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The Canadian Province of Nova Scotia "bet the farm" when it built a really well-equipped Computer Science facility at Dalhousie University in Halifax. It's rea

The Canadian Province of Nova Scotia "bet the farm" when it built a really well-equipped Computer Science facility at Dalhousie University in Halifax. It's really easy to get financial aid in Canada as well. Of course the province was hoping to build a robust software industry. What actually happened is that most of Dalhousie's CS grads get jobs in the US. I lived in Nova Scotia for several years, I was only able to get one job there. All of my other jobs were remote work for clients in the US.

dalke 12y ago
You wrote: "I speculate that the reasons for the perceived - and ONLY perceived - shortage is that it's far more difficult for employers and potential employees to find each other.", and follow it up with an example of how most of Dalhousie's CS grads are able to find work in another country? How is it meaningful to say that it's hard for the students and their potential US employers to find each other when apparently it's quite easy?
- MichaelCrawford 12y ago
  You're using anecdotal evidence to argue against the general case. Consider the book "Laughter is the Best Medicine". Some guy's cancer went into remission when he watched a whole bunch of really funny movies. Given that, would you suggest that we should do away with chemotherapy, radiation and oncology surgeons?
  - dalke 12y ago
    You started off by saying it was difficult, then used an example of where it was easy. Given the existence of Craigslist, Monster, Stack Overflow Careers, etc. over and beyond what was available 30 years ago, it should be easier now to find employees rather than harder. You need to demonstrate that it's actually harder. Under your analogy, you haven't shown that the people actually have cancer in the first place.
    - MichaelCrawford 12y ago
      Craigslist, Monster, Careers 2.0 are the problem, not the solution. At one time I only had two ways to look for a job: under "Computer Programming" in the Yellow Pages, and in the Sunday San Jose Mercury News. Now there are vast numbers of job boards, newspapers are going bankrupt because craigslist job posts are completely free of charge in most cities, and no one even knows what the yellow pages are.
      - dalke 12y ago
        "You're using anecdotal evidence to argue against the general case."

dalke 12y ago

You wrote: "I speculate that the reasons for the perceived - and ONLY perceived - shortage is that it's far more difficult for employers and potential employees to find each other.", and follow it up with an example of how most of Dalhousie's CS grads are able to find work in another country? How is it meaningful to say that it's hard for the students and their potential US employers to find each other when apparently it's quite easy?

MichaelCrawford 12y ago
You're using anecdotal evidence to argue against the general case. Consider the book "Laughter is the Best Medicine". Some guy's cancer went into remission when he watched a whole bunch of really funny movies. Given that, would you suggest that we should do away with chemotherapy, radiation and oncology surgeons?
- dalke 12y ago
  You started off by saying it was difficult, then used an example of where it was easy. Given the existence of Craigslist, Monster, Stack Overflow Careers, etc. over and beyond what was available 30 years ago, it should be easier now to find employees rather than harder. You need to demonstrate that it's actually harder. Under your analogy, you haven't shown that the people actually have cancer in the first place.
  - MichaelCrawford 12y ago
    Craigslist, Monster, Careers 2.0 are the problem, not the solution. At one time I only had two ways to look for a job: under "Computer Programming" in the Yellow Pages, and in the Sunday San Jose Mercury News. Now there are vast numbers of job boards, newspapers are going bankrupt because craigslist job posts are completely free of charge in most cities, and no one even knows what the yellow pages are.
    - dalke 12y ago
      "You're using anecdotal evidence to argue against the general case."