If it can be outsourced, it will be outsourced. Eventually. And there will always be an analysis of the trade-offs between the quality of work, advantages related to the proximity of workers, etc.

There will always be plenty of engineering jobs here in the US, but… the more generic and outsourceable (I don’t think that’s a word) the work, the greater the likelihood that it eventually ends up overseas. The folks in India, China, etc. are just as smart, more motivated and much cheaper. It’s that simple.

Personally, unless I was really confident I was going to be a major engineering hotshot, I’d avoid most engineering tracks. It looks pretty risky to me.

Ironically – given our current mess – a good real estate agent will always be in demand. Although the commissions might get a little skinnier in the future.