Tax reform is heating up the economy and the demand for engineers. New enforcement of existing H1B rules is tightening the supply of easily exploitable, entry level, immigrants for lower level engineering jobs. Domestically the best students have not been seeking engineering opportunities due to the impact of H1s. (Mostl parents in the business have been discouraging their children from taking the same path.) There is going to be a lag until the in country engineering pipeline responds to these new market conditions.
In 2018 is there going to be a big squeeze on the low end entry level of the industry? How will a company like Cisco fare with it's poor reputation as a place to work for engineers?