JUSTIN CHEN/YH

From brain drain to brain gain

Where do you go to find the best high-tech professionals in the world?

The international departure lounge.

This is neither an exaggeration nor a myth. The smartest and the youngest in "knowledge-economy" are heading offshore from India, China, Canada, Russia and just about any other nation one could name. The U.S. is the universal magnet for the talented. Many international universities, like the Indian Institute of Technology and the Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, have become the training grounds for American industries. The stars of the high-tech world often receive great educations in their home countries until they are ready to chase the big dollars in America.

The so-called "brain drain" sparks controversy wherever it is mentioned. One simple fact that everyone agrees upon, however, is its potentially crippling effect on the economy. Every nation is trying to retain its talented by making its own high-tech industry more attractive. An international tug-of-war for the best and brightest is just beginning.

The question of brain drain is real and imminent right here at Yale, where seven percent of the student body is composed of international students.

Johanes Soetanto, ES '03, the only Indonesian student of the class of 2003, is unsure whether to launch his career in the U.S. "The living environment in America is unquestionably more suitable—especially for technology professionals. It's not just the higher pay, but also the advanced facilities, established connections, and the stability." The myth that immigrant workers take over the best-paying America jobs, however, does create antagonism. Soetanto sees this myth as "unfair." "We are in an age of global competitiveness. The best do not have to apologize for taking better jobs."

Qinan Tang, BR '03, an international student from China, shares Soetano's feelings towards the antagonism against foreign workers. "America is a nation of fairness. It's only fair for the talented and the diligent to win out in the competition."

Tang, likewise, is ambivalent about whether to carry out her professional ambitions in the states or at home. She stresses that the higher monetary rewards are not the only attractions of working in the U.S. Many scholars and researchers, like herself, have concerns over the degree of political tolerance. She is hopeful that brain drain will taper off in China as more American and European businesses enter the Chinese market ­ especially after China's recent establishment permanent trade relations with the U.S. "I know many Americans, some of them Yalies, who travel to China. They work in banking, finance, and in law. Overtime, China's brain drain may become brain gain."

The one-directional flow of talent is not only causing headaches for those who lose, but also those reaping the benefits. Today, the brightest of many countries can be found in U.S. locations as diverse as Silicon Valley, Cambridge, MA, Princeton, NJ, and Berkeley, CA. With their "talented-tenth" heading elsewhere, these developing nations find their struggling, start-up technology industries lacking the vital force of experienced and qualified professionals.

The unavoidable issue faced by America and Germany, countries dependent upon immigrants, is the question of race. In the States, experts are concerned as to the division between the high-tech haves and the low-wage have-nots along racial lines. For example, in Washington D.C., newcomers from Latin America often lack the education and language skills to advance into the technology age, while well-trained professions from Asian countries find their prospect of prospering much greater. Tension is inevitable. American labor activists believe that technical training is the only long-term solution to the widening gap between unfilled jobs and the number of qualified U.S. applicants.

In Germany, The question of foreign-workers is under the spot-light in political campaigns. The issue is so heated that "Kinder statt Inder" (i.e., Let's have babies rather than Bengalis) has been adopted as the campaign slogan of Jurgen Ruttgers, the CDU candidate in next month's North Rhine-Westphalia election.

Michelle Kanter, BR '03, and Michael Ho, ES '03, share the sentiment that brain drain is not beneficial to either country. "Bringing in temporary foreign workers remedies the immediate need. But the long term solution is education," says Kanter. "America should have an educational system that is as robust as it's economy." Ho thinks that the belief ­ the best jobs are being depleted by foreigners ­ is only a myth that promotes intolerance. "What we see in the industry is much like natural selection. The strongest, most experienced, and the most brilliant survive. Stopping immigration would not solve the problem. Investing in better technical training in the U.S. is the real solution."

America is alluring—especially with deal sweeteners like generous bonuses, longer vacations, and shiner cars and boats. To the average Chinese engineer, earning $37 a month, shabbily housed by the state, working under stingy grants, and living under the threat of prosecution, these rewards seem irresistible.

