[NTLUG:Discuss] Job Searching

[Tom Zabel]

As with everything, there are two sides to this issue (and a nasty twist
that affects us more than things would have in years gone by).

Clearly, as an unemployed software engineer, I agree with the late Irwin
Feerst of the American Engineering Association - H1B is a bad idea that
depresses salaries (and in todays economy not only makes indentured
servants of the H1B visa holders, but makes it easy to lay off employees
who are citizens or permanent residents).  Representatice Tancredo would
have my vote if I lived in his district.

The other side of the coin is that H1B workers lower costs for
companies.  This in turn helps boost stock prices and lower product
prices.  As consumers (and maybe as stockholders) we win on this one. 
This is more or less the free market argument.  It makes some sense (as
does the restriction argument).

Which one is most persuasive probably depends on your situation, but my
guess is that for most of us our paycheck is more important than any
stock holdings or product consumption - hence limiting H1B visas makes
sense.

Now here's the nasty twist.  If companies can't import the H1B workers
they want, especially software companies, it is tremendously easy to
have the development work done overseas (essentially an unlimited H1B
situation) and then just transfer the software back here via the
internet.  Package it up here, perhaps (and claim that it's American
made) and sell it.  All without any American software engineering.  The
jobs are gone permanently.  There is no law against it.  Oh, yeah, and
the guys with the stock options and bonuses have just made a killing.

But, of course, we have a shortage of skilled software engineers in the
USA (and I have a bridge in New York that I'll sell cheap).

Tom Zabel
Dallas, TX

merlin wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 8 Nov 2001, Fred James wrote:
> 
> Here is some perhaps good news that I received from another mailing list
> I'm on.
> 
> http://www.house.gov/tancredo/PressRelease/tancredo_proposal_strengthens_do.htm
> 
> Apparently Rep. Tancredo (R-CO) is sponsoring legislation to reduce the
> number of H1-B visas to around 55,000 a year.  Also, he is proposing that
> for every 1/4 of a percentage point that the unemployment rate is above 6%
> that the number of available H1-B's be reduced by 10,000.
> 
> This theoretically would open up more jobs for US citizens.  I don't know
> what your individual opinions are concerning H1-B legislation, but I'm
> personally for this proposal.
>  --
> Merlin
> 
> Subtlety: the art of saying what you want to say and getting out of
> range before it is understood.
> 
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