Conversation with students in Wuxi, China
Last month when I lectured in Wuxi, China, a student told me: “It is easy for you to talk about software engineering and advanced technology but our current market does not need that kind of skills. Most companies only hire people to do programming and testing. It would be better if you lecture on what we need rather than something too advance that may be good in the U.S but not in China”.
I explained: “The reason your school invited me to lecture here because of my experiences in these areas. There are many professors here who can lecture on programming and testing and your school does not invite me here just to lecture about it. Today your country is doing well in the global economy with huge volume of product exports. Your economy has created many jobs for unskilled people to move from agriculture to industry sectors. Your labor cost is lower than most developed countries so your country can sell products cheaper and compete on prices. My question is can your current economy creates jobs for millions of skilled college graduates too? Do you have the skills to compete in the global market? We are living in the 21st century where the growth in job opportunity is moving from industrial base to knowledge base so what the market need is technical workers NOT labor workers. In this knowledge market, if you look at the software industry there are several skill levels. If you only focus on the lower level such as programming and testing, you only work on small pieces of the entire software product. Because of this fragmentation, you will always “Behind” developers in other countries. The reason they hire you because of your lower wages and the market would shift if there are lower wages programmers and testers elsewhere. If you have better skills such as project management and advanced software engineering then you can move up to the next level. You can work on the entire software project, both small and mid size, and you can earn better wages and compete with developers in other countries for jobs. If you move to the top level by having skills in design, architect and integrate then you can work on larger systems. In this case, you can develop innovated products, strengthen your skills and dominate the job market. With these knowledge and skills, you can work anywhere you like, in any country, in any company with higher wages. As students, you must look at the big picture of what the world needs, what the industry needs, what are the “Hot” areas, what you can do to acquire these skills, what you can do to better yourself in this highly competitive market. You must focus on the future market, not the current market because technology will change and market will change”.
The student raised a concern: “I agree with you but today our market is still limited, it does not need advanced skills, at least not yet. We still need to find jobs as we are graduating soon”.
I explained: “As computer science students, you already received training in programming languages and testing. I am sure you can code and test in Java and C++, you know how to develop software since you have four years training in college. I do not think you need more help in these areas from me. However, you need to broaden your skills, you need to know what are happening in the technology areas, what is “Hot” and what will be “Hot”. You need to understand the software industry needs, what other countries are doing so you can set your study goals. I know that today India already outsourced a lot of programming and testing works to China because your wages are lower than theirs. Because of this influx, your job market has high demand in these lower level area. What happen if India find another countries that has much lower wages than yours? What happen if they decide to outsource to another countries? You cannot focus on short term and depending on having works from outsiders? You must focus on establish your own job, your own market, your own industry, and control your own destiny”.
Another student asked: “Do you think we can establish our own software industry and compete in the global market?
I explained: “Why not? Your country already has all the conditions required to develop a software industry. It has a strong industrial base which provides the foundation for more automation and integration of information technology. The needed infrastructure is already in place but the weakness is the limited of skills. Each year, your education system graduates a large number of students who cannot do well in the technical market. I know that graduates from top schools will have no problem but students from the second-tier and third-tier universities will not easy to find good jobs. The problem is about the quality of education and the massive number of student enrollment each year. There are problems with the current education at high school levels where students learn to memorize rather than to think logically and solve problems. If the input is not of high quality or well selected than you cannot expect better output. The same problem also exists in higher education where college students are more concerned about having degrees rather than acquiring knowledge. For the past few years, I noticed a growing case of unemployment among college graduates but at the same time, there is a shortage of skilled workers in your software industry. It seems that there is a big gap between what school teach and what the industry need. If this issue is not solved soon, there will be more problems in the near future”.
Another student voiced her opinion: “We know about the unemployment problem. We have questioned our college education goals but have not come to any conclusion yet. We do not know what to do in this situation. Everybody told us that college education is important and we have put in a lot of works but our efforts is dependent on the course of the job market. Our economy is still growing strong but it only benefits the unskilled workers, the labor workers but not the educated workers. Today the job market is not sufficient to accommodate many college graduates so we continue to stay in school and invest in education. Many of us have Master and Doctorate degrees but we see no new job creation, no technological advantages and no clear direction”.
I explained: “This is a global issue and it is not unique to China. I have seen the same problem in other countries where there are many students invest their future in archaic education systems. They all have degrees but could not find jobs because there is no guaranty that degree will lead to jobs. The solution to this issue is NOT having degree but knowledge, skills and the quality of education system. With globalization, students do not compete for jobs within the city, within the country, but with other students in another country. Unless you have the right knowledge, the right skills you will not find jobs. As students, you must broaden your views, you must look at the big pictures, you must have a global view, you must go to the internet to search the market to find out what skills are needed and you must update your skills. You cannot stay idle, you cannot rely on the local market because market will change. You must focus on your career and long term employment, NOT job or any kind of jobs. You must think of yourself as professionals who are willing to work anywhere, anytime for the right wages. To do that, you must have the right knowledge and the right skills. You must select your investment in education carefully. You must continue to learn new things, new techniques, new technology as they will change overtime. You must understand about lifelong learning and you must stay alert for any changes in the market. Today, we are still at the dawn of the globalization phenomenon. Very few people understand it well enough but it will impact everything in the near future so you must be prepared”
A student commented: “We know about globalization where companies selling products all over the world. Competition will be tough and strong companies will threaten weaker companies”.
I explained: “It is NOT that simple, As Tom Friedman wrote in "The World is Flat," globalization has "made Beijing, Bangalore and Bethesda next-door neighbors." Inside this neighborhood sometimes people see a threatening environment. But my view is that it also provides far more opportunities if you know how to seize them. Today no country has a lock on the best jobs because companies may hire qualified workers from any country where they can find them. Be it India, China or any places around the world, the job opportunities are endless. For many companies, being global means more than selling products outside their own country but also opening offices and establish factories in countries that have lower cost than their own country. Low cost, large volume and market localization are needed for competitiveness but that is only the first wave of globalization. The first wave is NOT really a sustainable advantage. Why is it so? Because everybody else will be doing the same thing, and eventually catch up. To succeed in globalization you must understand the second wave by having the best products and services than your competitors. This requires innovation on a global scale. This is my central point: To benefit from globalization, every country, every companies must find ways to excel, to be the best. To succeed in your own country is one thing; to do that in a global scale is another. The second wave is about innovation NOT lower cost. To do that, every countries, every companies must seek, attract the best skilled people. This is why quality education is so important because country with the best education system, the best skilled workers, will dominate. You cannot have innovation without a good education system. You cannot have creativity without skilled people. Today, China is doing well in the first wave by having the lower cost advantage. Is China ready for the second wave? Can China succeed in creating more jobs and opportunities for college graduates? However, my question to you are: “As students, are you ready for the second wave? Are you ready to improve your skills? Are you ready to learn more about the advanced knowledge? Are you ready to compete with other developers? The future depends on you and only you can answer these questions”.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
