Between outsourcing and downsizing, in the long term it doesn't look good for Americans in the tech field. Just one interesting note, the author says on average that programmers get paid $50/hr... I think I'm in that "underpaid, overworked" category.
Programmers are a large part of social globalization, but could that be our downfall? As we build the infrastructure of Earth 2.0, where Maine can collaborate with Tokyo without a hitch, are we creating a global market for our services that we won’t be able to compete in?
Right now, it is good to be a programmer. The business world is really starting to wake up and smell the Internet, providing consistent work at corporate and local levels. We are approached every day by customers looking for a range of solutions — everything from dealership management suites to a quick way to update the newest dog actor’s portfolio. Everybody is rushing online, and there’s a strong need for coders.
Here in Boston, it’s about par for an entry level programmer with a degree to start out at around $45-55k a year, with great benefits. After even a year’s experience, and a strong transcript, a salary can easily hit $75k plus. Often, the work isn’t even that challenging — even poor programmers can do well if they have strong communication and delegation skills. In fact, being a brilliant coder often has little to do with success in a corporate gig; (check the feed for that in a few days.)
I often work with a company in New Hampshire that does extremely well by churning out web applications. Their model is 2 teams each with 5 programmers and 1 lead. The head of the company is a one man think tank — constantly sending new projects down the line. The programmers work 10-4, and the average salary is $62,414. Hourly, the average programmer makes about $50. This model is pretty stable throughout the industry. Each company has its own flavor, but it’s safe to say that on average, a full time programmer costs a company about $50 an hour.
With that standard of comparison, let’s travel around the world, to another company I’m familiar with, in India. This company does global contract work, but employs the same technology as the New Hampshire outfit, and has a similar management model. The same caliber programmers cost $20 an hour to employ, and earn a competetive salary in their locale.
I work mostly with companies in the Middle East. My friends in India aren’t the most extreme example, just a representative one that I am familiar with. In some countries (in the Far East and some in Europe) many programmers with experience and education only earn $10 an hour.
Intellectual work like programming doesn’t meet the same downfalls as outsourcing things like industrial and textile work. The primary investment is often negligible or non existant with jobs like programming — clothes or auto parts require entire factories to be built and management / quality control teams hired. Then there’s shipping, transport, housing, travel and expesive liasons — huge costs for phsyical product companies — that don’t comparatively exist.
Many people are enraged by the concept of outsourcing. They think it’s unAmerican, exploitive, and often detestable. As a programmer myself, I’m happy to have their support, but realize it is frivolous. There’s nothing more American than profit and free market, so the second it becomes completely feasible to outsource work at a 50% savings, it will happen.
The job market will likely still be stable for a few years yet, so if you’re in college, creating a nice pile of debt, it’s probably not time to worry. Right now, the global communication required for complex projects is often still tedious and expensive, though it is becoming less so by the day. Even after the corporate jobs migrate, local work will be available — though who knows for how long.
[via Redline]
Tags: future, career, programmers
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