Mexico creates network of U.S.-based high tech migrants, hoping to prevent brain drain

By Kathleen Miller
ASSOCIATED PRESS
9:01 a.m. December 5, 2006

MEXICO CITY – Armed with a cybernetics engineering and computer systems degree, Mexico City native Angel Camacho arrived for his first day on the job as an engineer in California's Silicon Valley and was immediately given an assignment by another engineer: Take out the trash.

“I said to him, 'Hey, did you see my badge?' “ Camacho said. “And he said 'Oh, sorry.' I think I was the first Mexican he ever saw in a professional capacity.”

South of the border, Mexican engineers face other problems. There are so few challenging high-tech jobs, and so many well-trained professionals, that a typical starting Mexican salary for an engineering graduate from the nation's top university is just $15,000 a year – far less than many Silicon Valley janitors.

The Mexican Talent Network is trying change all this by boosting the reputation of Mexican technology professionals at home and abroad while building on their contacts and expertise to create employment at home. The group received initial funding from the Mexican government and is filing legal paperwork this month for U.S. nonprofit organization status.