[TriLUG] OT: Outsourcing Grandma to Mumbai

[Mike M]

On Tue, Mar 30, 2004 at 08:55:14AM -0500, Glen Ford wrote:
> Magnus Hedemark wrote:
> 
> >http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/story/0,10801,91588,00.html 
> >
> >Since the topic of offshoring seems to be of interest to a number of the 
> >active members, I thought this article would be of interest. 
> >
> The Feb. issue of Wired magazine has a more indepth and more even handed 
> story on outsourcing.

I just finished reading it from another link source with a _huge_
amount of links:
http://www.outsourcecongress.org/outsource/congress/index.html
> 
> The Wired article hints that "creativity" is the new job field.  
> Whatever that means.

He-he.

> Also if our skills can be gotten cheaper overseas, what should the 
> schools be teaching to arm the next wave of workers to deal with this 
> new reality?

Economics.  

1) A sudden increase in the supply of labor means that many
high paid jobs will suddenly cease to exist.

2) We are the American consumer.  We run the frigging economy.
Unfortunately, we have the combined organizational skills of lemmings
and cats. If we transformed ourselves (back) into the American saver, the
world would tremble.

> Perhaps things like problem solving skills and the value of being a 
> generalist. How about businesses that do depend on physical location? 
> Like a geek coffe house or your neighorhood rib joint?

Yes. The resurgence of the generalist. In the future (as I prefaced
almost everything I said while visiting Epcot last fall to the 
annoyance of my family) everyone will be required to administer and
secure a non-trivial computer system as unthinkingly as filling
your vehicle with hydrogen.

How aboput thinking like Wilbur and Orville?  I've got a client in Texas that
is solving a problem created by the FCC.  He recently got a patent 
approved in 6 months (it usually takes 24-60).  He's using all-US
based talent.  I bill him at $35/hour but it works out to about $15 
because I give him a flat cost invoice (which he pays ahead) and I end
up doing extra work because I will not allow him or myself to fail.
He might sell his invention and I might get a piece of the action - 
or maybe I won't - but that's a risk I'll take.  He's got that
"screw it, I know how to fix this" attitude.  He's got a BA in
business and he can do engineering math.  I like to think that I'm
hanging out with a modern day Wright Bro.
-- 
When the correction first comes, we tend to underreact. While we do not 
like the surprise, we tend to think of it as maybe a one-time thing. 
Things, we believe, will soon get back to normal. We do not scale back 
our expectations sufficiently. It apparently takes years for this to 
work itself out. - John Mauldin