IBM to Encourage Employees to Be Teachers

Well look at that! IBM is afraid that the U.S. is losing its competitive edge. The tech industry fears that U.S. students are falling behind their peers in places like Bangalore and Beijing. Hmm, let me think about this one for a second. Is it possible that the students in these countries are doing better in math and science because we keep off-shoring our high-tech jobs to them? Everyone talks about off-shoring and you probably have your own ideas about what that entails. Let me hit with you a little dose of first-hand experience.

I support a customer account that is constantly cutting costs. Here's a hint, they make printers. Anyway, it's finally gotten to the point that we can no longer support all of their Siebel environments with the funding they've given us. For all of their non-production environments, they've decided to keep me on board. I imagine a lot of it has to do with me being a pushover. I tend to work well with others and build bridges when I can. I think I've obtained a certain reputation for being easy-going and what not. So, what's my reward? How about supporting 10 environments along with 4 guys over in India. Woo hoo! Did anyone consider the logistics of supporting an account 9 to 5 EDT with 80% of your team having a 9 hour time difference? The IT industry is in a sad state of affairs right now. There are too many companies thinking only with their wallets. (singing) "If they only had a braaaaiiinnn." (/singing)