I’ve spent a lot of time in Czech and Poland, and while someone could argue they’re developed countries when looking at the wider gamut, it doesn’t compare well Canada, USA, UK, etc engineering talent.
A lot of the engineering talent you find there is extremely limited in quantity, but it is untapped.
Overall I think it’s a step in the right direction as compared to other countries we’ve outsourced work to, but let’s not pretend Poland is an exemplary ray of developed industry and society.
As somebody who founded and ran R&D-heavy companies in Czech Republic and in Bay Area - this is complete bullshit. Arguably the per-capita amount engineering talent is much higher in Eastern Europe, and it is untapped because the target market is small and there's lack of entrepreneurship tradition.
Sure, if you take 300M market like US and pool all the best talent to west-coast, there is a lot of engineers. But the market is saturated, and it's nigh-impossible to hire a team of the magnitude you can get in Eastern Europe. Canada? Oh please...
Developed in "developed country" customary means certain things. Like a decent standard of governance, sanitation, education, healthcare, welfare and quality of life. All these countries I mentioned are roughly on the same level.
You don't have problems with access to clean water in Poland. You ain't going to die from hunger in Czech Republic. There are no issues getting education in Latvia.
And mythical Anglo engineering talent, please. They are approximately the same anywhere you mentioned.
A lot of the engineering talent you find there is extremely limited in quantity, but it is untapped.
Overall I think it’s a step in the right direction as compared to other countries we’ve outsourced work to, but let’s not pretend Poland is an exemplary ray of developed industry and society.