Paging through the Times of India, I was not surprised to read the following headline: "Indian IT professionals among worst paid globally: survey". This survey, put together by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, really deserves a loud Bronx cheer.
According to the study, India is sitting pretty at number 4 of the Top 10 List of Worst IT paymasters. This study shows that while India hasn't found itself a spot on the podium to win a medal, it's still almost ironic that the pay is so dismal, especially since a few months ago many financial rags were touting the fast growing number of millionaires in India.
But really, what do you expect? A national doesn't become the poster boy for outsourcing jobs by making its local employees rich. Western companies have lined up to create a new caste system in India - and to reduce their own bottom lines. Meanwhile, IT managers in India are making an average salary of $25,000 USD - and yes, that's for managers!
While it wouldn't be reasonable to compare American or European salaries to those in India, the salaries are still low compared to the amount of money pouring in to these IT firms. Keep in mind that these low salaries also reflect often-dreadful working conditions such as round-the-clock teams – night and day and weekends.
There's a reason that outsourcing is so attractive to Western nations. But as more and more IT workers in India see the disparity in salary between them and their countrymen working abroad, I'd expect that the brain drain that is currently affecting India will only get worse.