[DanielShir]

This reminds me of a conversation I had back when I was freelancing.

It was along the lines of:

Client - "Aren't you afraid that Pakistani/Indian developers would undercut you and everyone would go there for their apps?"

Me - "If everyone were going to outsource there, I'd have more work fixing that stuff up, not less"

[GFischer]

While there probably are bad developers in Pakistan, India, Egypt or Uruguay, I'm sure there's a huge cost asymmetry which should work out in those countries' favor, and by that I mean good developers over there (and here in Uruguay) that are earning a fraction of what an equivalent U.S. developer is making.

What they need is somebody that can filter the good ones from the chaff (knows the locals), AND has contacts and good standing among the buyers, AND has the project management skills to make the outsourced team deliver.

[InvisibleCities]

>good developers over there (and here in Uruguay) that are earning a fraction of what an equivalent U.S. developer is making.

As it turns out, people from India/Pakistan/Uruguay who are smart enough to build complex software systems are also smart enough to go on glassdoor, realize they are being fucked, and then come over here (or start charging higher rates). The only ones who keep charging 1/10th the cost are the ones who have to.

[ricardobeat]

Moving to the US is not the smartest move if you have a much lower cost of living in your home country. Trying to charge the same as a local US developer, without considering familiarity, proximity, language, etc. isn't smart either.

[GFischer]

Uruguay has a decent standard of living, so most of us don't want to move out, unless forced to by economic conditions.

It is extremely stressful to move to a foreign country where you won't speak the language correctly, you don't family and friends and the social and psychological safety net you're used to, and you don't know the local customs, AND you'll be a second-class person even if you do somehow manage to get legal papers (which are a huge source of stress in and of themselves).

That's why most people that do are either young people (more adaptable) or families under economic hardship.

In my case, my girlfriend won't consider moving to the U.S., and I won't consider moving without legal papers, which means a H1B visa for me, or moving to Canada and starting the long citizenship process.

That's why many smart people will accept lower wages in order to stay with their families and friends and environment.

I know firsthand what it means to emigrate, one of my brothers is living in the United Arab Emirates and tries to convince me to emigrate very often (I'd instantly double or triple my salary, plus the UAE are much cheaper than Uruguay), and I have family in Austria and Canada. All three countries are great (I like Austria the most, but I don't speak much German), but all of them represent all the challenges outlined above.

[jussij]

I would have thought all the smart people in India/China/where ever would go to the USA to get a first class education and then head back home to set up a company to service their US customers?