Does the US have a shortage of skilled IT workers?

[redqueen]

Obama:

"We can do better than that and go a long way toward meeting industry’s need for skilled workers with Americans. Until we have achieved that, I will support a temporary increase in the H-1B visa program as a stopgap measure until we can reform our immigration system comprehensively."


Clinton:

"I also want to reaffirm my commitment to the H-1B visa program and to increase the current cap. Foreign skilled workers contribute greatly to our technological development. That is well understood in Silicon Valley."

[babylonsister]

1. Who said that? And no, there's no shortage, there's a shortage

of people who are willing to pay people what they're worth.

[lapfog_1]

6. I'll take a guess

the Senator from Punjab? (self identified as that, btw)

[redqueen]

7. Nope... Obama!

I was had. :)

[babylonsister]

11. Tough to respond when edits are being made. Let me know

next time, 'k? I still don't like that answer, from either of them. Who are they trying to appease and why?

[PoliticalAmazon]

40. Hillary has been pushing for more visas for India guest workers. n/t

[Armstead]

14. Bingooooooo ---

"there's a shortage of people who are willing to pay people what they're worth."

That's the whole freaking problem in a nutshell.

[uponit7771]

18. I've been on at LEAST 3 different off shored REENGINEERING projects to bring them back here and NONE

...of them work long term because M&E cycle is overly elongated.

In Metros like DFW Java jobs are 500 strong on Dice in a 40 mile radius due to H1s ending

[Armstead]

35. To be honest, I'm not sure if you agree or disagree

Could you restate that with a little less inside jargon? Thanks

[cliffordu]

29. DING DING DING We have a winner!!!

You are exactly right.

It is NO accident that the vast majority of new hires at Microsoft, for instance, here in the states is for temporary or contract workers - Micrisost doesn't have to pay health insurance, etc, etc - and Bill Gates can point to "empty" full time jobs (being done by these fully qualified "temps") as a reason for needing the increased numbers of foreign workers -

The whole thing reeks of profiteering and wage depression.... (I'm an IT dude)

[atreides1]

2. No Shortage

What the US is short on is people who won't take crappy pay, and who can't be extorted with a green card!

[IndianaJones]

3. you're funny. nt.

"we should examine our ability to replace a stopgap increase in the number of H1B visas with an increase in the number of permanent visas we issue to foreign skilled workers."

-Obama

[redqueen]

4. He's not the one chumming it up with TATA and calling himself the Senator from Punjab.

Is that all you've got or has he been as friendly with outsourcers as she has?

[IndianaJones]

8. He supports and says the same thing on the issue as Clinton.

Are you serious? You should go back to the sniper stuff.

[redqueen]

10. Actually... um

nevermind. :blush: :P

[IndianaJones]

15. his position on H-1B visa programs.

"I will support a temporary increase in the H-1B visa program as a stopgap measure until we can reform our immigration system comprehensively. I support comprehensive immigration reform that includes improvement in our visa programs, including our legal permanent resident visa programs and temporary programs including the H-1B program, to attract some of the world’s most talented people to America."

Obama

[uponit7771]

16. This is Obamas position too, he's dead wrong and anyone who can get to the guy should...

...confront him on it.

I do believe he's more approachable than Hillary et al on this issue.

[redqueen]

19. Yeah... I'm not sure how much daylight there is between their positions on this.

... not good.

[olkaz]

5. We have a shortage of skilled IT workers with JOBS!

Goddammit this pisses me off so much.

The right and the business world wants those 401-3B visas to be increased more and more, but REFUSE to put any more money in the education budget to help develop our own talent. And even those people who go to college and get a good education can't get a decent job while trying to compete with all the foreign talent coming in, plus all the work shipped out to other countries.

God it makes me sick.

[AllexxisF1]

9. I am a Senior Network Administrator.

Shortage my ass.

What needs to happen first and foremost is our salaries going back to what they were during the end of the nineties. Admins like myself have literally seen average salaries in the 120's down to the bloody 70's.


There are plenty of adults who have been forced out of their factories that can learn this honorable and exciting career. We do not need more people from over seas what we need is paid training for those those who's jobs have been tossed out.

[uponit7771]

13. YEAP! Senior analyst here and I saw the overt displacement that was happening here with H1b

[uponit7771]

12. No, Obama is dead wrong on this issue but I will still vote for him. Hillary on the other hand well

...you know...

[redqueen]

17. Actually... they seem to be nearly identical.

*sigh*

[uponit7771]

21. ***WARNING****: This is a complete stretch and a excuse for both candidates.

