This is a story of a man in his Forties who was fired from his job.
Technology industry is well known for its three services: Hardware, Software and Internet services. Every company in the world needs these technology sections to run its business. From an Oracle accounting software to book the daily business needs to a Microsoft email system to run the employee email program. These technology services are provided by companies like Microsoft, Cisco, and consulting companies to regular old companies like Ross, Walmart, Chase bank and others in any industry.
This is a Q&A excerpt from the discussion with Kevin, who recently shared his experience to us.
Q: Please tell us about yourself, Kevin
A: I’m Kevin. I’m in my mid-forties and I have been out of the service for a year and a half now.
Q: Thank you for sharing your current situation. Please tell us more about your background and story.
A: I worked in the technology department of my company where I handle the support for Hardware systems. I lost my job to a technology guest worker.
Q: Tell us more about the situation and how did your firing happen?
A: Look Mike, there are two types of skilled workers that come from all over the world. For example in India, first set of people who come here are the ones that go to a college and get their master’s degree or other degree and then compete for a job in the market. These folks usually finish their undergrad in India which is very cheap compared to our standard. They then get their masters and get a job here that adds more people in the workforce. The other group is the guest workers that come from overseas. These people are the ones sponsored by the Indian Big 4 consulting firms that provide many services to big companies in US. These Indian Big 4 consulting firms like Infosys,HCL,Tata Consulting and Wipro provide multiple services in US firms that bring in guest workers to do their jobs. Most of these companies make their money in US. This group of folks are the ones that takes over the job market and ultimately becomes a permanent employee that replace a lot of people’s jobs and especially my job too.
Q: Please explain more about the tech guest workers.
A: For example, a US company would need a technology billing software for their payment services, they would employ one of the Big 4 consulting firm to do the job for them.
Let’s get deeper, I have all the expertise and management skills to work and hire the best people to do the job like this, but unfortunately it just doesn’t work that way.
Q: What do you mean by saying it doesn’t work that way?
A: There is a surplus of engineers in India and mostly fresh graduates that learn any software in a planet with a training of 6-8 weeks that come to US as a guest worker and do the work. They do this by adding 5+ years in their resumes and work as a consultant or even an insource employee of these US companies. The Indian Big 4 consulting can help you learn any software you want, and also in streets like Hyderbad and Bangalore, people can walk in a technology street where you can learn any software you want and work in these BIG 4 companies and ultimately work in the US immediately
Q: How come we let this thing fly by in the Tech industry or in the tech departments in a company?
A: Look Mike, I’m reaching my Fifties and I feel bad for the millennials. These millennials pay high cost to educate themselves in the technology field for either software or hardware, but unfortunately they struggle to get a job. Look again Mike, with my age, I work with so many of these previous guest workers who called US as home. They know that the system is broken and it benefited them greatly as they got an upper head of everyone.
Q: How do you now deal with no work?
A: As much as I struggle with no work, what can I do, because in technology, it really is simple to have a nice career and to raise a family. I don’t need to be a facebook superstar coder, I can learn a hardware or a software technology and I can be a great citizen and a taxpayer of our nation. What hurts me is how these workers have come and captured the job market. Even my boss is a previous guest worker who came to US with a fake resume and she is now the director of the company mgpharmacie.com. I would like to be honest with you, she still doesn’t know her technology and her department well. You can really see the quality of service and people at these companies.
Q: So are you saying that a former guest worker with a fake resume that got up to the ladder?
A: Yes Mike. She’s not alone, there are many more of them that got into companies with resume fraud and living the American dream. I just hope I can my American Dream back.
This concludes the first part of Kevin’s interview regarding his life struggles of being unemployed.
Photocredit: Conservative reason & Bloomberg
