Technical jobs in the IT and related industries are being steadily shipped out of this country.

Ever hear or see an add for a technical trade school? “Prepare yourself for a hot career in the information technology sector!” they cry. Don’t believe the hype. U.S. companies would like nothing better than to ship these jobs to India or elsewhere.

It seems that businesses are feeling burned by the lack of return on IT investment and, to reduce their costs, are moving toward a lower-cost, lower-expectations model. HP certainly is. U.S. technical staff at Hewlett-Packard, JP Morgan Chase, and many other companies can expect pink slips in the coming months as their jobs are send abroad. The net: companies don’t seem to care as much about the quality of their IT infrastructure as they did ten years ago and the result is that IT jobs are being lost to cheaper foreign workers.

So much for the investment many Americans made in upgrading their technical skills. Regardless of what business leaders say, the IT employment market is extremely competitive. Anyone who is part of it will tell you that.

The outflow of jobs to foreign workers will not stop with this industry, however. This trend will continue until U.S. citizens can no longer support the weight of consuming the products being manufactured for us. Why would that happen? Simple. Eventually so many jobs will be exported to foreign countries that unemployment in this country will increase as wages fall. Presto – no more consumers. How many business leaders have the long-term vision to recognize that simple reality? Few, if any. It’s up to politicians to keep us from reaching that point. Now that’s cause for concern.

Update

First the Indians, then the Filipinos, now the Koreans. Information technology is not a sustainable career in this country, I’m afraid.