Reverse Brain Drain: Foreign Headhunters Taking Full Advantage of U.S. Recession

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The New York Times just released one of the more disturbing videos on global business trends that I’ve seen in some time.

With the U.S. recession trickle down effects being fully evident, foreign nationals on a Work Visa or American citizens who speak a country’s national language are being recruited to work abroad… while on American soil!

Countries that were not a major threat to America’s top wage earners a year ago — whether it’s an entry level science/engineering job or finance mangers with 20+ years of experience — are now considering uprooting and taking their skills elsewhere.

Of course, who can blame them if they’re unemployed or they want to travel the world. Not I. In fact, I nearly took a 2 year job assignment in Denmark in my mid 20s.

But being an American who follows the global economics scene, this is a moderatly alarming indicator because it could start something that could be a big problem for us in the future.

Why?

Because the high school graduation rate in the U.S. is only 73%, where we rank among the lowest in the industrialized world. So it’s not like we’re churning out brain surgeons and Nobel prize winning physicists on a consistent basis. Plus, we need as many high wage earners as possible to keep the Social Security coffers funded.

To compensate, we have generally provided the promise to foreign nationals that higher education will have substantial rewards – regardless of who they are or where they are from. A higher quality of life, generous salaries, and prestige among their peers are all reasons why many high aptitude, non-American young professionals seek education within our borders and choose to practice their trade on American soil.

To me, reducing our ability to retain the best and brightest is a clear warning sign that we’re doing something wrong.