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Finding a Linux Job
Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier writes, "Kirrily 'Skud' Robert, CEO of Netizen [and part-time
freshmeat appindex maintainer], gives Linux job-seekers a few tips on landing a job with a Linux-friendly company. Netizen is an Australian Open Source and Internet training and consultancy company." It's a fun read, but eminently practical. Among her advice: Have opinions on beer, get involved in open-source projects, keep track of your source code ... just not necessarily in that order.
If I happen to choose IE for use on my Windows 98 box, that is my decision, you have no right to discriminate against me because of it.
Um, it's his Web site, dude. He has every right to put content there, including content that restricts a certain browser from accessing the material. You have no obligation to visit his Web site, just as you have no obligation to hire him, nor would you have any obligation to purchase goods from him if he were selling them. I agree that blocking IE users is petty and juvenile, but you cannot claim that he doesn't have a right to do so if he wishes.
I have a different take on this. I am one of the chief executives of an internet start-up in los angeles, and we are in the process of building all our technical infrastructure (mail servers, web servers, file servers, dns, etc.) So I posted a couple of job ads on monster, hotjobs and dice, hoping to find a good sysadmin to set-up all our machines and manage our tech infrastructure. I get about a billion resumes, but almost all of them are from win2k/winNT experts. I specified in the job ad i was looking for people with BSD or Linux or even Solaris experience, becuase I would prefer to stay away from a microsoft solution, but have had almost no bites. So I ask all of you: How do I find some good Linux sysadmins to build and run my internal network? Our company would be about as Linux friendly as they come, we're just trying to get some non M$ tech guys to save us from becoming a win2k company. (almost all our desktops are macs, so beware.) sean sean@general.netspamsucks
Get the fuck out of Dodge, man. Also, avoid Sillycon Valley, it's too goddamn expensive to live there on starting money and you can't get around. Go someplace where they are screaming for people and cost of living is reasonable, like North Dallas.
Might as well get a Linux job and make some money while I'm awake. Anyone want to hire a clown-fearing insomniac with shaking hands and dark circles under his eyes?
Good call, (yes, it is me again, with a little more alcohol in my system, and I am feeling euphoric) I am just trying to educate people, just like you. I hope that everything works out for the best. I hope that people see the light, I hope that we can all be free.
. . .unless someone is using Internet Explorer.
I understand what you are trying to do, and I believe that your intentions are noble. However, I disagree with your methods. For lack of a better word, I call what you have done with your website, browserism. The fact that you have choosen to discriminate against me based on the browser I happen to be using at the time is contradictory to the spirit of the internet. The internet, and software in general (especially free software) is about freedom, in particular, freedom of choice. If I happen to choose IE for use on my Windows 98 box, that is my decision, you have no right to discriminate against me because of it.
You could achieve the same goal, (educating users about the Microsoft monopoly) by simply providing that information on your site. Giving me a dialog box (something I don't believe web pages should be able to do), and then redirecting me to a short, pleasantly worded message about how I can't see your site because I'm not good enough, is wrong.
I am a Linux user, but from time to time I have to use Windows. I don't have a choice, and I don't like it. When you further restrict my choices with some annoying (albeit crafty) HTML trickery, I like it even less.
Finally, the point of all of this is that I hope you reconsider what you are doing. I hope you find a more effective way of educating the general public of Microsoft's anit-competitive tactics.
Two wrongs don't make a right.
. . .god, I hate that quote.
AC
Bad grammar (sp? he he) usually denotes poor english.
Also, beer turns chicks into sluts who can;t say "no" to a cock. I suggest you learn a few facts before you talk shit about beer, young man.
Putz.
What other format is there? Oh, okay...I'll use WordPad...
Everyones gotta start somewhere, especially when they don't have the financial means or whatever to get a college degree. Jerk. I expect your daddy gave you a nice cosy job when you left college too...
Well, for those who think you cannot find a Free Software-based job in France, just go to http://www.gnulinux-jobs.org to realise you're wrong.
Les entreprises désireuses d'annoncer leurs offres autour des logiciels libres en France peuvent aller sur http://www.gnulinux-jobs.org. Ceux qui cherchent un boulot idoine sont aussi les bienvenus, naturellement
man i cant say where i work, but it is linuxfriendly. (BTW - im just a lowlevel proofreader so my thought might not help you that much y aknow?)
anyway, its just really networking....find a place you know to be GNU/Linuxfriendly, a nd see who you know there.
when it comes to krunch time (IE - the interview), be truthful. if used the linux cernel since 0.9, say so. written opensourced drivers? say so! if your alan cox, say so! (LOL)
if your gonna get a job working directly with LINUX though, it would be very helpful (i have a friend st work who did this) tell your manager about your opensource coding. it helps man.
laters.
