Look Into Their Eyes

Sab Maglione

Somerville, New Jersey

After his IT job was offshored, Maglione, 44, found another--at almost 40% less pay and nearly twice the commute. Now the programmer is looking again.

"What industry do I choose that's not faced with the same situation?"

Phil Marraffini

Coral Springs, Florida

Marraffini, 47, had spent 25 years in the IT industry when he was asked to train a group of Indian workers who would later replace him.

"It's been so depressing seeing something you've worked for all your life disappear."

Sakiko McDowell

Pueblo, Colorado

When her job was offshored to Singapore, McDowell, 26, found a new contract position--for half her previous pay. She may go back to school.

"I understand the companies moving people offshore, but the government should do something."

Terry McSweeney

Paramus, New Jersey

After three years as a programmer at Guardian Life, McSweeney saw his job disappear last spring. He says managers had mentioned the possibility earlier, saying it could free his group to learn new skills.

"They didn't tell you that the skills would be resume writing."

Debi Null

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Null, 49, worked at HP and Agilent for more than 20 years before she was downsized and rehired as a contractor. That job moved to Singapore. Now she works three jobs: in retail, in real estate, and at a call center.

"We're experiencing something we will read about in history."

John Ogden

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Ogden suspected his company had been moving its call centers overseas when he started getting calls from irate customers upset with the service. About a month later, he was laid off.

"This is a different type of terror. You can't really see it, and it is far, far reaching."

Jim Pace

Bethany, Connecticut

After losing his job as a contract business analyst, Pace was unable to stay on when the department he worked in was offshoring jobs. Now selling cars and working with a labor advocacy group, Pace worries about the effects on the economy.

"For every lost job, there's a lost taxpayer."

Clifford Paino

Lincoln Park, New Jersey

Before Paino was laid off from his job as a systems analyst in 2002, he trained a woman in Ireland who was supposed to "work parallel" with him. In 2003, he took a job at the same company on a contract basis.

"I am so lucky to be working, I forget about the 40% pay difference."

Lisa Pineau

Plano, Texas

After Pineau's job went to Canada, she tried medical transcription before she realized that field, too, was being offshored. Now Pineau, 46, and her husband, who's also in IT, are looking at franchising opportunities.

"We live every day not knowing."

Steven Pokrandt

Renton, Washington

A quality assurance engineer at WatchMark, Pokrandt learned his job was going to India last spring. Unemployed for seven months, he found contract work. Neither he nor his two kids have health insurance.

"We want cheap, but we don't want to put up with the consequences."