Return to Archive Runtime - The Software Outsourcing Newsletter for Executives and Investors from Accelerance and Steve Mezak In this issue: What should new engineering graduates learn to compete in today’s global environment? What do you need to learn to keep your own career on-track? Will Jobs For New Engineers Be Outsourced Before They Even Graduate? One of the most controversial aspects of outsourcing software development is the impact on jobs here in the US. Aren’t many jobs being lost, shipped overseas in vast numbers? Probably not as many as it seems. Of course, if you are the one losing your job then it feels like a disaster. It's like the old saying, "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job and a depression is when you lose yours." But what about new engineers just coming into the workforce? Will their jobs be outsourced before they even graduate? That question was the title of a talk I gave at my alma mater Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts a couple of weeks ago. I was honored to be asked back to deliver two talks – one about entrepreneurship and the other about the impact of outsourcing on the engineering curricula. In the 1970s when I attended WPI, we invented a word for a computer nerd – gweep. You were a gweep if you spent most of your time on the DEC-20 timesharing system from the various terminals around the campus. One of those terminals, the DecWriter II, made a feeble beep sound when you did something wrong or when you pressed the control-g keys. It sounded like "gweep" and that was the origin of our special title. WPI was not the only college inventing their own words. At MIT down the road in Cambridge, the word used for a nerd was "tool." I heard that use of this word originated with the business school graduates. To them, the smart but socially inept engineers could be used as tools to build a business. Of course, the business majors planned to keep most of the money themselves. Ouch! So even in the 1970s, some engineers were considered a tool or commodity. Now that outsourcing has grown in popularity, this attitude has taken even stronger root. Over the decades since I was in college, we have seen the rise of the minicomputer, PC, Internet and now global outsourcing. Today’s engineer cannot be complacent in their technical skill and knowledge. You must keep up with the trends of technology and business that affect your career. You must learn how to learn. After my talks at WPI I also invited to speak at a workshop in Washington DC attended by the department heads of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) departments of many major colleges and universities around the country. These professors got together to discuss the issues of globalization and how to educate electrical, computer and software engineers so they will continue to thrive. Of course, students still need a strong education in basic science and engineering, but the new global business environment demands new abilities that colleges and universities must recognize if they are to continue graduating successful students. Today's engineering graduates must be able to: * Gain cultural awareness and language skills and apply them in exchange programs and projects in global locations outside the US * Use project management and collaboration techniques and experience such as VOIP, Video, webinars, etc. * Form partner relationships with universities in world-wide locations: India, Russia, China, Poland, Israel, Costa Rica, etc. Have US-based students participate in project teams with students at an offshore sister school. * Learn software design, requirements and specification techniques, including agile software development methods so students learn to create software in teams rather than just individual contributors. How do you size up here? Have you grown complacent in your technical, management and business skills? Or are you able to take advantage of new global resources to advance your business and career? Would you be able to compete against new engineers just entering the workforce that have new global skills? Can you take advantage of these smart and globally aware engineers that work both in the US and in many other locations across the globe? Some of my offshore team members laugh at how concerned we Americans are about losing our edge. To them, the US is still the world leader in innovation and risk-taking. They want to innovate but are limited by cultural bias and attitudes. The next best thing is to offer their services as smart engineers and tools for innovation. Are you ready to use them? *** The Runtime Bottom Line: Engineers entering the workforce should prepare themselves for outsourcing and globalization by developing the ability to collaborate with fellow engineers around the globe. Similarly, any high tech professional should be committed to life-long learning and adapt to globalization in their career. The new global business environment ultimately offers more opportunities and advantages to engineers, provided you are willing to adapt to it. Vision Resources Are you wondering how you will select an expert offshore team to develop your software? Use the Accelerance Vision Resources(sm) outsourced vendor selection service and cut the time of your vendor selection process by as much as 90%. Vision Resources leverages members of the Accelerance's 17 teams in 14 countries around the world. Click here to learn more about Vision Resources Accelerance, Inc. delivers impartial & expert strategies and services for risk-free outsourcing of your software development. Visit our web site at www.Accelerance.com Until next time, Steve Mezak Accelerance, Inc. Risk-Free Outsourcing www.Accelerance.com 213 Garcia Avenue Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 1-650-712-8990 Contact me by email (c) 2005 Accelerance, Inc. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the "Runtime" eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: "By Steve Mezak, CEO of Accelerance, Inc. Please visit the Accelerance web site at http://www.Accelerance.com for more information and resources on outsourcing and creating great software products."