How to Keep Your Server...

My talk How To Keep Your Job just got Slashdotted as a result of a CNN article on the move of IT jobs abroad. There's a telling quote in the CNN article:

Like many unemployed programmers, Kerrigan blames the sour labor market on offshore outsourcing -- the migration of tech jobs to relatively low-paid contractors or locally hired employees in India, China, Russia and other developing countries.

The real problem is that as development becomes a commodity, basic economics dictates that companies have no choice but to look for the cheapest options. The only solution for Mr Kerrigan and the thousands of other displaced developers is to reexamine their position in this brave (and scary) new world. What is our individual value-add, and how can we position ourselves to be effective and attractive in the new marketplace? We need to think hard about the value chain and our position on it. And once we've made our decisions, we have to work hard to position ourselves. In the long term, the industry will simply move up the value chain, which will be to all our benefits as long as we're prepared to move with it. In the short and medium terms, though, we're facing a massive shakeout. Perhaps it's time to dust off your Pragmatic Investment Plan...