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Would You Move To India To Move Up the Career Ladder?

The word "outsourcing" has long caused many technology professionals to shudder. But 10 or 15 years ago, outsourcing still mostly meant moving your IT job from the payroll of one U.S. company to another American firm, like when Dupont in 1997 signed a megadeal to outsource 2,600 jobs to Computer Sciences Corp. And for those people who transferred to IT outsourcing firms, the move frequently--although not always--provided a boost to the career. Often, the tech services firms not only invested more in training and professional development than the old employer, but the move also sometimes led to promotions, interesting new gigs working for other clients, fatter paychecks, and nice perks.

But now, in the minds of many U.S. tech workers, the words "outsourcing" and "offshoring" mean the same thing—more reason to worry. Of course, even today, not all IT outsourcing arrangements have jobs going overseas, but many do. And at the same time, some big U.S. technology companies, including IBM, Dell, and Capgemini, are planning to add tens of thousands of new jobs in places like India over the next few years.

So, if relocating from Cincinnati to Dallas 10 years ago could've enhanced your IT career, do you think moving from Bangor, Maine, to a stint in Bangalore, India, could provide a similar professional boost?

Would you transfer from New York to New Delhi to manage a company's new team of programmers?

How far would you be willing to go—literally—to advance your career or save your job? I'd like to know.

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