In spite of being nearly doubled last year, it was consumed in seven months. Another sign of the critical shortage is that the Sunday, May 9th issue of the New York Times had a staggering 10 display advertisements for programmers. If your ISP does not carry it, ask them. Congress slipped the expansion of the H-1B visa program into the giant budget bill that was passed in October. This legislation makes it legal for American programmers to be fired and replaced by foreign programmers.
Promotion Let's face it.
Our reputation is that we are bunch of geeks. A guild would help present us as the professionals that we are. It would encourage talented people to join the profession and it would actively recruit members among all segments of the population. Lobbying As distasteful as politics is, especially to programmers, there are many pieces of legislation that directly impact us. Drug Testing Non-compete clauses Software Patents We need to be organized to have our voices heard.