Honestly, Cisco runs on H-1B talent in a very real way—just like a lot of big tech—because it brings in people with deep, specific skills that are hard to find at the exact scale and speed the work demands. These aren’t random hires; a lot of them have strong engineering backgrounds and advanced degrees in areas like software, networking, security, and data. And yeah, it can make things feel more competitive for Americans, but that’s kind of the point: the world isn’t slowing down, and neither is the industry. If you don’t get the role you wanted, you can either sit around and blame the system, or you can level up and come back stronger. That’s the difference between a grown-up mindset and a baby mindset—Cisco (and the people who thrive there) reward the folks who adapt, learn, and keep pushing.
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Put your money where your mouth is, and let's conduct an experiment re: the supposed plusses vs. the minuses, when it comes to H1-Bs.
Let's send them all back to their countries of origin, where they can put their "best and brightest talent" to work...for themselves. They have to remain in their countries of origin, and not "copy the homework" of any westerners, when it comes to innovation, ideas, processes, coding, AI applications, implementation, roll-outs, collaboration, etc. They have to work on their own, in their own country, and they have to do this for a decade.
In the meantime, all western/1st world countries will be self-contained too, utilizing only natural-born citizens in the workforce. They'll be on their own with innovation, ideas, processes, coding, AI applications, implementation, roll-outs, collaboration, etc. No outsiders, no immigrants, no H1-Bs or others having any input, just each country's citizens working with themselves on things, doing their best.
In a decade, which countries do you think will be thriving and propelling themselves forward in success, rather than floundering, backsliding, and failing?
DUH!
ONLY if they are Professional Engineers (mechanical, electrical, chemical). Software is not included in PE. There is no other designation in the plethora of admin jobs with very long bs titles like 'senior communications scope executive" that mean anything nor should they make 6 figures to send a text or attend a meeting. It's lol now
The US education system, at least for STEM, is the best in the world when you break the stats out by ethnicity. People deliberately ignore that issue.
Also a follow on issue is the pi-s poor basic education system in the United States and bloated predatory higher education system.
For most a degree is important because most aren't sufficiently self driven but it should be noted there are billionaires who didn't complete college degrees and in a few cases some who didn't even complete high school. Now more than at any time in history the knowledge of the oracles is readily available for those willing to put in the effort, and with ultra cheap compute power and virtualization the tools you need to experiment are more versatile than ever for a wide range of skills.
For doing large scale embedded software development the skills unique to this work were never taught in college. You were either driven and learned it on your own, you were lucky enough to land at a rare competent company which taught you, or you did what most doing this kind of work did being idi0ts among idi0ts making massive mistakes throughout your career.
I don’t think the issue is so black and white. I’ve worked with many highly skilled H1B workers and I’ve worked with some who were incompetent. But we all know that the reason companies are doing this to save money. Also a follow on issue is the pi-s poor basic education system in the United States and bloated predatory higher education system. My hope is that this focus on the loopholes in the current system will allow the United States to fix both problems for the sake of our country’s international competitiveness and future of our citizens in the long run.
Pay peanuts you get monkeys.
Yes I heard Cisco is planning to acquire Nvidia for chips and Google and Anthropic for AI.
A 2017 study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) found that 93% of graduates from non-elite Indian business schools were "unemployable".
Right, because we totally don’t have the supply of thousands of CS graduates(talents) from the World Top 100 universities domestically. If being cheap to hire is a talent, sure.
Exactly, you go to Gucci and Louis Vuitton instead for products made in china but branded in Italy. Nice try, pat on the back for effort.
You don’t go to Dollar Tree for quality goods.
Yes, we definitely need H1b project managers to click around in Jira and managers who will say the exact same thing you said and get stuck when out of syllabus question comes up, only to panic and ask from others what should be the answer. Very capable!
The only nice thing about H1Bs is job security. Poor work ethic, lazy, and constant mistakes cause managers to ask for a clean up crew. These are kids from top universities in the country too.
It is the other way around. Asians here in USA are disgusted with the bias and nepotism in the Bay Area.
Canada, Australia and Ireland are restricting the number of students and jobs given to immigrants.
Go and check all the top AI researchers and talent in the Bay Area. You will be surprised to learn that most of them are us citizens.
Get out of the fox hole and open your eyes.
H1Bs are here to keep the company float so fat body, hot dog eating, Diet Coke drinking employees can still have a job. Or else these companies go out of business with these weak a-s work ethics.
Too many overweight lazy people here
...some of the H1b here don't know how to code properly...
and
no wonder why H1B employees are more efficient
The software quality metrics over four decades show most never knew "how to code properly" regardless of ethnicity or country in which you work.
What are you talking about, some of the H1b here don't know how to code properly and are hired because the manager is from the same place in India, and in our location one manager got his wife hired in the same location by another manager who he is friends with.
Someone spent nearly a decade on this website 😂 no wonder why H1B employees are more efficient
Cisco (and the people who thrive there) reward the folks who adapt, learn, and keep pushing.
This is one of the most absurd things I've read here in nearly a decade.
AI is more skilled than most h1bs
Trump fixed this - for the H1Bs that actually deliver true value, the employer will gladly pay the new higher fee.