The hottest jobs in India are in IT, BPOs, retail and finance. Guess how the other half of the world lives. The hottest jobs in Washington state include security guards, gaming dealers, helpers (construction), home-care aides and roofers (see box). The largest vacancies reported were for security guards, personal and home-care aides, and interviewers (except eligibility and loans).

Washington is not Silicon Valley or Boston. But it is not the boondocks either. So what happened to all those hi-tech jobs that America is famous for? Have they been captured by Indians? Yes, many have been outsourced. But this is not an outsourcing story. There are no vacancies in other key sectors in the US because Indians (and other immigrants) have taken over.

Look at some of the numbers. They may be a trifle exaggerated because they are spread by ultra jingoist Indians in the US, who left the country and are expiating their guilt by talking about its greatness. So the numbers tend to grow with each telling.

Indians constitute 30 per cent of NASA’s scientists. This figure is disputed. But whatever it is, it is still disproportionate in a country where ethnic Indians constitute less than 1 per cent of the population.

Around 20-30 per cent of Microsoft’s engineering workforce is Indian.

Indians account for 28 per cent of foreign-funded private start-ups in the US.

The larger picture is equally interesting.

Immigrants account for 20-50 per cent of the Nobel prize winners, depending on the discipline. Americans win only in chemistry.

Immigrants constitute one third to one-half of certain categories of advanced degrees.

45 per cent of US-based PhD economists and 55 per cent of US-based PhD natural scientists aged 45 or younger are foreign born. The US has always thrived on imported talent. But when it comes to numbers, the accent has been on brawn, not brain. Offsetting this is the fact that a few brains make much more difference than several hundred labourers.

There has never been much debate about letting in the brains. The US university system is designed in a way that makes it easy for the talented to get in. Until recently, even if you were just half good, you could study free of charge and all your living expenses would be taken care of too. Naturally, you became an American citizen.

The problem comes when you talk about labourers. America needs them; without its slaves, it would have been little better than Australia. Today, the US still needs labourers. But many politicians are arguing that this brings down the quality of the average American. In a more enlightened age, these people have to be made citizens at some stage. Anyway, their children automatically are citizens.

Don’t make any mistake about the techies who are going to the US on H1B visas. They are not programmers at the high-end of the technology food chain. They are merely coders, the sort of job anybody can do with six months training.

The complexion of hot jobs in the US needs to be seen along with another trend. Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are returning to their country in droves. Multinational companies are investing in hi-tech R&D centres in India. The rocket scientists will be back here where all the action is.

Take your pick. You can opt for the US and become a security guard or a physical trainer. Or you can stay back in India and climb to where your qualifications and abilities will let you. Thanks to the past — both the glories of America and the horrors of India — the US star is still shining. But don’t complain that we didn’t tell you about tomorrow.

TOP JOBS

The Washington state list for 2007, along with median hourly wages

Veterinary technologists and technicians $13.97

Architects (except landscape and naval) $28.96

Interviewers (except eligibility and loan) $12.19

Surveying and mapping technicians $18.51

Security guards $11.17

Surveyors $27.05

Landscape architects $25.34

Architectural and civil drafters $21.35

Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers $10.09

Physical therapist assistants $18.54

Demonstrators and product promoters $8.93

Tax preparers $17.78

Reinforcing iron and rebar workers $28.90

Helpers (brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons) $17.37

Tile and marble setters $23.25

Physical therapists $30.03

Personal and home care aides $9.59

Veterinarians $35.05

lHelpers (construction trades) $13.96

Environmental engineers $34.88

Roofers $18.04

Chemical engineers $39.72

Child, family and school social workers $16.34

Gaming dealers $8.19

Substance abuse and behavioural disorder counsellors $15.04

Note: The list has been sorted according to average annual growth rate in 2004-2014. The highest growth rate is for veterinary technologists and technicians

Source: Washington state Employment Security Department