I found this aritcle in The Register:
Intel CEO admits jobs aren’t coming to the US
I believe that the US serves as a bell-weather for changes in Canada. Ignoring the urge to say “I told you so”, I can only state that it was inevitable that after manufacturing jobs are outsourced, the R&D would be the next to fall. As a (hopefully) soon to be Computer Engineer I am increasingly conscious of the fact that the pool of available jobs n my field in North America are diminishing – and the trend is increasing rapidly. It looks like I might be an unemployed Computer Engineer when my schooling is done.
First it was service, then manufacturing, now R&D. Where does it stop? If no one wants to manufacture here or do R&D here, what exactly do they want to do here? Where are the ‘advantages’ that make us – Canadians – competitive in the global marketplace? If we get paid 4 times the salary of someone in another country, will it not make sense to simple lay us of and work out there? Does anyone here fell its an issue if engineering jobs leave North America? Once they go,they’re not coming back…
Maybe in 15 years (for these things take a very long time) Canada will have slipped. Unemployment could bedouble, maybe triple what it is now, social programs are non-existant and we’ll be (for all intents and purposes a third world country). Too pessimistic? Perhaps. After all, every country has to weather these storms… I wonder if Canada and the US will weather this one.
In the meantime, maybe I’ll get cracking on my Hindi…