Outsourcing market in China expanding

gzlaser

A WEBPAGE design job might be interesting enough for those who want to sit on a chair all day writing HTML code. However, Su Weigang, an information science graduate, wanted a more exciting life. So, after working for a year as a webpage designer, the 26-year-old began working for an outsourcing company.

\"This job has given me everything I wanted: an international working environment, chances to go abroad, participation in outsourcing and a stable salary,\" said Su, an employee with Beijing-based SinoCom Software Group Ltd - one of China's leading outsourcing companies.

China's fledgling outsourcing companies are now expanding rapidly with low-cost personnel. The good news is that IT outsourcing needs even more people like Su.

Each year, about 400,000 to 500,000 people in IT-related majors graduate from university, according to a June 18 China Daily report. Despite the large number of graduates, however, China's IT outsourcing industry needs more.

\"Seeking a job in an outsourcing service company -especially in the area of software outsourcing-may be a promising choice for university grads,\" said Wu Lei, CEO of Oriental Standard, a Beijing-based IT training firm that specializes in IT training, staffing and project outsourcing.

Obstacles

Ma Guosheng, vice general manager of the Chongqing-based Zhengda Software Group, agreed.

\"China is becoming a top destination for software outsourcing, and the industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. Companies are expanding. Software engineers, especially senior programming engineers, are and will be greatly needed for a long period of time,\" said Ma, whose company's affiliate -Huari Software-is the city's biggest in outsourcing.

As with other professions, however, grads going into the outsourcing IT industry have to face the usual obstacles. These include, of course, climbing up the ladder from an entry-level position to get to a skilled program developer.

\"Textbooks that they use at school are usually too theoretical and not up-to-date,\" Su said. \"It's best if a grad can get professional training or pick up some advanced programming skills on his or her own. Also, learning a foreign language like Japanese and English will be very useful.\"

Before getting the job offer, Su Weigang received professional training in both Japanese and Java programming. Now, after just 18 months, he has been promoted from an entry-level programming position to a systems engineer.

How to succeed

Su said he's now able to participate in every step of his company's outsourcing, from program developing and testing to product manufacturing. He's also experienced a new kind of corporate culture by cooperating with his Japanese colleagues. \"I'm sure these will benefit my future career,\" Su said.

Ma, of the Zhengda Group, gave a clear blueprint of an outsourcing engineer's future.

\"An excellent engineer could become a senior technical expert. He could also become a good project leader,\" he said. \"Chinese IT professionals are welcomed by many countries. They even have a chance to go abroad to enjoy much higher salaries and promising futures.\"

However, working in the outsourcing industry isn't for everyone. \"Being an engineer in the industry doesn't require much creativity. Instead, one is asked to perform a task that's totally in accord with clients' requirements. This is probably not a good career for people with great creativity,\" Ma said.

Popular outsourced jobs

Accountant: Accounting work from America is outsourced to professionals in developing countries, using a standardized software program, making the work of tax returns cheap and easy.

Radiologist: Hospitals from the US or Europe can transfer medical scans via the Internet to people half a world away. The outsourcing speeds up after-hours work by sending it to China and India, where it's daytime.

News data analysts: Media agencies such as Reuters do lots of financial data research and analysis. Instead of giving the work to a senior financial reporter, it's much cheaper to farm it out to agencies in developing countries.



AGENCIES


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blueprint 计划

Java 一种编程语言

outsourcing 外包

fledgling 起步的

affiliate 成员机构

entry 入门的

standardize 使标准化