Techies Flee Computer Jobs

The careers have lost their appeal

As an eager freshman in the fall of 2001, Andrew Mo's career trajectory seemed preordained: He'd learn C++ and Java while earning a computer science degree at Stanford University, then land a Silicon Valley technology job. The 22-year-old Shanghai native graduated this month with a major in computer science and a minor in economics. But he no longer plans to write code for a living, or even work for a tech company.
Mo begins work in the fall as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, helping to lead projects at multinational companies. Consulting, he says, will insulate him from the offshore outsourcing that's sending thousands of once-desirable computer programming jobs overseas.

More importantly, Mo believes his consulting gig is more lucrative, rewarding, and imaginative than a traditional tech job. He characterized his summer programming internships as "too focused or localized, even meaningless."

"A consulting job injects you into companies at a higher level," he said. "You don't feel like you're doing basic stuff."

Mo's decision to reboot his nascent career reflects a subtle but potentially significant industry shift. As tens of thousands of engineering jobs migrate to developing countries, many new entrants into the U.S. workforce see tech jobs as monotonous, uncreative, and easily farmed out�the equivalent of 1980s manufacturing jobs. ">Let's be smart: Poor IT career prospects deter students: "The careers have lost their appeal
As an eager freshman in the fall of 2001, Andrew Mo's career trajectory seemed preordained: He'd learn C++ and Java while earning a computer science degree at Stanford University, then land a Silicon Valley technology job. The 22-year-old Shanghai native graduated this month with a major in computer science and a minor in economics. But he no longer plans to write code for a living, or even work for a tech company.
Mo begins work in the fall as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, helping to lead projects at multinational companies. Consulting, he says, will insulate him from the offshore outsourcing that's sending thousands of once-desirable computer programming jobs overseas.

More importantly, Mo believes his consulting gig is more lucrative, rewarding, and imaginative than a traditional tech job. He characterized his summer programming internships as 'too focused or localized, even meaningless.'

'A consulting job injects you into companies at a higher level,' he said. 'You don't feel like you're doing basic stuff.'

Mo's decision to reboot his nascent career reflects a subtle but potentially significant industry shift. As tens of thousands of engineering jobs migrate to developing countries, many new entrants into the U.S. workforce see tech jobs as monotonous, uncreative, and easily farmed out�the equivalent of 1980s manufacturing jobs