Kalpesh,

I definitely agree with point #1.  I think the other reason that IT is a successful profession in the US is the proliferation of computing our daily lives here.  

Most household and businesses in the US have at least one computer and many are also connected with high speed internet access.  With that kind of market penetration, there is a vast need for goods and services that support computing in many ways.

I have always said that for India to truly become less dependent on US markets for IT work, they need to invest in a stronger domestic market. I think this will definitely happen in due time.

Also, I had this discussion with my manager about rising salaries (when I was in India) & I feel that, we were paid good because of outsourcing. i.e. hourly rate difference that Indian OR any-other IT services firm offered as compared to rate asked for by local guys.

If Indian companies were to rely on local IT business, salary wouldn't be that high.

In US, IT people are paid well (even though they serve local businesses) because

1) Things are driven by IT. Government, businesses, non-profit etc

2) Some of the costs are reduced when things are online

3) US businesses cater to the world (they are large MNCs)

Just my views.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks for reading !!

I would like to know, how to make sure you are paid appropriately (as per market & your skills) and ways to move ahead, specifically considering US market.

How does HR/Management decide some amount that they would pay you, without having some sort of expectation set (return value) in concrete?

e.g. when you invest in some instrument, you know – how much you would be investing & how much you would be getting at the end of the investment term?

What does HR/management think of this?

I understand – things cannot be laid out in hard numbers. But, isnt hiring an investment (in people)?

Let me know your views. I will appreciate, if you write it to shahkalpesh at gmail d0tc0m.

Thanks for the kind comments!

Another key point that I neglected to mention in my post was that it can be helpful to have a "ceiling" salary figure for your current responsibilities.  This figure not only helps you frame your own career, but it also gives you a lot of insight about work environments.

Any time you get a raise or job offer that goes past your ceiling figure for that position, you should assume that something smells fishy about the environment.  While this is not a reason to back away from a challenge, it does help you frame more realistic expectations for the new job/position.