I would disagree. Lots of <b>quality</b> programming is done abroad for a lot less. I'm not a field insider, but from what I know, Microsoft does a huge portion of it's code writing in Russia and whenever I go there, I come back with a backfull of CDs with stuff that is very hard to find in the US(and about 30 times more expensive.) Some of the packages are done in Russia and never reach the US market (e.g. some antivirus stuff etc). And the quality is pretty good.
I can amplify on this topic with certainty. Pharmacy indeed is the best way to go, if your talking about a sciences based pursuit. A good computer science program from a top tier player is going to take at least 4 years. There are a ton of pharmacy schools out there, even at the institutional state level. It is not as hard as you think it is to get in. Believe me no harder than getting into a top CS program. 4-5 years for a pharmacy program, depending on if you get your Pharm. D. (doctorate of pharmacy) If you do not want the Pharm.D. you can get out much sooner and start dispensing at the clinical or retail levels, etc. Depending on where you live in the US, some pharmacists are making the equivalent range of $50-$55 per hour. This easily comes out to a low 6 figure annual salary.
It really goes both ways, from my personal experience. Really, the quality of the product comes down to how well onshore customers define their requirements, and how much experience they have with working with distributed teams. For a firm like microsoft, the scale of its projects easily support the overhead of specifications at the CMM-4 level, and firms like tata (india) handle that with ease. It's when you get into vague requirements, midstream strategy changes by management, etc. that problems arise. You can get great code, but as the client the onus is on YOU to make sure that communication happens at an appropriate level. This is true of all software projects, but the problems are particularly acute for offshore development. In my personal experience, all but the very best shops can turn out code that works to the specification provided, but it is usually an unmaintainable morass of poorly written code. Some of it even makes you think that the code sweatshop pays for software by number of source lines written. The very best overseas shops turn out code that is self-documented, very OO, and they even send over a consultant for the requirements phase that has the balls to say "no" to an unreasonable or poorly defined request.
Nope. My last job was at Microsoft, in Product Support (I worked with developers both inside and outside Microsoft). While there may be lots of development from other companies in Russia, Microsoft does not develop an extensive amount of code there. However, to convert to localized versions of various software, I think that they do employ local people at least some of the time. So there may be some programmers working for Microsoft there, and there may be some of Microsoft Consulting Services there as well. But nothing compared to the Redmond campus. BTW: I am no longer employed by Microsoft and do not speak for them.
that's what i tend to think also. so, perhaps even for this reason alone, it might be worthwhile pursuing CS. it would also be a great help in designing and testing trading systems. i'm far from an insider, but i have many family members involved in IT work. i get mixed reports from them. some are out of work, some doing pretty well. some think IT is going to hell, some see huge things on the horizon. (one of them has own company, specialising in financial services systems -- 2002 had record year.) just from what i read in magazines and books and articles, it seems to me that tech is FAR from dead; that we'll look back at the 99-00 "boom" (more like plain old bubble) and laugh when compared to how big tech will be in years to come. but, those days might well be more than 20 years away -- little consolation to someone looking for a job in the next few years... i guess there's also the question of what role american firms will play in all this. perhaps america's time is over. in any case, if all you become is "just a coder" (no knock on this), then you really are easily replaceable -- especially by foreign (cheaper) competition. you already have a degree in finance, so i guess that's a positive. unfortunately you don't have any finance related work experience. i'd still recommend pursuing some specialty on top of any basic CS degree; especially something business related. having said all that, i totally agree with TGregg, who recommends you do it because you actually love it. i really think (i find it obvious) that someone with a passion for what he does is going to get more out of it (financially and personally) than someone who's just doing it cos "that's where the money is". the good thing is, people aren't born with a passion for something -- it's not a case of "you either have it or you don't" -- you can develop such a passion. whether you want to or not is up to you. my take on where the big bucks are -- from an employee perspective -- is SALES. especially high end, business-business products. i know sales gets snickered at (as does trading), and it's considered one of the lowest forms of human existence (lol), but i consider it is an absolutely essential function and an absolute art form. where the REALLY big bucks are is obviously in owning your own (successful!) company/ies. however, i really think you need some background in a certain field of work before you can pursue this. (unless you wanna go the franchised restaurant route). without such a background, i find it pretty hard to see how the hell you're gonna identify (and capitalize on) market opportunities in markets you know nothing about. oh, and of course there's also good money to be made trading. shit, if you're good at it, VERY big money. and, even though i'm a daytrader myself, there is no doubt in my mind that the BIG money is made in longer term trading and compounding gains. no doubt at all. so, it's most certainly possible to have a passion for trading and pursuing that passion and also having a full time job at the same time. in fact, if i wasn't making money daytrading (and i'm not really making very much (compared to the good jobs), but it's more than i made in any job i had, but, then again, i don't have a degree, so it's not like i had any really great jobs...) i would be doing exactly that. in fact, i just went back to school (in australia, so hours don't conflict with trading) to finish my degree (economics), so, in a few years, that's something i might even do myself. one more thing, i wouldn't be in too great a rush to decide this stuff and act on it overnight. i think it's a truism that we usually overestimate what we can do in a year, and vastly underestimate what we can accomplish in ten. so take you're time on it. oh, and i'm a couple of years younger than you, so, it's not like you're getting this advice from someone that's "been there and done that".
vlad, i think he meant it as "not a smart move". ie, not a smart given the quality of work that was being done. (although, as some have pointed out, that may no longer be true)
Forget about IT employment. Software development technology has matured to a point where increasingly large projects can be outsourced to places like India. IT jobs that can not <i>yet</i> be outsourced are going to hi-tech migrant workers (a.k.a. H1-B's). Look for employment in industries protected from foreign competition such as healthcare.
Another option is getting a few programming classes under your belt, particularly concentrating in SAS, VBA, VB, Access and all things financial. Then, if you can break into a business/sales/accounting/finance dept as a dirt-cheap business analyst, you can be shortly thereafter be a hero. A lot of departments struggle to find people with good mathematical/logical/computer/programming skills. If they like you and you "wow" them, you can quickly move up and make good money in 3-4 years by moving up in grade and occasionally switching companies. This is exactly what I did a few years ago and now I'm in the bowels of an IT department and, in many ways, I really miss the business analysis. Imo it's enjoyable - it's like getting paid to sit around and solve puzzles all day with non-mathematical types oohing and aahing. And while you're doing this you can always go back to school and get an IT degree at night school, etc.