Living in the Bay Area with a career interest in technology, I’ve been keeping my eyes on how things are faring in the IT industry not only as an indirect indicator of what sort of trends can/will affect my personal situation but also out of genuine concern for my friends employed in IT (and how this affects the larger situation in the US). Needless to say, my interest was piqued this morning by the Survey: IT salaries down last year headline from one of the few mailing lists I get from ComputerWorld. The logic behind the theories as to why this is makes sense (the industry is still trying to correct itself from pre-2000 craziness in salaries), but I’m really dismayed at the dismissal of offshoring concerns (”Well, only the low-paying jobs are getting moved overseas”) continuing to be common theme.

Why don’t people realize that this still is dangerous and not excusable because (a) people new to the IT field have no place to start if all the low-paying jobs aren’t domestic anymore and (b) there’s nothing preventing higher-paying positions from eventually going abroad at some point in the future. Or am I missing something?