.entrypoint

When I listed links to articles in the book – Best Software Writings I – I was not able to find a link to Team Compensation by Mary Poppendieck. I got the link today from this website.

Here is the link to Team Compensation [pdf].

Getting a Green Card (or Permanent Residence Card as its more officially called) is the dream of most of the H1-Bs coming to the USA. Its the ticket to achieving their long term goals. Getting an employment based Green Card is a big deal, there are pit falls everywhere and it takes a inordinately long period to complete all the processing (to get more details on these check out any immigration forum or mailing list).

The European Union has proposals for a Blue Card that

… would provide educated immigrants, including tech professionals, with a two-year, renewable permit to work and reside in an EU member nation. Because the EU aims for a worker’s blue-card application process to take less than three months, the visa would provide a fast track for foreign-born individuals to land jobs in EU member countries.

By contrast, the U.S. green-card process can take anywhere from five to 10 years for an individual to gain permanent residency.

The complete article can be read here.

Here is something thats very interesting. While there is a lot of clamoring everywhere regarding H1-B system bringing down the pay scale for tech employees, a study found out that the pay for technology professionals are approaching an all-time high.

Based on data compiled from 75 Yoh field offices and 5,000 technology professionals contracted in short- and long-term projects, pay increased an average of more than 5.5% for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to the same period last year.

Compared to the same months in 2006, hourly wages for techies in 2007 rose 6% in July, 4.64% in August, and 5.79% in September.

Another interesting part of the report is that

Among the hottest skills being demanded right now by Yoh clients are Java and .Net developers, database administrators, SAP functional and technical consultants, and project managers, said Jim Lanzalotto, Yoh’s VP of strategy and marketing. Last quarter, SAP consultants on average earned $88.07 per hour, while Java developers earned $50.89, per hour, according to Yoh’s research.

Read the complete article here. There are a few insightful comments to the article at the bottom, don’t forget to read them.

China is growing to be a very good competition against India for the outsourcing of tech jobs from the US. But its not only China that is competing now, says Paul McDougall in his Digital Life Weblog.

At OutsourceWorld, a conference that’s operating in conjunction with Interop this week at New York’s Javits Center, the vendor booths added up to a virtual United Nations of offshoring. Beyond India and China, there were vendors from Brazil, Australia, Costa Rica, Canada, and Hungary. And even tiny Mauritius was represented.

It’s a nice travelogue, but here’s what this really adds up to: The outsourcing of U.S. tech jobs is going to continue for the foreseeable future. With the rising rupee and 15% annual wage inflation, there are signs that India is becoming expensive and oversold. But the fact is, there’s plenty of other countries lining up to pick up the slack.

Nations in Eastern Europe, South America, and other parts of Asia are all investing the necessary resources in education and infrastructure required to become major players in the flat world.

A recent article in The Economic Times reports that Indian IT workers are among the 4th worst paid globally (and 3rd in Asia). This comparison should be taken with a pinch of salt because the salary is compared in US dollars and the buying power per dollar varies wildly among the nations compared.

Vietnam is the lowest payer followed by Bulgaria and Philippines. Switzerland pays the best money to IT professionals followed by Denmark and Belgium, according to this survey by Mercer.

See Mercer’s Press Release here.

My latest sun is sinking fast
My race is nearly run
My longest trials now are past
My triumph has begun

I’ve almost gained my heavenly home
My spirit loudly sings
The holy ones, behold they come
I hear the noise of wings

Oh come angel band
Come and around me stand
Bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home
Bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home

- Angel band by Stanley brothers