Tech worker visas face uncertain future under Trump, Sessions

If they send these tech workers home, watch the US tech industry implode. These are very IQ and knowledge-intense fields, and only a few people can actually do the job. I hope Japan can make them welcome with it new accelerated permanent residency system. How can we put Japan on their map?

gokai_wo_maneku: If they send these tech workers home, watch the US tech industry implode. These are very IQ and knowledge-intense fields, and only a few people can actually do the job.

No. You can do those things with average IQ, as long as you have training. The tech companies just want to hold down wages for technical staff, in favor of profitability and executive compensation.

IT people have about average IQs. Been in the business 25 yrs. Sure, there are some really smart people, maybe 1% of the total. This is about cost of labor, nothing more.

If the skills are THAT specialized (and they aren't), then this top talent should be worth at least 50% more than the going rate for local talent. Local talent should always be used first. Doesn't matter if we are talking USA or Japan or India. The butts-in-seat contractors abusing the visa system and the companies using those contractors need to be hit with a 50% tax on outside "talent" which would be used for training local people for the positions. This would provide an appropriate incentive to use local people except under truly exceptional situations. It would also remove all the paper-mill "graduates" from getting work in foreign countries for 10% less than locals.

Doing IT things really isn't about the training. Actually, the so-called training teaches about 5% of the knowledge, the other 95% is experience/mentoring/aptitude and the desire to learn new things, constantly. It isn't just a job. Staying up-to-date is a daily effort, more so that what medical doctors do to stay current. I spend at least 30 minutes a day just trying to stay informed.

We must be talking about different people. I'm talking about PhDs in engineering who actually come up with equations, crunch the numbers, and put together the machines that make machines we use.

Forgte about tech, I'm more worried for the even younger people. They'll be indoctrinated with the 'earth is 6000 years old' fable. Science classes will be determined by the bible.

gokai_wo_maeku, my understand is that the H1-B program was originally intended for highly skilled/technical jobs that couldn't be filled by US people, like the ones you mention. But as the article makes clear, many companies are using them to hire foreign workers INSTEAD of US workers (who exist and are capable of doing the job) because they can pay the foreign workers less. I believe these are the people theFu is talking about.

And I agree with both of you. People with unique and in demand skills should be encouraged to come to the US either temporarily or with the goal of become permanent residents/citizens. While people should not be brought in just to replace US workers at lower wages.

Hopefully the program can be overhauled to protect US workers while still bringing needed skills into the country.

gokai_wo_maneku: We must be talking about different people. I'm talking about PhDs in engineering who actually come up with equations, crunch the numbers, and put together the machines that make machines we use.

It's from personal observation, and being in the SV tech industry. Getting to various levels of education and experience mostly requires sticking to it, jumping through the hoops, not going off track (or not too much), etc. Studying enough for tests and not dropping any homework or projects.

Also, Google, Apple, etc. are not exactly slim-and-trim organizations. And almost no HR people actually know anything about the technology they're hiring for.

Look at the graphs for IQ (search google images for 'iq by occupation'). None of the occupations has a lower limit above 100, including computer occupations and electrical engineering, except for medical doctor. And that last is probably an artificial constraint due to gating at school admission levels by the M.D. industry. The somewhat higher-than-average bands for other occupations could be due to same http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/occupations.aspx.

And 'PhD' may be a liability in putting 'together the machines that make machines we use'. Rarely seen and, maybe it's unfair because obviously expectations are higher and also low sample data available, but not living up to the hype. Or it may be because most engineering programs now include a year-long, intensive team project that provides somewhat the same experience as a thesis. I don't know if the science and business professions have the same, so maybe a PhD is more useful providing equivalent experience, from that viewpoint. As far as putting the student through hands-on projects and not just coursework.

If the USA put up a tech visa wall and dropped the incoming rate to zero, the companies would just have to pay more for local talent, that's all. Seniority, higher levels of education ('PhD', etc.), citizenship probably all tend to price individuals higher than persons coming in on tech visas. The Google VP of HR (or former VP) says he throws 4-page resumes in the trash (effectively).

The big companies will come along poormouthing to Congress crying for more visas but remember, these are headed by billionaires, they're not stinting themselves.

theFu: ... Staying up-to-date is a daily effort, ...

Maybe industries vary. The low-level stuff doesn't change that much, that I can see.

85,000 now?! I am out of touch. The last number I saw a few years ago was 65,000 and it was lower a few years before that.

The H1b started out with good intentions, but has been abused to the point where it affects everyone in IT from the 1st tier helpdesk support all the way up to the server administrators and all levels of programmers and it is unequivocally used to keep the average IT tech's wages down. The constant increase in the number allowed is more than enough proof, let alone the large body of evidence that already exists. (easily found on-line)

I too have been in the industry for 2 decades and it has been a struggle to increase my income despite year after year of increasing experience. The only areas of IT making a very good wages as employees are those with very exotic skills used at the large enterprise level.