Let the immigrants in?
Readers don’t seem open to the idea of open borders, even for immigrants with skills. Readers argue that companies should train local citizens, if necessary, rather than opting for low-cost imported labor that will likely need training as well.
Immigrants? Not now, thank you.
I am one of the skilled immigrants that is talked about in a recent Vantage Point (“Let’s Open the Door to Skilled Immigrants,” Aug. 11). But I had to wait in a long line and pay good money to earn my green card.
Illegal immigrants, basically criminals, broke the law to get into the U. S. And U. S. companies love to use their cheap workforce and, thus, become accomplices.
As a legal immigrant, I must protest the stupid voices calling for amnesty for illegal immigrants. Keep the rule of law and punish all criminals, otherwise you become accomplices as well.
Jiri Polivka
H-1B should be entirely revoked until unemployment in this country is below 5%. Employers do not want foreign workers because they are more educated or skilled; they want them because they are less expensive.
T. J. McDermott
If I lose my job because someone else is willing to do it for less money, then good for them and shame on me.
We are in a world economy and continued selfishness on our part is not going to get us out of the financial mess we are in.
Don Solanace
I’m all in favor of opening the doors to highly skilled immigrants who can work as corporate officers and heads of research and policy. It’s obvious that American institutions are not producing the caliber of talent these positions demand. And immigrants would improve our competitiveness because they would be willing to work for lower salaries and probably without expensive bonuses.
Name withheld at writer’s request
What about U. S. citizens graduating from engineering schools? They are not being hired because they have no experience. Meanwhile, more-experienced engineers are being ignored because their skill sets are too old. Companies should take the long view and train people for jobs in the U. S.
Ann Marie Walters
I am a permanent U. S. resident with a masters in mechanical engineering from a U. S. university with over 16 years of design and manufacturing experience, and I can’t get a job here even at a very low pay. All because U. S. firms are outsourcing design to countries like India and China.
So, stop this H-1 visa program and train and develop people here. We have lots of good brains. And there is no brain drain here. Instead we have a technology drain powered by the greed of the U. S. companies.
Charles Osko
Citizen engineers like myself are unemployed due to companies farming out the work to China and India. Now you want to bring so-called “skilled immigrants” here? Forget it. We have qualified engineers who won’t be hired because companies can hire a green-card engineer for half the cost.
Larry Presky
American workers don’t have jobs and you want to bring in foreign workers in larger numbers? Are you daft or just one of the most insensitive people on the planet? This would be a bad idea even if we weren’t in a recession because older workers have been unemployed and underemployed for years. When American’s have ‘full’ employment, then maybe we can talk about hiring foreign workers. And if I were Machine Design, I would be more thoughtful about leading with an article like this.
The Vantage Point column features editorial and opinion from outside the magazine on a variety of topics. There is no guarantee readers will agree with all viewpoints expressed there. — Leland Teschler
Is there a shortage of highly skilled American citizens that requires we open the floodgates and let immigrants pour in?
We have the highest unemployment in decades. The last thing this country needs is to increase competition among graduates and unemployed skilled citizens. We cannot afford this.
D. Speller
I strongly disagree with the idea of bringing in skilled foreign engineers and scientists to help spur the American economy. Those jobs rightly belong to Americans. And foreign students should not be taught in our universities and take spaces away from American students.
This article is highly insulting to American engineers and scientists. American engineers are capable of “spawning new products that create wealth and advance our standard of living.”
Given the serious economic recession that we have been in for the past three years with high levels of unemployment, the last thing we need is to flood this country with more H1-Bs. I have gone to school and worked with these people and it has been my experience that American engineers can more than hold their own against foreign engineers.
Bill Herkel
Unemployment in certain skilled fields, especially science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), is already very low, and businesses need more people skilled in those areas if they are to grow. Legions of unemployed construction workers affect the unemployment rate, but they don’t make it any easier for me to hire a top notch engineer.
People in STEM fields are already competing in a global marketplace. So we can either compete with foreigners living in foreign countries and paying foreign taxes, or we can let those people come to the U. S., pay U. S. taxes, create U. S. jobs, and compete with us in our own country. Both alternatives involve competition, but letting foreigners pay U. S. taxes helps our budget deficit.
Dolores Parund
Showing their age
Most mature engineers I work with don’t have the time to socialize electronically. Sure, we may visit each others’ cubes occasionally. But it seems the only coworkers who have a lot of time for this and similar activity (like Facebooking and Tweeting) are the younger set who always seem to be looking at their smart phones and PDAs. I guess I’m showing my age.
Pete Suttmeier
Here’s what I always say to new engineers looking for just the right program to handle their current design problem: “If you can’t do it by hand, don’t use a computer.”
The slide rule era was helpful, at least for knowledgeable engineers, because you had to approximate the answer. (I know I am showing my age by mentioning the slipstick.)
Ed Leahy