Linux is a great system, but there's also exciting programming to be done in other environments.
If anyone out there is Linux minded, but is prepared to work in interesting internet based development work helping forge the future of internet based learning, Question Mark, the world's leading company in computerizing assessments is keen to recruit C++ programmers in London.
Our job spec is at www.qmark.com/company/vacancies.html but if you're a competent programmer, we'd be interesting in hearing from you even if you don't meet the needs in the job spec. You must have permission to work in the UK though.
John Kleeman
john@qmark.co.uk
I'm in high school and doing ok with linux work. The best thing I've found for me is word of mouth from people that have had me do linux work for them, and tell their friends how great I am. I can't wait for school to be out so I can work full time again!
That older-programmer-not-desired stuff is pure bs. I've got similar experience as minusOne (15 years = 13*C_C++ + 2*Web_Java), and people are still breaking down my door trying to hire me. If you're good at what you do and, more importantly, if you've got a good resume, somebody will always need you.
That show-me-your-source-code-first is a big mistake on the employer's part. I can easily pay my super-coder buddy some $ to write me some code and pass it off as my own. Also, some really good engineers just don't have time to write open source programs, they're busy enough writing propriety stuff for their current employers (especially if they're good and their skills are in high demand).
Next time: "King of Beers: only a marketing slogan"
You're a proofreader?!?! Well, I think that explains why Open Source hasn't taken off yet.
It shows that you're still a wet-behind-the-ears college kid. You don't get anywhere UNLESS you work for consulting firms. They pay. Permanent jobs don't.
GIVE OOG LINUX JOG OR OOG BREAK HEAD!
IF NO HIRE OOG, THEN OOG BREAK HEAD!!!!
Sick, yes. Offtopic, yes. Gruesome, yes. But redundant?
You moderators are on some serious crack.
(from Cincinnat, one of the LOWEST-payed places in the midwest) I am a 60% Microsoft user. I teach and support NT 4.0 and 2000. I think that 2000 is the best product so far from MS with PnP, stability, etc. If the hard-core Linux idiots would read more than the headlines, they would see that there aren't 65k bugs, merely 65k CHANGES, including bugs, that Microsoft wants to make or fix. Also, there are hundreds of unbelievably good programmers working for Microsoft. They are people just like you and me. Are you telling me that all MS programmers are dumb, and just guess at the code? I think not...Once Linux does everything that Windows NT/98/2000 can do, it will be just as bulky. As far as Microsoft's monopoly, it has done absolutely nothing that any other big business hasn't done or will do. I can guarantee once Linux (whatever flavor or company) gets big, the same (unethical?immoral?)things will be done. It's the people in charge, not the OS. To me it's totally brainless to not use Microsoft if you like Linix or vice versa. Use whatever works the best. Before I got into Linux, I used to use Novell because before WIN2k Novell was a better file/print server. I supported Unix servers running Oracle, and I don't think there is anything better with Oracle than Unix. I think if you are a true techie geek you will use the best tools for the job. Only idiots would not use Windows because they don't like it, and distance themselves from the rest of the IT world. Instead of being anti-MS or Linux or Novell or Unix or whatever, I have embraced all technologies. Therefore, there is probably not a one of you that knows as much about every OS and technology as I do. (note: I'm 22, so those older need not make any rabid replys, nor anyone who has focused on one technology their whole career :) I have owned a home for 2 years, own 2 cars 97 and 99, make a little over 90k/year, and, right now, it's because I teach and support MS products. However, I will soon be making more because I will be Cisco certified and in 2-3 months Linux certified w/ RedHat. And who knows? Maybe I'll move over to Linux w/ Cisco routers? I can support MS Exchange, MS IIS 4-5.0, SQL Server 6.5-7.0, Oracle 7-8 on Sun, Apache WS, Red Hat 4-6, Novell 4.x and 5, Win2k; I can write in C, VB, Javascript, ASPs, PERL, and a little JAVA. AND, I didn't start computers til I was 17. What happened is this: I worked my ASS off, and studied and learned every OS and technical thing I could get my hands on whether it was MS, Novell, Linux, mainframes, even MACs. NOTE: this email is to those of you who are 25 and under. I don't want to hear about how much your making if your 56 years old. I guess my whole point is this: most of my friends are anti-MS, and die-hard Linux, and they work at $12.50/hour tech jobs; one works full time w/ UNIX making about $40,000 (he's been there 12 years). Not bad, but peanuts compared to me...(I want to say I'm a very blessed individual, and I learn EXTREMELY quickly) Anyway, I'm off my pulpit now. Sorry this is so long. Just this: use whatever works and you can enjoy; only a true idiot would limit himself to the joys that abound throughout the whole IT world.
I've a mind to say that you'll probably find attitudes
like this from the people in charge of hiring
until companies wise up and realize that the
current form of Human Resource Management has no
real clue for positions like that.
