STOCKING shelves and hauling boxes on the graveyard shift at Target was something Ed Marx never imagined he would be doing. After 27 years as a computer programmer, Mr. Marx said, he thought his technology skills ensured he would be employed in that field for many years. þþIt has not turned out that way. In August 2002, Mr. Marx, 49, lost his job at the Computer Sciences Corporation, a technology contractor and services company in Moorestown, N.J. Mr. Marx and his company say he was a victim of offshore outsourcing, known as offshoring. Unable, so far, to find a full-time job in his field, he has been working at Target since September. þþSeeing examples like Mr. Marx, many technology workers have become increasingly concerned and angry about offshore contracts, which can cause certain jobs or whole departments to be moved to countries like India and China, where technology workers are paid lower wages. þþInformation technology industries have ÿled the initial overseas exodus,ÿ according to a study by Forrester Research, published in November 2002. In a survey of 400 hiring managers in May, the Information Technology Association found that 12 percent of the information technology companies in the survey had moved jobs offshore, compared with 6 percent of the nontechnology companies. þþÿI feel to some extent the train has already left, and I'm not sure how it can be reversed,ÿ Mr. Marx said. ÿThe layoff has had a profound effect on me. It's difficult walking away from something you've been doing for 27 years. There used to be two pages of tech jobs in the classified section. Now there's maybe one column.ÿ þþMany American technology workers whose jobs have not been moved offshore say that they are being offered lower salaries than in the past. ÿIt's a total deflation periodÿ for information technology workers, said John C. McCarthy, a Forrester Research group director who led the firm's offshoring study. Many technology workers ÿcan expect to make at least 20 percent less than they did during the boom,ÿ he said.þþMany experts are stressing that technology workers must upgrade their skills and are advising them to shift their sights to sectors that are still hiring.þþWireless technology, broadband and security technology are all growing fields, according to John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an international outplacement consulting firm. Mr. Challenger also recommends that tech workers consider looking into government and military technology, health care and pharmaceuticals. þþÿWhen the dot-com bubble burst it was the end of skyrocketing I.T. salaries,ÿ Mr. Challenger said. ÿIt's important for I.T. workers to make sure their skills are not outdated.ÿþþThe proponents of offshoring see it as an effective solution to rapidly rising costs. An August report by the McKinsey Global Institute, a research group that is part of McKinsey & Company, called offshoring a win-win situation for the global economy and asserted that it allowed American companies to not only reduce their costs but also reap larger profits by investing in new businesses at home.þþThat study said that an Indian software developer could make as little as $6 an hour, compared with $60 an hour for an American. þþAtul Vashistha, the chief executive of neoIT, a California-based company that specializes in advising companies on moving work overseas, and whose clients include Siemens and Lucent Technologies, said that most of the jobs being outsourced overseas are ÿlower endÿ positions in data processing and programming.þþBut Marcus Courtney, president of the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, a union affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, said high-level white-collar workers were just as endangered as anyone else.þþÿAny job can be exported, irrespective of skills,ÿ he said. ÿThis goes beyond training and education. Employees shouldn't snow themselves into believing that if they have an advanced certification or an M.B.A., their job can't be sent overseas.ÿþþMr. Courtney's organization opposes the growing offshoring tide by trying to promote public awareness and political action. He said that his group was fighting for legislation like the bill being considered in the New Jersey Legislature that would allow only United States citizens to work on certain state contracts.þþBut Joseph Stubblebine, the chief executive of JobCircle.com, an online job board geared to technology professionals in the Northeast, said tech workers should focus on learning in-demand skills like Java and Linux programming. Mr. Stubblebine said that well-rounded tech workers who could strike a balance between business, social and technology skills would best survive the upheaval.þþÿTech folks that understand what a business needs will survive,ÿ he said. ÿSomeone who just writes codes and sits in the corner will not.''þþBill Beck, a 50-year-old unemployed programmer, has developed new skills but also said he had a contingency plan. Mr. Beck, a native of Tyrone, Ga., has been laid off twice since 2001, but he has taken courses in HTML and advanced Java.þþAlthough he is reluctant to give up on a career that has lasted 20 years, he recently enrolled in a six-week class in real estate appraisal, a field he plans to enter if he cannot find work in technology. He said that his former employer began outsourcing programming jobs to India several years ago.þþMr. Beck contemplated a move for a job in Pennsylvania but learned that the position would pay 40 percent less than his previous salary.þþMark Higby of Granby, Conn., said he planned to upgrade his credentials. He is looking into certification programs in security technology and is considering studying for an M.B.A.þþWhile he does not attribute the loss of his position in infrastructure maintenance and design last year to work contracted overseas, he said he did believe that offshoring had made his job search tougher. After his layoff, Mr. Higby said, he was forced to declare bankruptcy so he could retain his home for his wife and 2-year-old son.þþAfter nine months of looking for work, Mr. Higby landed a part-time consulting job with Pepperidge Farm and recently interviewed for a full-time technology position in Rhode Island. His wife started working part time at Starbucks so that the family could afford health insurance.þþBut Mr. Higby, 49, does not express bitterness about offshoring. ÿIt's all about being as competitive as you can be,ÿ he said. ÿI'm not going to get depressed. I'm not going to give up. I want to be a big-picture guy. I don't want to go after jobs that are moving offshore, I don't want to chase after something that's running away.ÿ þþþþþþ
Source: NY Times