In DFW if you do Dice search on java in the mid zip code you still get 400 - 500 hits with around 100 being IBM gigs no one wants. If ALL tech metros were like this they'd have a VERY small point after decades of no improvement but metros like greater LA, KC have people hurting because too many H1s

[redqueen]

24. Yeah... I've worked with IT folks long enough to know the

"not enough skilled workers" thing is crap.

Even the Republican ones are pissed about the visa cap issue. Sorry... "Libertarian"... they just usally vote Republican is all. :P

[IndianaJones]

22. I don't like the increase but I would put Obama slightly better on this issue than Clinton.

He says there is not really a shortage of workers, as much as a shortage of training that we need to do something about, especially within the minority community.

[uponit7771]

25. I didn't see that part, but it sounds like something he'd say.

[redqueen]

26. Did that hurt?

;)

[IndianaJones]

31. I had to go into the restroom and cry a little. nt.

[redqueen]

32. Hahaha

:P

[uponit7771]

33. heh heh...

[spooky3]

27. yes, and I agree they're both wrong - as others have said, employers need to pay what they're worth

no shortage then

[uponit7771]

30. Then pay would level off because of supply and demand. It's a very mid to HIGH skilled field but ...

...tech work in this country is ONLY on the incline. Not to invest in our own kids to get degrees in this field is crazy, someone should confront both candidates on the issue honestly.

After the dot come bust US workers were decimated by the current 195,000 h1 and l1 visas that remand

[glowing]

20. No.. there are many IT workers without jobs as well as scientists and

anyone with a degree that large companies do not want to pay.

[uponit7771]

23. ...and the bad thing about this is the more H1s the more perpetual the issues will become because no

...ones going to spend 60 - 120 on a college education to get a 90,000 dollar top off without going to executive levels.

[JMDEM]

28. Absolutely.

US companies really want "it" workers. As in completely neutered.

[oviedodem]

34. I disagree with both on this I am an IT worker and can tell you that

it is not a shortage but the OUTSOURCING has killed the IT industry for Americans. BTW Hillary I hear supports outsourcing.

[bobbert]

36. My girlfriend has an IT degree but has to work in another field

because of the high competition for a low paying job. She loves what she's doing now so I guess it happened for the best.

[redqueen]

37. Glad to hear things worked out well.

:)

[high density]

38. No, and as you pointed out, both of our candidates suck big time on this issue

My ideal candidate would scrap H-1Bs completely, but this is not an ideal world.

[KittyWampus]

39. Obama is wrong too, but he hasn't accepted thinly veiled bribes the way Hillary AND Bill have.

[redqueen]

41. Yup... as I said above... he's not chummy with orgs like TATA or calling himself

the Senator from some country with lots of financial interest in outsourcing.

[doodadem]

42. From a Recruiter's Perspective

I've been a headhunter for nearly 20 years, most of that time specializing in I.T. With the advent of the Bush regime, the work simply dried up. I can attribute that to a variety of things, but outsourcing has played a major role, as well as economic downturns. The past several years, I've still dabbled with I.T. recruiting, but mostly focus on other engineering (civil, mechanical, electrical, manufacturing) and scientific (medical device, pharmaceutical, biotech). There's always a demand for these folks.

I belong to a large professional network, where I specialize on the candidate recruitment side in making split placements (I let someone else hassle with the company side anymore). Here's what I have observed the past several years in tracking thousands of placements:

--There's still hardly any companies out there that will sponsor an H-1 visa. They say there's still such a glut of American workers, they shouldn't have to. So if they're hiring them, they're not paying recruiting fees for them.
--"Excellent communication skills" are nearly always a requirement. That translates as, you better be easily understood (no thick accent, no talking at warp 8 speed).
--Education matters. The days of being able to say, give me a manual, and I'll pick up anything in a week, are long gone. It's just a fact of life that most foreign workers have at least a bachelors degree, and often higher.
--There's just as much predjudice against the older worker. If given a choice between a junior programmer with a new bachelor's degree at $35K, and the person with 20 years experience making $80K who doesn't want to take less, and may be ready to retire in a few years, who do you think they're usually going to pick? Especially if junior is willing to relocate. It increases your chances considerably if you are willing to move where the jobs are located. By the time someone realizes they are not going to get another job in Timbuktoo, and they're finally willing to look elsewhere, they may have been out of work for months, or even years. Sad to say, alot of companies won't even consider them then.

[uponit7771]

43. I agree with you on the age thing, it's overt and disgusting IMHO. I'd rather work with more...

...experienced engineers too because production life of a product is usually twice as long because of thought through engineering.

Also, do the companies still have to pick up sponsorship if the person doesn't have a GC? I can see their point on hiring Americans right now but I pray it's because the displacement laws are being enforced vs. some patriotism that will get overriden by stock prices like they usually do.