Given the choice, would you rather 'settle for a traditional work experience out of college' or 'join Infosys" inaugural class of U.S.-educated hires in India?' An ad proposing that decision in a fall issue of The Chronicle was the latest in a long line of career choices increasingly impacted by the globalized economy. The advertiser was the Indian company Infosys, a leading firm that finds Indian employees willing to do American jobs--only the Indians work faster and for a fraction of the cost. But why advertise in a Duke publication? Simple: A new trend among foreign outsourcing firms is having American bosses to bridge the cultural divide.
To champions of outsourcing, this is great news: Infosys takes jobs away, Infosys makes money, Infosys gives quality jobs back. Unfortunately, it"s usually not that simple. Infosys aside, the majority of outsourcing firms are still riding the wave of cheap, educated labor available in their home countries without necessarily creating new ones in America. American companies that are shifting their workforce abroad do so to improve their bottom line, so most analysts see no end in sight to the outsourcing boom.
In times of change, the average Duke engineer"s response is still, 'I"m smart, I go to Duke. I"ll have no problem finding work. Besides, they"re only outsourcing phone banks....' That may be true... in the short-term. But as outsourcing picks up speed, telephones won"t be the only thing being moved abroad. Even now, reports suggest that larger processes--the kinds that Duke graduates would be a part of--are being moved across the Pacific. Future employees of Goldman Sachs, H&R Block, Pfizer and Microsoft, I"m talking to you. As infrastructure is slowly built in these newer, cheaper markets, paying the salary of a Duke graduate just doesn"t make sense anymore.
So what do we do? Let"s certainly not turn to our politicians. During Campaign 2004, Republicans brushed the issue aside, kowtowing to the wishes of their big business donors. On the other side of the aisle, Democrats prostituted outsourcing and shamelessly baited the voting public by branding certain companies 'Benedict Arnolds' for shipping much-needed work abroad. These firms are not turncoats; they are simply concerned about turnover, especially in a business environment that demands penny-pinching executives. But the Democrats ignored this and, at one point, even suggested that companies be taxed for outsourcing labor.
Such rhetoric is foolish. That's not the new reality. Not only will outsourcing continue, but trying to legislate it away will throw a wrench into an already weak economy. To stay competitive, we need to look home. As a nation, we must return to our bedrock: the raw power of ingenuity. Our strength is not that we build things well--which we do--but that we constantly crave to build them better, stronger and faster than our competitors.
A Duke example: the new CIEMAS research complex opened with the promise of innovation and intellectual expansion. CIEMAS gives young Duke engineers a way to compete against their foreign counterparts by providing space for pioneering, next-generation research. We must hunger to build the next big thing, not cling to the jobs of the past. Someone will have to design the energy sources of the future. Someone will have to power the software of corporate America. Someone will have to create the next Google, iPod or dancing baby. Duke--and America--can do it.
Duke has keyed into this with the design of CIEMAS, the forthcoming French Science Center and a renewed zest for undergraduate research. More than ever, students" futures will depend on new experimentation, not regurgitation of the past. Those students who do research are offered a glimpse into the power of a new idea; and those that don"t will see that lack of originality cripple them in the 21st century economy.
So what will happen to the slackers among us? What will become of our hard-earned Duke degrees? Word on the street is that Infosys is looking for folks. If you can't beat "em, why not join "em?
Jimmy Soni is a Trinity sophomore. His column appears every other Wednesday.
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