There is a particularly poignant letter to the editor in a recent Globe, which responds to an article by Jack Kapica (paid sub. required) that apparently featured quotes from IT industry spokespeople painting positive pictures of IT employment in Canada. It speaks for itself:
Dear Editor:
As an expatriate Canadian IT worker who, after three and a half years of unemployment and who was forced to leave the country to find suitable work, I am outraged by the Software Human Resource Council’s irresponsibly absurd statement that "in fact, technology is one of the faster growing sectors of the economy with an unemployment rate of around 3 per cent."
The inherent instability of Canadian IT employment and its tendency to pay McWages renders it wholly unconducive to an adult lifestyle, and it should be no surprise that forward-thinking young women would make the wise decision to eschew a field where starting wages for four-year graduates are $10 to 15 an hour (if they’re lucky to get an offer at all). Who but immature kids, who would rather play with the latest technical toys and don’t have any problem with subsisting off of parental handouts, would knowingly make the choice of investing vast sums and long hours in a field paying wages normally associated with the fast-food industry and where there are regular and severe employment droughts?
Three and a half years of unemployment stripped me of my savings, my self-esteem, and my confidence, and I wouldn’t wish such a miserable experience on anyone.