I normally don’t post stuff written by others but I just had to share this one.
It’s from Slashdot.org and sums up my experience with outsourcing to India really well.
>> Hello there!
>> Please refer to your opening on job posting site. I, Rajesh Sharma, would like to apply for the job.[...]My hourly rates are $ 9 USD.
> We all like to pretend this isn’t here and it isn’t happening, but I would say conservatively half the job market has disappeared in 10 years due to this currency/standard of living imbalance.There’s another reality: it’s really, really hard to manage projects in India. I have tried this for a number of projects, and have learned the following things:
- A day before the deadline, Rajesh will ask for more time
- Halfway through the project, Rajesh will ask for more money
- Rajesh will not give the source, as was agreed
- Rajesh will not use unit tests, or Subversion, as was agreed
- Rajesh cannot be bothered to provide an estimate or a planning
- Rajesh will take on other projects and give priority to those before yours
- Rajesh actually has a day job and just does projects on the side
- Rajesh will tell you he takes a holiday for three weeks, starting tomorrow
- Rajesh has a wedding of a brother, a pregnant sister, a sick father, etc and cannot make the planning
- Rajesh will ask for more money at the end of the project
- Rajesh cannot be reached because he lost his mobile
- Rajesh cannot be reached because his mobile was stolen
- Rajesh cannot be reached because his mobile its battery is empty
- Rajesh cannot be reached because the e-mail server is down
- Rajesh cannot be reached because the internet is down
Each and every project, I have had the above things. There are lots of ways around the above, but the main thing is that it’s very hard.
Pic is related
