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Linux.com Relaunches Linux Jobs Section
Marius Aamodt Eriksen writes "Linux.com recently relaunched the jobs section, now with a new improved jobs database (both for employers and job-seekers). They seem to be getting more job posting than LinuxToday, definitely worth a look!"
FWIW, if anyone has any contract Unix work (whether coding, admin or anything else) in/around London, let me know! The time off has been nice, but it's time to look for another contract...
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
I just got back from job fair and it seems that Linux is become a force in the industary. I have a Linux and GNU skill heavy resume and about 5 out of the 40 booths were very happy to see me and my resume.
Many shops are going Linux/*BSD for a couple of reasons. It's Free (As in BEER) and it runs on off the shelf PC and Alpha hardware (Which is pretty damn close to Free BEER). Another benefit to knowing Linux, is that if you can install Slackware or Debain (or one of the other Need to Think Distibutions) and maintain them, then you can switch to HP/UX and/or SunOS rather easily.
However, installing linux and using it also holds other advantages. Perl, Apache, and other popular GNU tools come with any Linux distibution are also hot skill sets to have. Perl alone, it worth the time to sit down and learn since just about every company uses it.
Linux O Muerte!
Granted, anyone can get a copy of an O/S, but it may be just as alien to most people as DOS was to our mothers so long ago.
DOS was just as alien to all of us once, but people who love computers will learn. The only problem is when its more difficult then other solutions...
"Suble Mind control? why do html buttons say submit?",
ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
I don't know if a Linux-jobs-only setting is the way to go.
;-)
It would certainly give us an environment where we don't start fresh every week explaining why Linux would be a better choice for this project or that. It would also be nice to have an environment where it is possible to collaborate with people working on other systems without the threat of being assimilated. And for once it would just be nice to use the words Slashdot, User Friendly, Strenua Interia, and Freshmeat without getting blank looks.
The net will not be what we demand, but what we make it. Build it well.
If you're constantly asking someone questions in an attempt to learn the basics of Unix, then you're just being lazy.
Learning styles differ. I know people who learn very quickly when they are mentored. They are quick to master things, but their traditional research skills are weak. Helping them to find the resources they need and cull out the dreck that isn't worth their time is what they need.
"Grasshopper, when you can read the packet from the frame buffer..." is not what they are looking for. They just want someone who is already there to shout, "Over here!" once or twice a day so that they run in the right direction.
The net will not be what we demand, but what we make it. Build it well.
"You ever have that feeling where you're not sure if you're dreaming or awake?"
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
I didn't have any trouble learning Unix while I was in high school (not that the school helped in educating me about computers or any other subject). During my short time at college, I found that there was no way I would learn anything about Unix there, and plenty of people with CS degrees couldn't so much as understand the concept of a directory hierarchy.
Anyone who can read can learn about Unix. With the proliferation of the internet, it's not even necessary to spend a penny on books. Hell, a copy of Redhat alone would be sufficient to learn more about Linux than most sysadmins ever bother to learn.
If you're constantly asking someone questions in an attempt to learn the basics of Unix, then you're just being lazy. Coworkers ask me about a dozen questions a day, almost all of them are in readily available documentation. Some are site specific. Decent questions are rare.
I don't know if a Linux-jobs-only setting is the way to go. But I definitely think that some job boards would attract attention if they had a way to indicate that development would be done on Linux machines.
"Even though there is new Linux certification it's not as highly respected as that of MSCE."
But why is the MSCE so highly respected? Not just because it comes from Microsoft, but also because it has been around for a while and obviously big corporations believe that it means they will get good people. Perception is reality folks.
I have worked with two MSCEs. One was both an MSCE and a MCD - he was brilliant. The other had just gone to a bunch of classes and had no real-world experience, he sucked. He was convinced that reboot was the fix to everything.
Going to a MSCE course and then passing the test no more makes you a good Admin, then being in a barn makes you a good cow. However, to extend the analogy you have a better chance to find a cow in a barn then in the population of earth as a whole.
Give the Linux cert. some time. It could become a very good thing. However, no amount of book learning can be a substitute for real world practice. Why not make some time in the real-world be a qualifier for a second enhanced cert.? A couple of good recommendations and a resume should serve as a substitute.
Nate Custer
"The poet presents his thoughts festively, on the carriage of rhythm; usually because they could not walk" Nietzsche
Granted linux isn't all free it sure can make those commerical unix's and NT a run for their money. You could run a perfectly stable HTTP server for your company along with a proxy server and hey even an email server on a distribution made 2 years ago. Now that's stability for ya.
But now I'm begining to ramble off topic so I'll jump back. The other problem we're seeing today is that linux isn't the easiest thing to manage and the transition from NT to linux isn't at all easy. So what do you do? Hire someone to help ya out. Security and Working ability are what make linux strong, but you have to make them that way and most people (not most slashdot readers) don't know how to do that.
The problem? Big companies see MSCE as the end-all-be-all of computer maintenance. Even though there is new linux certification it's not as highly respected as that of MSCE. So where do you go from here? Basically the biggest market for linux in the workplace would be contracting. Just get a job here and get a job there. We're starting to see permanent workplaces for linux, but the jobs don't seem that interesting considering if you jump feet first into a company you'll be greated with the most computer illiterate people out there. So unless you want to be a technical support, sysadmin, and all around computer guy most jobs in the linux world today won't be for you.
Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
As a high school student now, I think a apprenticeship section would be great. I have spend the past three summers programming in VBA because that is the jobs I could get. I am beginning to gain experience with Linux, however the best way to learn is to have a network to practice on. Ever tried to learn NFS with a standalone machine. It is not easy.
I have found the HOWTO's to be a great help. Thanks to all who maintain them. However, as many are quick to point out there is nothing like experience. An Intern or Apprenticeship section for people to gain experience would be great. I would love to get a job as such.
If you have installfests to help newbies, why not an Internship program? I work at a lot less then the normal Admin, am willing to work crazy hours, and spend a lot more time learning my craft then many of the Admins I have met. I get good experience, my employer gets cheap labor. Who losses?
My LUG is great but, I want hands on experience before I tell an employer I can be his primary Admin. For a Admin department who needs some help but doesn't have a great deal of cash, I'm perfect.
I recently read a thread that complained about how Admins were responsible for most of the security wholes, why not educate them.
Have a take a geek to work week or something. If you want to convince Admins to use Linux, train them when they are young. Linux's price and idealism are most congruent with a young and idyllic kid.
That's just my $.02.
Nate Custer
"The poet presents his thoughts festively, on the carriage of rhythm; usually because they could not walk" Nietzsche
What I'd like to see next is a listing of apprenticeships to mold future ufies in the right direction. Unix seems to be a difficult platform to be taught without
A) Knowing someone who has the patience, time and desire to help you out or
B) Paying big bucks to a school.
Granted, anyone can get a copy of an O/S, but it may be just as alien to most people as DOS was to our mothers so long ago.