The original post is entitled “Who is to blame for US outsourcing?” Why blame anyone. We need to understand it If another country was outsourcing their jobs to our country we would be thrilled to have it. I think the concerns are that the corporate environment that our parents and/or perhaps our grandparents worked in is changing. It has only been a blip on the time line of history that companies had direct employees and set them up for health care and pensions. Prior to just 100 years ago everybody either was an indentured servant, worked for themselves or with relatives and most likely worked on the farm. In the agricultural pre-industrial era people grew their own food, hunted their own meat etc.
With the sky rocketing costs of health care (which is not helped by multi-million dollar law suits for personal injury) greedy corporate executives robbing pension funds, and the increase in competition it is no wonder that company’s here and abroad are looking for ways to cut costs. It is their responsibility, it is necessary to stay in business to make money via profits. Money and profits are not wrong, or evil. It is a fact of business that without making profits, raises are not funded (cost-of-living and merit), capitalization is also not possible - building up with new buildings, vehicles, equipment and new staff. If a company does not grow, or earn more they must cut costs to maintain a margin in the black. If they don’t they go under and then even more jobs are lost.
College taught us how to use our abilities to solve technical problems, call it a tool box - college didn’t tell us the answer to many problems - only what “tools” to use to evaluate and solve the problems that we would encounter. Well now we need to utilize our “tools” and solve our problem of how to be in demand. It is called marketing and yes it may also require relocation (there also is telecommuting which is a form that many outsourcing jobs are taking). Outsourcing of blue collar jobs has been going on for decades but the white collar crew was not concerned until it started happening to them. (After all a recession is when your neighbor is unemployed, a depression is when you are unemployed). Remember the exodus of jobs from the rust belt to the sun belt? Hey, what’s the problem, if they wanted to work they could have relocated instead of griping about what things used to be like. Now the exodus is from the sun belt to Mexico and then in many cases from Mexico to China; some even skip Mexico and go straight to China! Having an education should mean that we should be better equipped to recognize changing trends and be ready to deal with those changes.
One solution is to support our team, i.e. the people we work with, rather than trying to cut them down so we appear to stand taller. Help them learn their job better. When everyone performs better the company (i.e. the team) benefits which results in better profits and therefore better raises and working conditions for the team. The Army has a marketing call “Be Your Best”. If everyone on the team could learn as much as possible, to do as much as possible they would not only be more valuable to their company but also to their selves. When you look for a job an employer doesn’t need to hear what you want from a position with them, (they already have a good idea) they are looking to hire someone so that someone will do something for Them so they/their company can be more productive, have better quality etc in order to make money and improve profits and stay in business. We as engineers need to market ourselves better. Our first client is the company that we are working for, not just the other company’s that our company sells to. Also think of your associates as your clients, by helping them you help the company and in turn that helps you - remember better conditions, raises etc through growing profits. If you’re concerned that you won’t get the recognition from helping others do their jobs your wrong. Your associates will see it and they will not only appreciate you but they will remember you when it comes time to refer someone for a project or a job.
Which leads me to the next part: remember the type of job conditions where people signed on to a company for life, with health benefits and a pension is probably only a blip in history. Therefore the better known anyone is, the better chances they have of finding new work when the time comes to move. Those people you helped in the past will remember you and someday one of them is going to be somewhere that their influence can help you. If you are known as a chronic complainer only out for your self - do you think the people that know you will help you when you need help? Only if you are the very best and they have no other alternative, maybe.
Back to outsourcing - some jobs can’t be outsourced. And if you want one of the jobs that is being outsourced you need to find a way to market yourself and your abilities to save a potential client some money by using you rather than someone much less expensive. (You may have to cut your pay, i.e. costs, just so you can do the work you desire.) Most of us want more money but that may not be practical, even if you are up to your eyeballs in debt. Be competent and be able to verbalize why you are competent and think of ways that you can quantify what a potential (ethical) employer wants. Just because they are in the position to hire it does not mean that they are using you as in abusing you. Employers have stresses just as great if not greater than employees when it comes down to remaining employed i.e. in business. The finiancial burdens are great for small business which are usually fininaced by one or more individuals using their homes for collateral - they are well aware of the pitfalls. The only solution is to be better, be quicker or cheaper. Pick two.
