Ask Slashdot: Why Are American Tech Workers Paid So Well?



Slashdot reader davidwr is “an American-born, American-educated mid-career IT professional.” But he’s still curious about why American geeks earn more than their IT counterparts overseas: If I’m a mid-career programmer looking for a job, why should I expect to be paid a whole lot more than my peer in India when applying for a job that could easily be outsourced to India? If I do get the job, why should I expect to keep it more than a year or two instead of being told “your job is being outsourced” before 2020? Is my American education and 5-25 years of experience in the American workplace really worth it to an employer?

Should we, as an industry, lower our salary expectations — and that of students entering the field — to make us more competitive with our peers in India and similar “much cheaper labor than first world” economies? If not, what should we be doing to make ourselves competitive in ways that our peers overseas cannot duplicate?


What’s the secret ingredient that justifies those higher salaries? Leave your answers in the comments. Why are American tech workers paid so well?

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