Why are we encouraging kids to pursue STEM careers when they might well be replaced by underpaid immigrants on H-1B visas?

I am a freelance writer, and one of my many projects for a large corporation was to write award program materials for employees who performed exceptionally well. Guess why many were given these awards? They often helped the company lay people off by performing the job of several other people, or the winner was responsible for out-sourcing entire departments, etc. It was sometimes very bizarre to read the achievements: 'eliminated 85 FTEs,' etc., etc.

Thirty years ago, the creative director walked into the art department and asked the art director to hand over her rolodex of freelancers. I will never forget her reply: "Are you kidding? Do you think I am giving you all of my freelancers so you can replace all of my employees and me? Forget it!"

She has always been one of my heroes.

I'm a digital marketer (incidentally, I work for a STEM publisher and work with a lot of scientists, biologist and engineers). I run several websites and digital properties (PPC, social, etc). And I have a job that didn't exist 20 years ago. My team is staffed with developers and programmers based in Europe (my company is based in Europe). I don't know what skills these Disney workers have, but I find that talented developers and programmers are in high demand. I'm in a constant struggle to retain the guys on my team. They are regularly contacted by recruiters and they know they can easily get another job.

FWIW, before staffing the team I have now, I had a hired a contractor who, in turn, staffed their dev team with talent based in India. I paid one bill per month and didn't have to worry about VISAs, talent management or staffing. If I had a surge in demand one week, they could easily accommodate it with additional developers. But my stakeholders complained that the work was spotty, lacked QA and a basic understanding of our business. On my end, I had a hard time communicating my needs to the developers due to some language difficulties. So, in the end, I replaced the contractor with the developers I currently have on the team.

So, what would I say to my own kids about pursuing a career in STEM? Go for it. Absolutely. Knowledge work dominates the global job market. And STEM education offers American kids the best chance to compete. Rather then tell kids to run away from STEM, encourage them to get involved earlier. American ingenuity coupled with strong STEM skills will be what continues to drive American innovation.

Brigit said:
Looks like Disney is planning to rehire some of the tech workers it recently laid off. Hopefully, this story will continue to gain traction in the media and in Washington.
http://nyti.ms/1SmkrkN

I work for a mid-sized corp. We use a lot of consultants. Some onshore and some offshore. Some on-shore consultants are here on work visas.

One consultant, who I haven't really been working with lately, came into my office yesterday and said goodbye. She is leaving due to Visa issues. This person is exactly the kind of person we should be fighting to keep in this country. She's smart, productive, pays her taxes, etc.

I know another guy here on visa who had to leave the country (and his family) for a year due to Visa issues. This was caused by some botched paperwork.

The crap the government gives these people is astonishing. I want quality people around. I couldn't care less where they were born.

@TylerDurden -- I agree with you on this.

I disagree. You may have anecdotal evidence of a few people, but the majority of these visas are given to moderately skilled workers. Americans could easily do these jobs.

I agree with both of you. Is that a paradox? I don't like it when good American workers are replaced with H1B people to save the employer money. But I have also had H1B cow-orkers whom I respect deeply, and I don't believe they were underpaid. I realize krugle1 is saying that my experience doesn't prove a trend, and I accept that. I don't know the numbers.

MOL should be renamed EOL (Everywhere On Line!)