[thelist] rentacoder.com

[bruce]

Hi...

Been more or less following this thread.... As much as one might complain
about cheap software developers, what's starting to occur in the world of
software is no different than what's occured in many other industries
throughout history...

New things supplant old things, technology makes some industries obsolete,
etc... I recall that there used to be rows of guys doing drafting work in
certain companies, Cad-Cam applications ripped that profession to shreds...
While the draftsman complained, technology continued!!!

The world of technology is really strange in that you have a group of people
who are literally dedicated to putting others out of work!! The software app
that you're working on with certain features, might provide the same
functionality as some other app, except yours might be cheaper... The guy
who has the first app might complain, he now has to lay off someone, you
say.."..hey..innovate..etc.."..

But you don't really care as to the pain he might feel... Likewise, the guy
in India who's working for $7.00/hour doesn't really think about the pain
you might feel doing software in Atlanta, or whereever... And in fact, the
quality is reasonably comparable... The barriers to developing software in a
distributed fashion are being removed... It's becoming a different world...

I've been comptemplating what's really required to create a development
environment, in terms of what apps one needs to put together an environment
where you can have a project be developed 24 hours a day... Most of the
pieces are there, and as it gets easier/more robust, it allows more
applications to be developed in this fashion, with fewer probs....thereby
compounding the problem....

One should also think of the effect Open Source has on the world of Software
Development... Does Open Source cause jobs to be lost/reduce wages in the
world of Software Development? I don't believe there have been any
significant economic studies to answer this issue... The company that gets a
good quality app says, hey Open Source is great!!! The company that has to
compete against the app say's it's not a good thing...!!!

No matter what is done, you're not going to stop someone from getting a
cheap developer to create an app...

Perhaps, you might have a leveling of the cost of creating an app... But
then the question is...Is the guy costing $6,000/year right..or the guy
costing $50,000/year???? The one costing $50,000 is praying that he's
right!! otherwise, he needs to find a new job!!

I've often said that if you really want job security... you need to find a
profession that requires your customers to get the services you provide from
the local community...therefore, your competition will have basically the
same costs as you...

Unfortunately, this gets to hamburger flipper...Plumber..Construction
worker, etc... Trash collector...etc... Physical work....

By the way... The same thing wil hapeen to Financial Services as well,
etc...


Peace...

Bruce
bedouglas at earthlink.net


-----Original Message-----
From: thelist-bounces at lists.evolt.org
[mailto:thelist-bounces at lists.evolt.org]On Behalf Of Tony Crockford
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 4:58 AM
To: nansmith at heritageconcord.org; thelist at lists.evolt.org
Subject: RE: [thelist] rentacoder.com



> I don't know what this means as far as coding work goes
> for those of us in countries where $5 an hour won't pay
> for anything.
> Nan

There are only a few possibilities:

* Taxation on services imported electronically (an end to the free
internet)

* Global parity on cost of living (eventually, but likely not in my
lifetime)

* Gradual narrowing of the differential when the $5ph market is
saturated (I've seen Indian software companies seeking staff in the UK!)

* Gradual education of buyers regarding hidden costs of overseas
development work (such as you have identified)

* a mass movement of locally skilled workforce to either: - somewhere
where $5 per hour buys a lot, or: another trade.  (I hear plumbers get
paid well and are in short supply!)

Hmmm....


--
* * Please support the community that supports you.  * *
http://evolt.org/help_support_evolt/

For unsubscribe and other options, including the Tip Harvester
and archives of thelist go to: http://lists.evolt.org
Workers of the Web, evolt !