I realize this is a controversial and political topic. I'm trying to decide if offshoring is something that is effecting our industry in any substantial way or if it's just some bugaboo. I've read various posts on SO about it, but none addressed the idea of evidence for offshoring. Studies, papers, opinions of people who know about such things etc.

I hear a lot about offshoring and its effect on our job market. However it all seems to be hearsay and conjecture. It does seem like some people are genuinely worried about it.

This offshoring thing has been going on for quite some time, should be enough time for some real data to come out. If I had to pick a number I'd say it started during the dotcom boom -- a time when the need for developers far outweighed the local talent pool. We're now in a time when the talent pool is expensive and corporate wallets are tight, seems like an ideal time to find a good cheap developer in some other country. But is that actually happening?

From reading some posts here on SO, I've concluded that offshoring is a really tough thing to do right. There are a lot of companies who think (or say) they can do it right, but some small percentage of them are actually able to pull it off.

• Is offshoring affecting the job market in any measurable way?
• Is offshoring measurable at all?
• Do we need to stop worrying about this?