Reply #11: ahh, nothing like a downturn to bring out the xenophobia [View All]

[northzax]

and nothing like a tech geek to complain about Microsoft.

now can we look at it cleanly for a minute? If there really are all these top flight unemployed engineers everyone keeps talking about (gee, all the engineers and computer people I know make my salary with an extra zero on the end) why aren't they out creating something, doing something that adds value to a product and justifies their desired salary? Because they are technicians? not creators and developers, but push button techs?

The problem with any skill that doesn't add value to a commodity is that it is replacable by someone who can and will do it faster and cheaper. It's not the gravy train, not something you can actually do better than someone else, it's a commodity, the person who can produce it cheapest and fastest wins.

If there are so many eager engineering students out there to fill the void, why are MIT and CalTech having trouble filling spots in their graduate programs with the new visa laws? and graduate programs are neccesary.

Engineering, whether software, hardware or mechanical is progressivly becoming a profession closer to law or medicine in the need for education and continuing education. You can become a para-legal with an undergrad degree, but you can't become a leader in the profession without one anymore. Cheap labour is a commodity, if you can't add value, you lose. welcome to the flat earth.

quick: what city has the highest number of phd's in the world? Name the three top phd producing countries in the world. Name the four countries that produce the most engineers, in order:
Name the 10 countries that have the greatest penetration of broadband technology in the world:

you know what all four of those questions have in common? the lack of presence of the United States on any of them. Intellectual capital is fleeing the US at an unprecedented rate. if Gates is trying to bring some of it back, what's the problem?