And America's information technology industry wants more of them. A 1997 Bureau of Labor Statistics study projected there will be 1.3 million new info-tech jobs over the coming decade. Lobbyists representing Microsoft, Texas Instruments, and Sun Micro systems have taken their case to Congress. The industries want to import more foreign workers through the H-1B visa program, which allows temporary guest workers into the country. This fall, California Representative David Dreier and Texas Senator Phil Gramm introduced bills to almost double the number of H-1B visas granted annually, raising the ceiling to 200,000.
Nobody is sure just how severe or real the info-tech labor shortage is.
Meanwhile, abundant anecdotal evidence indicates that some American technology workers, especially older ones, have a hard time finding steady work in their fields. William Spence, one of several workers contacted for this story, told of getting cut from his Stanford University job when a government grant expired. But after putting out more than 500 resumes, he got only two interviews, and no offers. Nelson says high-tech firms have given him the cold shoulder even though he has enrolled in retraining programs to keep his skills up to date. But the job didn't last.