gmac17 Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 I'm always working on a different Internet project of some sort - I run a bunch of web sites and have ideas for many more. Some are small sites, some are pretty big. Anyway, I've had an idea for one particular site / service for quite a while but could never find the right way to get it done. Custom software to accomplish my project would have cost $10,000 + which is more than I care to spend on a "side project" at this point. I recently found a piece of software that could be customized to meet my needs for about $2,000. Future changes to the software are pretty cheap. After getting the project started I was talking with the owner who told me how his programming gets done in Brazil / blah blah he used to live down there etc. Anyway, it is obvious that the software is cheap largely because of the inexpensive labor in Brazil. This online service could easily turn into a full time business for me. I guess the point of the post is that although outsourcing is easy to blame and complain about, there is not a "yes" or "no" answer to the debate. There is no doubt I would prefer to keep my money in the US, and if it cost a few more dollars I wouldn't mind doing so. However, in the next few months I will be spending thousands of dollars with US businesses on web hosting, graphic design, online advertising and college interns - and I wouldn't be able to do any of it if it wasn't for brazillian computer programmers. thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beausox Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 I'm always working on a different Internet project of some sort - I run a bunch of web sites and have ideas for many more. Some are small sites, some are pretty big. Anyway, I've had an idea for one particular site / service for quite a while but could never find the right way to get it done. Custom software to accomplish my project would have cost $10,000 + which is more than I care to spend on a "side project" at this point. I recently found a piece of software that could be customized to meet my needs for about $2,000. Future changes to the software are pretty cheap. After getting the project started I was talking with the owner who told me how his programming gets done in Brazil / blah blah he used to live down there etc. Anyway, it is obvious that the software is cheap largely because of the inexpensive labor in Brazil. This online service could easily turn into a full time business for me. I guess the point of the post is that although outsourcing is easy to blame and complain about, there is not a "yes" or "no" answer to the debate. There is no doubt I would prefer to keep my money in the US, and if it cost a few more dollars I wouldn't mind doing so. However, in the next few months I will be spending thousands of dollars with US businesses on web hosting, graphic design, online advertising and college interns - and I wouldn't be able to do any of it if it wasn't for brazillian computer programmers. thoughts? 307637[/snapback] I think you have to consider that the highest value in software is not only the technology behind it but the economy it brings to bear on its object. The least important factor, I would think, is the labor involved in its construction. Technology creates more but different jobs.(The Luddites always lose in the long run.) As I graduated from high school getting a job at Bethlehem et al was an option to college but in fifteen years the air became clearer in Lackawanna and the sheepskin more valuable. To start off as an auto line worker at age 20 today is nearly certain to require a drastic career change before 35. And finally what would the Brazillian programmers be doing if you did not "employ" them?And fifteen years from now it will be Congolese you employ. Keep up the good work because a 25 year old Brazillian needs you now and a 2 year old Congolsian will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTS Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 What is it you're doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobody Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 Just don't have your tech support outsourced to India. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Tate Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 The topic of outsourcing tech support to India came up in a class I'm taking, and one individual made it clear he was frustrated when speaking with a tech support person on the phone from India who doesn't speak English well enough to make himself understood. He was complaining about this in his very heavy Jamaican accent. LMAO, a classic moment - only in America. I love this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 I could give you my thoughts, but looks like you found it anyway. What's usually ignored in the outsourcing debate is not that foreigners take away jobs that Americans can do, but the basic fact that the work wouldn't exist in the first place, if there wasn't lower cost labor to start the venture in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted April 19, 2005 Author Share Posted April 19, 2005 huh, I was convinced at least a few people were telling me I was doing something wrong.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Lamb Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 huh, I was convinced at least a few people were telling me I was doing something wrong.... 308563[/snapback] They would - but they are out picketing a Wal-Mart Seriously - the market exists to fill your needs at an affordable price. There is nothing wrong with participating in the global market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 huh, I was convinced at least a few people were telling me I was doing something wrong.... 308563[/snapback] You found someone to provide you with a product/service that American labor was unable or unwilling to do at that cost - Nothing wrong there. Good luck on your project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 I could give you my thoughts, but looks like you found it anyway. What's usually ignored in the outsourcing debate is not that foreigners take away jobs that Americans can do, but the basic fact that the work wouldn't exist in the first place, if there wasn't lower cost labor to start the venture in the first place. 308099[/snapback] Exactly. Our company is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars this year on software developers in India to build a new product offering. If the low cost development was not an option, we wouldn't be building it because we couldn't afford the investment paying development rates in the US. But once the product is finished, we will employ more Americans to market and sell the product and to train and support the customers who buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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