,vehicles, machinery.And he put up power lines to run his labour-saving devices. But he didn't know when to stop.The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier, the more complicated he made it. Now his children are sentenced to 10 to 15 years of school, to learn, how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat. And civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings, now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt...every hour of the day to his self-created environment. For instance, if it's Monday...and 7:30 comes up, you have to dis-adapt from your domestic surroundings and re-adapt yourself to an entirely different environment. 8:00 means everybody has to look busy...... 10:30 means you can stop looking busy for 15 minutes. And then,you have to look busy again. Your day is chopped into pieces. In each segment of time, you adapt to new circumstances...."
The worlds leading economy, run by the most brilliant minds, the people most obsessed with control, is crumbling. It is ironic that Americans, the control-freaks, did not realize their lack of control measures to the stop this depression. So why they hell did I start with the documentary?
Reason is that control may be a good thing, but every once in a while we may have to reevaluate them and restructure them so fit the present. Else our control laws would be controlling our lives than the stuff we wish to control....
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