Meh. "write code that compiles" means to me the ability to do zero defect keyboarding. That's not so important - being able to interpret the compiler output t

Meh. "write code that compiles" means to me the ability to do zero defect keyboarding. That's not so important - being able to interpret the compiler output to say - Oh, I typoed that variable name/I missed that semicolon/etc. - that is what matters. For me, the more problematic evidence comes from the interaction colleagues and I have with actual Indian engineers. Westerners are far from perfect, but I've had a lower success rate with Indian outsourcers. As I understand it, Indian cost of living is at most 1/2 that of western countries, so I would expect a 1/2 price differential for the same quality. But that doesn't seem to happen. I'd guess it's due to upper management failing to see the difference between the Indian quality at 1/2 price and Indian quality at 1/10 price, and choosing the latter, making the former scarce.