Interesting People mailing list archives
IP: No talent shortage in U.S. (7-29-2001) -- letters to the SJMN today
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 11:30:34 -0400
"I am not shocked by the content of the Mercury News' recent article ``Tech Talent Alarm Sounded'' (July 22). However, I am shocked that Congress and much of the media are accepting the pro-immigration lobby ``party line'' without question. The cold, hard truth is this: Many U.S. companies have outsourced their talent-recruitment to third parties who refuse to hire qualified U.S. scientists, programmers and engineers because they are perceived to cost more than imported H1-B replacements. There is actually a huge surplus of high-tech brains in America, but we have zero social capital. That is why we can be discriminated against with impunity. I personally spent seven years in poverty while looking for high-tech employment. How did I escape? By removing my Caltech master's degree and my six years of NASA experience from my application. By pretending to be a mediocre worker instead of a genius, I was suddenly offered work by the same companies that had refused to consider me before. Yes, in the 21st century it has become necessary to lie on the résumé and pretend to have lower qualifications in order to avoid being discriminated against by the anti-genius, anti-U.S.-worker high-tech establishment. Tom Nadeau Dickson, Tenn. Honesty is what's in short supply Let's get something straight: There is no shortage of engineers, computer programmers or scientists. I know this from personal experience, since it took me over 15 months to get a single job offer after receiving my bachelor's degree in electrical engineering (with a 3.59 GPA) in 1998. I probably sent out 120 résumés to ads I saw in the newspaper and got about seven interviews -- so how can anyone in his or her right mind claim that there is a shortage of engineers? The only ``shortage'' in the high-tech industry is that of honesty. Randle C. Sink Brea:
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