http://fortune.com/2013/08/05/the-myth-of-americas-missing-software-engineers/
http://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-on-immigration-2013-4
These two articles lay out the debate going on in Silicon Valley concerning immigration. On the one side, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are claiming that there aren’t enough qualified Americans to fill open jobs. On the other side, Forbes cites a study saying that for the 7 out of the 10 top jobs H1-B visas are requested for there are enough qualified Americans.
Very interesting, and while the data does seem to suggest that there are Americans who would qualify for these jobs, would they also be the best choice. Merely qualifying does not tell us whether these Americans are also the best candidates.
I agree with George that being qualified is a floor and not a ceiling. Just because the Americans are qualified for the job does not mean that they are the most qualified applicant. This could explain why the article states: “Another aspect of Bright’s report that surprised the data scientists was that the average salary for H-1B workers was higher than the median in each field. It would make sense that an employer would try to offer a lower salary to an employee it helped move to the United States since that employee also gains the benefit of getting sponsored, but the analysis found the opposite.” Maybe the H-1B worker is more qualified and deserves more? Maybe there is some other goal behind this, where it actually drives down wages? Whatever the reason, H-1B workers continue to be in high demand.