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The Fear of OffShoring

 
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Speaking as an IT professional from the UK, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about offshoring. There is plenty of media coverage, but what do you think the actual threats are.

Are all the java jobs in the UK heading for India and China?

Should I believe a recent conversation with a London recruitment consultant who said that the market for Java professionals is booming or be a little more weary in my approach?

Is it worth studying for all the Sun certifications, or would efforts be better applied to becoming a systems analyst?

Recommendations of some good articles to read are welcome.
 
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As a good start, I'd recommend searching this forum for prior discussions, as there have been many. (You welcome to start this thread, but I'd also glance at past discussions.) In short, my $.02: offshoring is overblown. See my prior posts for details.

--Mark
 
Arthur Blair
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Thanks mark, but I can only find posts written in 2003 when I search Javaranch for "offshoring" or "off shoring". Do you think you could you provide a link to a more up to date discussion?
 
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Arthur, this topic was discussed few days back also. When I search I could find many threads from 2003 to 2006. I guess you are looking only first page, click on "More Options" and move to last page where you can find latest threads. One of such thread is:

https://coderanch.com/t/30275/Jobs/careers/Outsourcing
 
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This article

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20060310/ts_csm/atradegap

talks about the US trade and current account deficits. They have worrisome consequences in the long run. Please note the paragraphs that I quote from that article:


The change, when it comes, could bring a weaker dollar and higher interest rates for US borrowers as foreign willingness to lend dollars to the US ebbs. Moreover, the longer it takes for "global imbalances" to begin a correction, the tougher the adjustment could be.

Each year of gargantuan deficits with trade partners represents another year of erosion for America's economy, because it means US consumers are buying cheaper goods from abroad at the expense of jobs at home, say those who worry about the size of America's trade deficit.

"We're hollowing the economy out," says Charles McMillion, an economist who follows trade patterns at MBG Information Services in Washington. "It's having enormous negative consequences for families and individuals."

 
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The threats are that we (the UK that is) lose the skilled workforce, and this leads to a lack of innovative people who could generate wealth. I've seen the UK market become polarized, with highly skilled people in huge demand, but with lesser skilled people not able to find work. The experience / work catch.

It seems quite telling that to get started in IT you need at least 2 years up to date experience, a good (1st or 2:1) red brick university degree(s) � and this takes time, effort and (borrowed) money. You can earn more money in the building trade, sooner, and easier. I don�t mean to say that builders are less skilled; but why would anyone chose a career in IT in the UK.

One thing I�ve learned, you best keep learning - or find work in the government
 
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For projects where business rules are simple it is okay to offshore. But for systems requiring complex business rules, I am not sure how offshoring will be beneficial. There is always the communication issue because even when you have the business and developers are collocated you have lot of tooing and froing.
 
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