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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday October 27 2015, @10:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the they-are-hiding dept.

A couple of years ago it was reported that in 2012 more than half of all American wage earners made less than $30,000 per year. The Social Security Administration's new earnings report for 2014 is out and there's still much gnashing of teeth about the dying middle class. With earnings numbers that haven't changed much in 2 years, estimates running as high as 100 million working age Americans without a job, and no one tracking the population of H-1B visa holders, where are the jobs really?

The July 9, 2015, issue of The New York Review of Books carried a very thoughtful piece by Andrew Hacker. In "The Frenzy About High-Tech Talent," Hacker discusses a number of books and reports that address whether or not there really is a need for more tech talent, the justification for the H-1B visa program, and issues in the American educational system.

[...] Throughout his piece Hacker is basically questioning two things:

1. Is there really an unfilled need for STEM graduates, or are we actually graduating too many so that many end up unemployed or employed in different areas?

2. Are there flaws in the American education system, both at the K-12 level and in college, that lead us to be very dependent on foreign STEM graduates?

[...] The texts Hacker is reviewing, and his own information, seem to dwell predominately on overall job projections for the STEM fields. Nowhere does there appear a breakout of the job forecast for computing related job categories. With the increased ubiquity of computing across all industries and employment sectors, it seems unlikely that we will see the "deskilling" trend that may be occurring in engineering (whereby engineers create equipment that means they and others like them no longer have job opportunities). We know that there are many jobs in the "tech sector" but there are also a lot of computing jobs in banking, finance, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, etc. We can get an accurate picture of future job openings only if we can make a good determination of the computing jobs that exist outside of the "tech sector."


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2015, @07:01PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2015, @07:01PM (#255234)

    Or, the obverse - "Greg, I realize that you're a good worker, but you did blah blah and policy requires me to suspend you for three days, sign and date here on the bottom line."

    Whenever anyone asks you this, the appropriate response is "I am not signing anything. Adults don't pull shenanigans like this. Let's first try to address this like adults."

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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by tftp on Tuesday October 27 2015, @08:29PM

    by tftp (806) on Tuesday October 27 2015, @08:29PM (#255267) Homepage

    Let's put some specifics into this scenario:

    B: "Greg, I realize that you're a good worker, but you came to work yesterday so drunk that seventeen workers got secondary alcohol poisoning from your breath. The policy requires me to suspend you for three days; that's the most lenient action that I am allowed to use. I'm willing to help you out because you never did such a thing before. Please sign and date here on the bottom line."

    G: "I am not signing anything. Adults don't pull shenanigans like this. Let's first try to address this like adults."

    B: "OK, Greg, as you wish."

    Security: "Greg Doe, Sir? Please follow us to the door. You may keep your badge if you wish, it had been electronically revoked. Your personal items will be mailed to your address on file."

    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday October 27 2015, @10:38PM

      by frojack (1554) on Tuesday October 27 2015, @10:38PM (#255311) Journal

      At which point you should go happily.

      If you were doing anything important it would set the company back much more than it would hurt you. If they have any competition, go there immediate and seek employment.

      If you weren't doing anything important and the job can be filled by any warm corpse, then it sucks to be you, but you are probably better off away from there.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.