I switched over a year ago and all I can say is … it’s been excellent. $25/month per line is perfect and service is just as good as our Verizon postpaid.
Approach it from the positive. Even with all of the remote tools and fancy apps, the connection of team that is in-person every day is night and day compared to a fully remote team. In-person, we can easily build relationships and have random conversions, assist team members without being a bother and make it easy for the frontline dev teams to meet and get to know their upper management team. Many companies will pay a premium for labor if they believe to be getting something in return for it.
Offshoring and outsourcing aren't new trends. While offshoring to India was tried many years ago, there was a boomerang effect that many of those jobs came back to the US after failed attempts at offshoring.
It feels different this time around. India is still in the mix due to low wages and skilled labor, now South America is showcasing a real capability for skilled SE's. South America has the time zone advantage that most of the team will be online that overlaps their NA managers.
RTO won't change everything, but I suppose I agree with the sentiment. US employees will never be the lowest wage compared to foreign labor so we'll have to find ways to compete against the global labor market in which we can win. Being in-office is a solid trump card and upper management loves to see their employees in the office space.
I believe the current hiring woes in the US are more nefarious than just being picky.
First, I believe US companies are figuring out how to hire foreign teams at lower cost. I get multiple emails per week from companies offering us their team at low rates. South America and India are common places. I personally witnessed this at my last company where they drastically cut US/North America staff in favor of Indian teams with a pure cost motive. Literally dozens of jobs including SE and supporting roles shipped overseas.
Second, I believe US companies are asserting back control over the labor market. Employees took a lot of control in the Covid era so companies have to be looking to fix that.
I hope something changes soon. I’m in the early stages of a job search and it’s a tad frustrating. I’ve experienced many of things reported by other commenters including ghosting, no response at all or my favorite which is “lack of years of experience for a requirement”
(Example must have 3 years experience with .NET 6)