[TriLUG] Re: Offshoring (was: Linux / Solaris Position) (+15 OT)

[Scott Chilcote]

Michael Thompson wrote:
> <rant>
> Also, how many IT professionals do you know that have that "everyone who 
> needs my help to use their computer is stupid, and I will belittle and 
> insult them as I DO MY JOB"?  I'm as worried about the outsourcing thing 
> as much as the next guy, but when I look over at the next guy I realize 
> that I should just find a new skill in an industry without the "a-hole" 
> reputation.
> 
> What would you do if you were the president of a corporation and you 
> could save millions by firing a few high priced arrogant jerks and 
> replace them with Indians with something in their heads besides the 
> results of the last American Idol episode?  (and for a quarter of the 
> price)  Its just bad business to pay more for less, and much of what 
> I've been seeing lately is showing that Indians are *providing* more for 
> less.
> </rant>

I've seen the "arrogant jerk" accusation come up in discussions relating 
to engineers in recent years.  While I believe there are a  subset who 
deserve this label, I often find the claim to be used divisively.

Since the mid nineties, managers have been cutting staff while 
requesting ever more increasing amounts of off the books overtime from 
their IT staff.  As the senior people who remain continue to have to 
make decisions regarding the last of their evening and weekend hours, 
tempers get harder to control.  I have no doubt that managers complain 
long and loud about how uncooperative their engineers are in these 
situations.

I'm not defending my profession this way simply because it feels good. 
I know which traffic lights in Morrisville and RTP go into overnight 
flash mode after 11 pm, and I've seen them do it for weeks on end.  In 
order to meet important deliveries, I and others on my team have not 
only worked overnight, but done it for consecutive nights.  We weren't 
trying to be heroes, we were just trying to keep our company afloat and 
to make good on their promises.

We want to be treated as skilled professionals, but we live in a 
business climate that has categorized us as an exportable commodity. 
Our ranks are regularly thinned because it looks great on annual 
reports, while the work continues to be spread out among those who remain.

Tech support people are often unfairly branded as rude and offensive, 
but they have jobs that are in the same category as school bus driver or 
air traffic controller - too aggravating for most people to handle for 
more than a year or two.  Their calls are timed, and they are downgraded 
if they spend too long.  There are recent news stories about how workers 
in other countries (e.g. India) are finding these jobs undesirable, and 
are not staying in them longer than they have to.

I see the same circumstances spreading into other career areas as well, 
such as medical professionals who are paid based on how many patients 
they see per hour.  There's a tendency for dedicated people to "push 
back", and I hate to see this labeled as rude and "anti-team player" 
behavior.

Apologies to those who haven't been interested in this subject.

--
Scott C.