CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS IN THE US?

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CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS IN THE US?


[+] serious ballot by Cathexis
created Thu Apr 28, 05

April, 2005: Bill Gates tells members of the US Congress that they should grant him unlimited access to foreign workers (loosening work visa requirements), citing a dearth of available software programmers available among current US citizens, which is holding MicroSoft and other tech companies back.

This seems to imply that there are no unemployed software programmers in America ... well, none that are any good anyway. The US Commerce Department seems to believe he's wrong. They pointed out that unemployment in the tech sector is higher than the rest of the economy.

So ... who is right?

Bill Gates: Too few software people available in US
Bill Gates: Too few *good* software people available in US
Bill Gates: (unspoken) Too few affordable software people available in US
Commerce Dept: (unspoken) Plentiful crop of qualified, affordable candidates in US
Teachers need to do their Job


Ballot #72420 : SEE RESULTS

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COMMENTS:
I used to be a programmer until most of the jobs were outsourced after the Internet boom in the mid-90s. Someone should outsource Bill Gates.
by _Beelzebubba on Thu Apr 28, 05 10:04am [+]

It's cheaper to hire foreign workers. That is what it is about. Lets put more american workers out of work.
by FiddleFaddleOnLSD on Thu Apr 28, 05 10:08am [+]

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of out of work computer engineers in the US. I'm not opposed to outsourcing, and I don't think he should be forced to hire anyone, but he also shouldn't get any special exceptions from the government.
by herzog on Thu Apr 28, 05 10:10am [+]

It's a pretty sad day when the richest man in the world can't 'afford' to pay his employees a decent salary. As usual, Mr. Gates is setting a stellar example. What a mensch. (sarcasm/on)
by mojo on Thu Apr 28, 05 10:18am [+]

If Bill Gates is correct, with all his billions he should look out for his countries best interest and offer to educate good candidates who may not be able to afford education, I persoanlly think he just want to hire cheap labour.
by ABC on Thu Apr 28, 05 11:12am [+]

^ GOOD COMMENT ^
by mojo on Thu Apr 28, 05 12:57pm [+]

ABC is my hero!
by FiddleFaddleOnLSD on Thu Apr 28, 05 1:00pm [+]

Perhaps these seemingly contradictory positions can be resolved by appeal to the word "good."

Although I don't want to lump all unemployed software developers together as less than "good," the fact that you were probably laid off by some company who viewed your skills as unnecessary or too expensive. On average, I'd imagine that this unemployed group of software developers is not as good as those who remain unemployed. I mean, that is natural selection in the marketplace, no?

Having said this, I hasten to mitigate this somewhat harsh response by allowing that Bill Gates is doubtless trying to serve his own interests in importing good (and somewhat easier to manage (lose your job and there goes your work visa))developers.

Or maybe Bill is an Archangel of Commerce and has only pure motives? Hmmmm?

Thanks for the ballot.
by xxxxxxxx on Thu Apr 28, 05 2:30pm [+]

Small typo changes meaning: Paragraph three of my comments should read, in relevant part: "On average, I would imagine that this unemployed group is not as good as those who remain EMPLOYED..." Sorry. Thanks.
by xxxxxxxx on Thu Apr 28, 05 2:33pm [+]

Billy-Boy, in the best tradition of corporate moguls of his era, just doesn't want to get up off his moneybags to pay good people their due. I seem to recall hearing a blurb on CNBC a few days ago that Microsoft-In-The-Head was expected to more than double its expected quarterly target for per-share revenue, so he CAN'T say that he doesn't have the cash.
by Truthseeker013 on Thu Apr 28, 05 5:37pm [+]

Outsourcing leads to a shortage of good software developers as more and more talented students decide not to go into software development, and in turn, a shortage of good software developers leads to more outsourcing. It's a vicious cycle.
by zorra on Fri Apr 29, 05 5:54am [+]






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