Are Information Technology Professions feeling Threatened by Outsourcing
Having a degree in an area of Information Technology can open up many doors for people. Some of them include work in the areas of analyzing programs, testing, development of new software, and even engineering. Of course there is always a need for tech support and trouble shooting when bugs are detected. Yet the need for such individuals on a regular basis is being reduced due to the volume of outsourcing.
Any effective business strives to keep costs as low as possible. That means they are going to evaluate the value they get from something for the cost. One of those areas is wages paid out to employees. When you toss in workman’s compensation, vacation pay, sick leave, retirement, and health insurance perks it really starts to add up. It is certainly more than just what you see in the wages column of their expenses.
One area where most businesses are finding they can save money is the development of software. They can outsource it to freelancers that aren’t part of their company. Therefore none of those additional expenses are in place. All they pay for is the work on the particular program that they need. This is going to save them quite a large sum of money. Therefore it is only natural that they will be looking into it.
This particular scenario doesn’t sit well with many in the profession of Information Technology though. They are starting to feel threatened by outsourcing and it is understandable why. When a company can turn to an outsider and get the same quality of work for much less it makes you wonder why they would want to hang on to people that are becoming obsolete to them as part of the company.
Even those companies that need software development done on a routine basis are going other routes. For example they may still outsource it which means that person isn’t an employee of their company. They don’t have to offer them benefits of any kind. Yet that person can continue to do the work for them on a regular basis.
This means freelancers are responsible for putting money away to pay their taxes. They should also be saving a chunk of their earnings for retirement. If they aren’t doing so it is scary because no one else is going to be doing so. Not everyone with a degree in Information Technology wants to be a freelancer. They want the stability of working a job each day. They also want their health insurance coverage, retirement plan, and steady paycheck.
One area of Information Technology that doesn’t seem to be negatively hit though is quality testing. This because the testing needs to be done by an independent that isn’t part of the software development on the project. The buyer of such software may not have the time or the desire to test it out themselves. Therefore they are willing to hire someone to test their materials on an ongoing basis.
Many in the world of Information Technology feel that freelancers and outsourcing take away some of the prestige of the line of work they are in. They no longer feel highly valued. After all, they are being told if they can’t do the work faster or better or for less money then they can be replaced. That is a very stressful set of circumstances to be working under day after day. Yet the trend of outsourcing software development continues to increase all the time. There doesn’t seem to be any slowing down for it in the near future either.
As we continue to move into a more technological society, more software has to be created. The demand for it means more freelancers are going to find this line of work to be well suited for them. They can do what they love and they can make plenty of money doing it. That attitude certainly isn’t making anyone working in the area of Information Technology feel any better about the situation though.
