Monday, February 11, 2008

H1B visas

This article is not from a political publication, but from an engineering one:



Like tossing a lit cigarette out the window onto a bit of dry California brush, some subjects are consistently inflammatory for engineers. If career issues always spark excited commentary, discussion about H-1B visas are like pouring gasoline on a wildfire.


The ACM and IEEE claim that enrollments in CS and EE curricula are falling precipitously. Yet readers respond that those organizations are fronts for industry; that cries of looming shortages are the tools of fat-cat employers to flood the market with cheap imported labor and drive salaries down. Is that paranoia, or does it show a firm grasp of market dynamics?


Others respond that any idiot can see there's no shortage. "Just look at all of the unemployed engineers I know!" Unemployed friends and relatives make for powerful personal imagery, but just as a single cold or hot day says nothing meaningful about the global warming shoutfest, local and personal anecdotes are tragic but not statistically-significant. The IEEE says there's practically full employment, but those who think they're a shill for industry won't believe them.



For the record, I personally think that all the H1B visas should be replaced with Green Cards, along with requirements to become American Citizens.  But this is an interesting article, so do read it.


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