The payoff for these tangible benefits, however, is leaving all that is familiar at home for the taunting, unknown halfway across the globe. While their pay is multiplied, the recognition these new immigrants receive is often halved. These professionals, often the rising stars of their former universities or companies, settle into lower ranks upon entering American industries. Under the gilded image of working in the U.S., crimes, taxes, and a persistent sense of alienation are all unavoidable issues. Capitalizing on these drawbacks, many countries are now eagerly trying to reverse the trend brain-drain into "brain gain."

Silicon Valley, the very soul of the American technology sector, has long depended on immigrants for the core of its work force. Between 1995 and 1998, Indian and Chinese immigrants accounted for a third of the technology start-ups in Silicon Valley. The stereotype of dedicated, smart, and low-maintenance Chinese and Indian workers, together with the 300,000 unfilled, high-tech jobs in the U.S., makes industry officials more than enthusiastic about immigration reforms.

IIT, the Indian Institute of Technology, is famous for sending its graduates to the U.S. Indian workers are the most welcomed by American companies: they're well-educated, not demanding, highly proficient in English. In recent years, however, a growing proportion of graduates have launched their careers at home. Namita Gupta is one of them.

At age 22, Gupta completed her Master's in Computer Science at the highly competitive IIT. She has won a handsome offer from I2 Technologies, a firm in Texas. Ironically, just as she was reaching her goal, she had second thoughts. With a strong attachment to her extended family, she felt conflicted over how to balance her professional ambitions with her family ties. "My career is very important, but I don't want to miss out on family life. A lot of people go to the U.S. and never come back. I don't want to be one of those." (The Washington Post, 9/14/2000)

Though Indians still account for nearly half of all the professional work visas issued by the U.S., an increasing number of professionals, like Gupta, are choosing Indian job offers over American ones. India's technology industry has accelerated from $150 million to $3.9 billion in internationals sales over just a decade. Though it's difficult to distinguish cause and effect, India's advances in the high-tech arena are a clear symbol of the easing of brain drain.

In recent years, as "free-economy" and "high-tech" become the national buzzwords, the effects of losing its best and brightest have never been so apparent in China. More than 170,000 researchers and engineers left China to further their degrees in the past two decades. Five thousand came to the U.S. alone after the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square. Less than a third of them have returned.

Government reforms and attempts to retain the nation's "talented-tenth" had not addressed the underlying issues. The State Department ran extensive background check to make sure the researchers applying for visas are loyal to the state. The so-called "Pay-Before-You-Go" program was also ineffective. Engineers and scholars, though often making no more than $600 dollars a year, are asked to pose bonds of $30,000 before they leave the country. Researchers, ironically, were not discouraged from moving to the U.S. Instead, they became more eager in searching for American employers willing pay the bonds for future contribution.

Only recent attempts have remedied the real concerns ­ the paltry funding, the meager pays, and the rare but genuine threat of political prosecution. For example, the University of Shandong hopes to entice software engineers with rare "luxuries" such as several times the average salary, three-bedroom apartments, and Audi automobiles. After all, hot skills demand hot paychecks. China's 53 special high-tech zones and more than 100 incubators often favor expatriates, giving them preferential funding for their research. The State Department tries to draw back dissents by issuing political amnesty for statements made against the state while abroad.

Though IT (Information Technology) workers make up only two percent of New Zealand's work force, their constant flow offshore poses devastating effects to the national economy. Industries there take a different approach: they aim to make brain drain into brain gain. The solution: bring the American high-tech businesses home.

In May, the Texas company Pavilion Technologies acquired New Zealand-based Computer Systems Engineering -- perhaps best known as the parent of Wave Internet. Though seemingly bad news for nationalists, Pavtech NZ, as the new company will be known, will provide thousands of jobs for IT professionals. The company would bring serious "brain gain" to New Zealand as highly qualified American analysts and administrators head for Hamilton. This American takeover will actually stimulate the New Zealand technology sector.

Ready or not, the international battle for the brightest is imminent. One consistent trend in all nations is the ever-widening gap between the need of qualified technology workers and those available. The best have their choices in offers. It's up to the industries to add the deal sweeteners: bigger houses, faster cars, and the bottom-line—larger paychecks.

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