Dude, Did I Steal Your Job? Debugging Indian Computer Programmers [Paperback]

N. Sivakumar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2004

The backlash against outsourcing American jobs to countries like India had transformed into an anti-immigrant and anti-Indian atmosphere lately. While looking at outsourcing and high-tech visa programs from a completely different angle --and giving an enjoyable account of Indian programmers -- this book answers, in an extremely balanced way, the following complicated questions that have been raised by many American programmers, talkshow hosts, news anchors and politicians:

. If outsourcing is inevitable, what’s next for Americans?

· Did America really benefit from immigrant programmers?

· Was there never a need to bring immigrant programmers to the U.S.?

· Are Indian immigrant programmers nothing but corporate lapdogs?

· Are Indian programmers dumb as rocks and incapable of thinking outside of the box?

· Did Indian immigrant programmers support the September 11th attacks?

· Did Americans invent everything that belongs to the computer industry?

· Is the Indian education system far below world standards?

· Is there an organized Indian mafia in American universities that hires only Indian cronies?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An engaging and challenging account" -- COMPUTERWORLD Feb 28th. 2005

"Engaging, Surprising and Funny. A voice from the Indian side of the equation is well worth hearing." -- SALON.COM

Beautifully balanced. Every American programmer should read this book.I liked the way the author compared American programmers to Indians. -- Bob Young, Programmer MI, USA.

Intelligent,Funny and Timely! Sivakumar has produced a Fahrenheit 9/11 for Lou Dobbs and Co. -- DesiGeek

Sivakumar is polite and optimistic than a hired-gun programmer might lead you to expect. -- SLASHDOT

About the Author

N. Sivakumar is a software engineer in the U.S. with more than ten years of industry experience in Electronic Design Automation (EDA), Internet Security, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). He has published several articles on latest technology trends, and he uncovered a critical security hole in Microsoft Hotmail.

Product Details

• Paperback: 189 pages
• Publisher: Divine Tree (July 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975514008
• ISBN-13: 978-0975514009
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,352,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A "face" on the issues of offshoring/H1-B in IT..., January 20, 2005

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dude, Did I Steal Your Job? Debugging Indian Computer Programmers (Paperback)

As a software developer, I'm well aware of the offshoring/H1-B controversy. When I was offered a chance to review the self-published book Dude, Did I Steal Your Job? Debugging Indian Computer Programmers by N. Sivakumar, I welcomed the opportunity. An interesting read from the "other side"...

The author is an Indian software engineer living in the US, and he presents his own observations and views on America's issues in the IT industry. Aside from the stories about cultural adjustment, there's real solid material here. He does an excellent job in differentiating between offshoring and the H1-B visa program. And while there definitely are abuses in the H1-B program, an open-minded reader will see that there are some tangible benefits to the economy in general and the industry specifically. I didn't realize that many of the major technology companies were started by immigrants who came to America to pursue a dream. Not that I thought that Americans had to have started them... I just hadn't given it much thought. Towards the end of the book, he talks about offshoring and understands that as it is currently practiced, its usually devastating to workers. He's also not in favor of it in its current form. He recommends some changes to the process that would help ease the transition of affected workers, and the concepts are worth consideration.

Getting back to the stories... He shares a number of cultural observations and stories of what its like to be an Indian programmer in America. Many will cause you to laugh, and far too many will cause you to wonder how we could be so rude. He doesn't pull punches, so it's not as if he's painting Indians as poor abused minorities. He points out the faults and oddities on both sides. There are a lot of generalizations, as there would have to be when you're discussing a cultural group as a whole. But I think that the typical American IT worker could learn a lot (and gain some empathy) by reading the book.

If you're looking for a smoothly written, highly edited piece of literature, you may be disappointed. He went the self-publishing route to tell his story, and as a result you'll see some rough edges. But the writing is real, the views are balanced, and it's a worthy read for anyone who is trying to come to grips with the changes in the IT landscape. You may not agree with parts of the book, but you'll be forced to put a face on the issues as opposed to dealing with "them".

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and a thought provoking book, October 4, 2004

By 

Viresh (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dude, Did I Steal Your Job? Debugging Indian Computer Programmers (Paperback)

An interesting and a thought provoking book! Siva has conveyed a lot of commom traits shared among the immigrants of the indian subcontinent. And has tackled the issue of outsourcing,its pros and cons in a fair and a balanced way. Although i doubt if it will make an impression on the message boards. Its not easy talking about the benefits of outsourcing to someone who has lost his/her job becasue of it. Just as it was not easy explaining the benefits of computerization in india when people were replaced by computers imported from US!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Its a great book, combines serious facts wt light anecdotes, August 5, 2004

By 

S. Bailur (US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dude, Did I Steal Your Job? Debugging Indian Computer Programmers (Paperback)

Its a book most people can identify with (especially Indians and programmers). An enjoyable book which presents certain facts that probably never occur to people! The author deals with a very sensitive issue with balance and humor making the reading experience quite enjoyable