Amid a renewed controversy over whether American jobs should be reserved for Americans and not skilled foreigners, Indian-origin tech leader Apoorva Govind presented a detailed analysis of the tech situation, breaking down which tech companies need what type of skills. Govind said she had been in tech for 15 years now and witnessed that a lot of Americans value living close to their family and friends. "They don't want to move to the coastal cities where all the tech jobs are concentrated. So sometimes the employers are left with no choice but to hire foreign nationals," Govind said, adding that it also means that more states need to create tech hubs like Pittsburgh, Raleigh, and Dallas/Austin have.
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Govind explained that there are three types of companies that hire techies. In the first type, there are companies like Apple and Google that offer many jobs, but one has to crack the interview and move to the city where they are based. H-1Bs are about 2-3% of the workforce in these companies and most of them have a Master's/ PhD from American universities. "These H1Bs command premium market-rate salaries. These are highly coveted, talented people who any country would be lucky to have," she said.
