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Completely off topic.
There's a new Barbie book for girls, I Can Be a Computer Engineer.
In the book, she apparently can't write any code:
Wow.
I mean, seriously, wow.
A Message of Encouragement for the Girls
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Comments
Especially sad considering
that ideas people are the LAST thing the computer industry needs right now. There's actually a bit of a shortage of quality programmers, designers, and especially administrative people in the games and bleeding edge tech industries right now. It's rather interesting: strong Indie scene, but empty positions higher up in many companies due to lack of drive to fill them or lack of financial incentive to. Many former company men (and women) are switching over to the independent scene if for no other reason than to get recognition for their accomplishments.
*shrug*
Melanie E.
It is a little more complicated than that.
The reason american software programers are not working at major companies, and they are working at smaller independent companies, is because independent companies are more likely where the programs have better chances of long term employment. Where as the major companies will likely employe the american programers for a year, or so. And when the company is on it feet, with the latest software, the companies will use H1B visas to bring in foreigners, to replace the american programs, at half the salary and benefits that the american programers were promised. With these companies even going so far as to contractually force the programers to train their replacements, before the american programers are fired.
The major companies have done this so many times that american software programers don't trust these companies.
On a side note, as an industry, software programing is fairly gender neutral. It is more of a case of, if you can do a good job, you get paid, situation.
It also seems to be one of the few areas
where actual first-hand experience is valued as much as a college degree in many cases, making it a great career to self-train in if you've got the dedication to do so. HTML, Java, Python... anyone can pick up a language, throw together a unique program or a well-executed one, and start to get their name out in the world, potentially helping to attract job offers if they do well.
I keep trying to get myself motivated to do just that, but there always seems to be something else keeping me distracted from it.
Melanie E.
engineering and training your replacement
I would hazard a guess that it is not just a programming problem. At least twenty years ago American companies were doing that in the field of communication engineering... I was replaced by someone at two different companies as was my number two, once we had the system up and running cleanly. We were out and a half dozen people were in who were each earning a quarter of what either of us had been. Ten to fourteen months later they tried to hire us back because the lower paid people couldn't keep the system running. One guess what we had to say to them.
A.
Employee indispensibility
I worked as an Electrician for 33 years, and about half of it was building and programing large machines that used programmable logic, and later computers to operate them. I found software and sometimes hardware timers hidden in the "works" to make the machines break down and force them to call the highly skilled people back. Depending upon the management climate and what I thought of the builders, sometimes I would remove the timers and sometimes not. Some companies could be absolutely ruthless and that caused me to not have much sympathy for them.
*shakes head*
*frowns*
Ummmm, what year is it now?
*looks confused*
>i<