Re: Offshoring Tracker Launched (fwd)

[eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]

bounce-techwr-l-106467 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com wrote on 04/16/2004 05:02:00 PM:
> The very types of jobs that are
> being offshored today are the types of jobs that were
> fallback options for laidoff workers in earlier years.

They weren't fallback options. They were alternatives. Either laterally or 
vertically. If the IT jobs are to be considered better, they were vertical 
moves.

The way to avoid being commoditised hasn't changed. Identify a niche and 
continuously update your skills.

> Offshoring is eating its way up the food chain. A few
> decades ago it involved almost nothing but low-skill
> manufacturing jobs. Then as technology improved it
> expanded to include skilled manufacturing jobs. Now
> it's up to the level of jobs that require degrees,
> erasing jobs at the mid management and
> engineering/design levels.

There's a bit of xenophobia and class bigotry involved in these 
discussions. Xenophobia because the discussion is always vehemently 
focussed on jobs going to foreign overseas locations like India or China 
while ignoring outsourcing/contracting to Europe or North America, or for 
that matter internally to other regions.

Competition hurts regardless of where it's from. I'm sure that workers in 
Silicon valley weren't pleased to be stuck with homes and mortgages as 
jobs got moved to the east coast because it was cheaper to hire there. For 
that matter, contracting in the same city isn't even much of a comfort to 
those displaced.

Or how about Boeing not producing their latest aircraft in Seattle?

When you purchase product, do you make sure that what you're buying keeps 
everyone in the industry local and fully employed? Or do you not care and 
buy the item with the best acceptable cost to quality ratio? The competing 
products may be local competitors located across the street from one 
another or global entities located a world apart. Either way, your 
decision to buy one product over the other may contribute to the loss of 
jobs somewhere.

Every commoditised product and service is produced cheaper and cheaper 
each year. Productivity goes up, inefficiencies are ironed out, design 
issues are ironed out. All make the product less expensive. The 
manufacturer/service provider that does it the quickest gets the largest 
market share.

Even on the personal level it works in exactly the same manner. The reason 
each and every employed techwriter has a job is that they provided better 
quality, speed, and/or cost to their employer than their competition. We 
were/are the better cost/quality ratio for our employers.

The only alternative presented to date was Communism with single state-run 
or sanctioned suppliers with 5-yr production plans using workers forced to 
work in state-appointed positions. And that wasn't exactly a resounding 
success.

> The number of jobs that pay high wages and are open to
> Americans is shrinking while the population is
> increasing. This can't be good in the long run.

That's been the mantra/worry for decades/eons. Ever since people stopped 
hunting/gathering for their own subsistence the economy has evolved and 
changed. Yet for some reason, the economy continues to grow and prosper.

Eric L. Dunn
Senior Technical Writer

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ROBOHELP X5 - ALL NEW VERSION. Now with Word 2003 support, Content 
Management, Multi-Author support, PDF and XML support and much more! 

Now is the best time to buy - special end of month promos, including:
$100 mail-in rebate; Free online orientation on content management
functionality; Huge savings on support and future product releases;
PLUS Great discounts on RoboHelp training. OFFER EXPIRES April 30th! 
Call 1-800-358-9370 or visit: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.