US still has serious shortage of IT workers, according to CNET

[M Prembroke]

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-201-6686403-0.html?tag=tp_pr
The media is almost as bad the politicians. This series of articles is incredibly pro-H1-B it's almost absurd. Always look for who's paying for the advertising, just as look to see who's paying the most to the politicians.
In short, H1-B's can't be paid less than Americans because... well.. it's not legal. Like that's ever stopped someone.
Apparently, if you're an American and having trouble finding work admidst the continuing serious IT labor shortage, there just must be something wrong with you, or you're an anti-immigrant racist.

[frank davis]

Here's how employers could easily skirt the law.
1. Advertise for a position with a very long laundry list of specific technical requirements. (Ever seen that?)
2. Claim there are no qualified workers that exactly match those requirements. (Often ignoring the fact that some of the skills listed could be picked up in weeks).
3. Contact foreign workers who also may not meet the the requirements, then adjust the requirements since no one meets them.

Or, do step 3 first, find specific foreign candidates and get a list of their skills/experience. Then advertise the specific combination of skills/experience for each candidate(s) you are interested in. If you get specific enough. "3 yrs VB, 2 years C++, on Unix, using someUnique software, etc" the odds are very few if any Americans would meet the requirements.

When it comes to wages, games can played with how you classify the programmer. Is he a COBOL programmer that knows Java, or a Java programmer that knows COBOL? Big difference in "prevailing wages" for the two. Use your imagination and you can come up with better examples...

[M Prembroke]

To prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that H1-B's are often paid wages far below Americans, one only need search the database of those positions, which are required to be made public.
Here are a few examples:
You can search here: http://www.zazona.com/LCA-Data/
TATA body shop (http://www.tcs.com) , the #1 H1-B employer:
Occupations In Systems Analysis
-H-1B-
MTata Consultancy ServicesM
MJERSEY CityM
NJ
1
4$33063

JOccupations In Systems AnalysiJ
-H-1B-
JTata Consultancy ServicesJ
JSan ClaraJ
CA
10
5$40627
PROGRAMMER ANALYST IE
-H-1B-
ETATA CONSULTANCY SERVICESE
EHOFFMAN ESTATEE
IL
10
0$299580
PROGRAMMER ANALYST 1C
-H-1B-
CTATA CONSULTANCY SERVICESC
CNEW YORKC
NY
10
7$388367
DOccupations In Systems Analysis
-H-1B-
DTATA CONSULTANCY SERVICESD
DPALO ALTOD
CA
1
2$37100
EPROGRAMMER ANALYST 1E
-H-1B-
ETATA CONSULTANCY SERVICESE
ESAN FRANCISCOE
CA
10
6$406276

Tell me how many programmer analysts you know in NYC who make $38k? $30k in Chicago? $40K in San Francisco? These wages are FAR, FAR below average. And this is just a few examples.

[manav kher]

good point M but let me point something here. Though TCS is paying $40K to a H1-b they charge almost 3 times of that to the company they send the "consultant" to. The company where I work (I am not H1-b) these TCS consultants charge something around a $100 an hour...and they were the first to go when the layoffs started. So you think they have it good??
stop blaming all your woes on something so flimsy
peace
-manav

[Neha Sharma]

It's all give and take, everybody knows TCS screws people infact the full form for TCS is(Tere se Kam Salary). But still people joins it. You see they advertise for salary like this but stiil they get 1000s application. So it is the whole system that is screwed. The U.S government doesn't want to interfere because they know what the U.S. industry want 'A single 21-25 years old single guy from India, who can work for 14 hrs a day, doesn't need medical, doesn't take vacations and doesn't require any other benifits'. And after all this, would say 'Thank you , sir' with a bog smile, for what so ever he may get.
Neha

[jasonkosowan]

Well, I personally have never had any experience with H1B, but here's a link that may enlighten. It's a very comprehensive (and swaying) study about the so-called "IT shortage" in the US. Check it out:
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.real.html

[frank davis]

The report at http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.real.html is very compelling . I suspect the author may slightly underestimate the time needed for someone to learn an object oriented language coming from a procedural background. But he makes a good case for there being no real programmer shortage and for showig there is age discrimination.
This should be a real wake up call for all us : Being discriminated against when you reach 35 no matter what your skills are, and watching foreign workers get many of the jobs.

[frank davis]

Can we focus on facts, and not throw around accusations of hatred?