Are there more IT opportunities in the east in coming years?

As IT job opportunities in the United States and Europe start to contract — a trend that predates the current financial meltdown but may accelerate because of it — perhaps it’s time to look abroad, where there may, in fact, be more growth and better opportunities to advance your career.

For example, the International Monetary Fund now predicts that the U.S. economy will barely grow — at a 0.1 percent rate — in 2009, while European economic growth will range from a slight contraction (-0.2 percent) in Italy to slight growth (0.2 percent) in France. Canada will be the superstar of the major developed economies, predicted to grow 1.2 percent.

By comparison, the IMF expects China to grow at about 8 percent, with India at about 7 percent, and Russia about 6 percent despite the financial crisis. The world at large should grow about 3 percent.

Tech jobs overseas are no longer just the scut work of heads-down programming. As foreign, U.S., and global firms have set up shop throughout the world, they’ve increased the demand for a wide range of tech talent in those locations.

Foreign companies are particularly looking for IT professionals with business fluency, and such experience is more common in the United States than in most places. The combination of industry-specific skills and knowledge of American markets is an invaluable asset that outsource providers from countries like China, India, and Russia lack and will pay a premium for.

So is this the right time to head east?? Please leave your comments or email me to express your views.