Can you compete with an $800-a-month engineer?

Date: Sunday, September 07, 2003 8:44 AM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

The answer to this question is very simple: if price is the only
consideration American engineers will lose everytime. This insightful
article raises many good questions about the future of American
engineering.

http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2003/09/01/editorial4.html

OPINION
Guest Opinion

Can you compete with an $800-a-month engineer?

We hear plenty about globalization and the positive impact it is having
on the marketplace. For anyone working in engineering or completing an
engineering degree, however, these are challenging times. While the
economy has begun to recover and demand for engineers appears to be
increasing in a few areas (defense/aerospace, for example),
globalization is also clearly forcing the movement of engineering and
information-technology jobs outside of the United States.

Major corporations are building design centers and taking advantage of
low salaries in several regions of the world. The economics are sound.
It is hard to beat hiring skilled engineers for $800 a month, which is
the same amount paid to many new grads per week here in the United
States.

So how do U.S. engineers compete?

Obviously we won't be able to compete on price, which leaves skills and
proximity. I've heard many comments that the engineers being hired
outside the United States are just as talented as their U.S.
counterparts. As technology has become global, it follows that no
country can maintain a monopoly on technical know-how except perhaps in
specially protected areas such as national security. American engineers
will have to compete with their non-U.S. counterparts to stay abreast
of advancements in nanotechnology, nanoelectronics, and other emerging
fields, and that will become increasingly difficult as advanced R&D
globalizes and as corporate R&D dollars follow cheap technical labor
abroad.

If not skills, then what about proximity? Is it an advantage to be
closer to the company headquarters, in the same time zone, or near a
key infrastructure? In some cases, the answer is clearly yes. For
example, power engineers will presumably need to be proximate to the
electric generation and transmission facilities they help design and
operate. In other cases, however, proximity is not a key consideration
or may actually work in reverse. Proximity of both design and
process-oriented engineers to the overseas manufacturing plant may be
more important than proximity to the U.S. headquarters.

How are U.S. engineers going to cope with a global market for
professional services where comparative labor cost, skills or proximity
fail to provide them a competitive advantage. Do we just need to
abandon certain areas or fields? Perhaps the opportunities will be in
local infrastructure-based industries such as power generation and
transmission, or phone service, or government-related work (either as
an employee or contractor). But even here, it should be noted that
government at the federal, state and local level is currently
experimenting with outsourcing of government contracts and services
abroad.

Despite the uncertain future facing working engineers, many industry
leaders and government policy-makers are warning that not enough U.S.
students are entering science and engineering programs. There are a
number of initiatives under way to increase student interest and
improve performance in math and science skills. This is viewed as key
to increasing the numbers of students studying engineering and the
sciences.

Yet I wonder, if the market for talent is so global, maybe the United
States doesn't need the same number of engineers as we have today.
Maybe we don't need as many engineering schools. Is this heresy or a
reality of globalization?

If an engineer in Moscow possesses the same skills that I do, and
proximity isn't important, and he'll work for $800 a month, why hire me
at $8,000 a month? How do we as engineers compete in this new global
economy? Many will say be entrepreneurial and start your own business,
but not everyone has the means, is able or interested in doing this.

Another long-term concern has to be the impact that outsourcing will
have on our nation's ability to compete if we become dependent on
foreign sources of technical know-how. Without good prospects for
rewarding careers, fewer and fewer Americans will pursue technical
educations, which will fuel that foreign dependency. At the same time,
those Americans who do pursue technical career paths will focus more
and more on acquiring highly specialized skills in high-demand areas of
technology, and will find it increasingly difficult to anticipate and
adapt to new technology opportunities at they emerge, placing their
companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Am I a pessimist? Missing the big picture? Maybe I am, but I believe it
is essential that the engineering profession consider what is happening
and decide how to respond to these challenges.

We cannot expect that Congress will legislate prohibitions preventing
jobs from going overseas as long as corporate bottom lines benefit. Any
legislation will have to look at providing incentives for employers to
maintain work and create jobs here. Reps. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.),
Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and other members of Congress are looking at
legislation to provide tax breaks to promote manufacturing in the
United States. We'll also need to offer tax incentives to encourage
engineers and IT professionals to consider relocating around the United
States. These incentives would provide assistance for home sales,
moving and decreases in salary.

My fellow engineers and IT professionals need to take control of our
careers. We need to continually assess our skills and the markets in
which we work. We need to become involved in public policy and talk
about the impact actions have on our profession.

Paul J. Kostek is principal of Air Direct Solutions, a Seattle-based
consulting firm. He is also the current chair of the American
Association of Engineering Societies (www.aaes.org) and a past
president of IEEE-U.S.A.

) 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

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