A show of hands from all of you who, at one time or another, have been
hired by a total and complete moron?
Basically someone who has a short list of requirements
and no clue as to what they represent or why they
are necessary for the position?
It's a sad state of affairs out there.
Could you link to www.opera.com alongside the netscape link on the redirect page? It's a very viable alternative, supports several platforms with more in the works (Win16 Win32 Mac Beos Linux...), and being that it has a much smaller footprint than IE it is a much better choice for the folks that are running IE simply because NS is such a huge slow dog on their machine. I know this is a big factor in many peoples decision to run IE - it's more usable than NS on smaller slower boxes - but Opera puts IE to shame on those same boxes...
As the administrator/owner of the above mentioned site, I'd like to make the following point:
Now that you've experienced discrimination, perhaps you now have a better understanding of Micro$oft and their tactics.
Finally, you can view the pages if you turn off javascript in your web browser preferences dialog box.
Have a nice day
No, my man, I'm sorry, you're wrong. The correct temp. for beer is: it depends.
As with wine, some should be room temperature, some should be chilled. And you should chill.
I'm black, and I recognize what you are writing about being black. I don't have a grudge either.
I must admit, however, that as a self-employed consultant, I dodge taxes big time. To tell you the truth, I go to great lengths to make sure that I don't pay a dime.
I think that, given the problems that we face, in the workplace too, and the fact that we have to work harder for the money, we are entitled to a racial tax break, which we don't have.
god, if that web site is any indication of your resume, and your ability to work peacefully with other people that might not have the same opinions/likes as you, you'd not have a chance in hell of getting a job. Frankly I think you suck....
:(
Yes, I am quite familiar with the browser wars. I was there when it happened. Eventually I gave up using Netscape on my Windows desktop in the name of compatability, and maintaining what stability Windows98 could muster. IE5 is the first version of IE I've ever used. I'd prefer to use and support Netscape, however it has become clear to me that this is not a viable option.
I agree with you, Microsoft's tactics are not sound, this is why they are (were) in court. I also agree that their agenda is contradictory to that of the internet and the general public. I, as much as anyone, would like to see Microsoft collapse under its own weight. Unfortunately, I believe them to be too smart a company for this to happen. It is more likely that they will simply wither away, slowly, unable to adapt their business model. This is fine by me, partially because I get to watch them suffer in futility, but also because it will prevent a market crash. Market crashes are bad, no matter who you are.
However, I fail to see how you view your methods as effective. The preceding was simply a suggestion that there may be better ways to present you agenda to the public. It was not meant as an insult, like the many that have gathered below your original post. My suggestion is that you open doors, and invite people in, so you may help them. To me, this seems more effective than leaving them out in the cold.
I hope you really do take this into consideration. I have given you much more time than I can afford. I hope you will give me some time and consider my points again, rather than give a knee-jerk reaction. Reading the post to which I am replying, it seems you are trying to elicit such a response from me. I try my best to discuss rather than argue. Again, I hope you will do the same.
As it relates to changing my preferences, I don't have any. That is, I'm using IE, I have Internet Options. . . Sorry, that was a bad joke, I couldn't resist. I really wish I could use Linux (and Netscape until Mozilla goes beta) all the time, however this is not the case. I can't yet do all that I want. Likewise, I can't do all that I want in Windows, that is why I have and use both.
Having to use Windows makes me both a prisoner and a slave, but it does not make me a bad person.
2. Do you have two X chromosomes?
That seems pretty picky!
I am a Black American, born into a racist and impoverished environment. Through hard work, and with the help and sacrifice of others, I was able to attain a college education and now am a successful IT proffessional. And I support the Confederate flag. To me, it stands for states' rights & personal freedom. The Confederate flag doesn't make our youth join gangs, have children out of wedlock, use drugs, or do poorly in school. And it's not the CIA or Republicans either.
I've been left standing as empty taxis go by. I've been pulled over by the police for no other reason than that I drive a new Ford Explorer. I've had police stop me while I'm walking down the street and question me about some crime that happened recently. I've seen women refuse to get on an elevator with me at night, or clutch the mace in their purses. Although it does anger me, I don't personally blame the police or the Confederate flag. I blame the drug-using, crime committing, segment of our society that reinforces the perception.
When will Black America no longer be characterized as thugs, drug dealers, welfare mothers, and second class citizens? The day after we (collectively) stop treating ourselves as thugs, drug dealers, welfare mothers, and second class citizens. But as long as race baiters [Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton] oppress us with their failed social programs and "us vs. them" rhetoric, Black America is being denied an opportunity to improve ourselves.
I know this is offtopic, and I suspect most Slashdot readers who are concerned as I am already know everything I'm saying, but I don't hate the Confederate flag :-)
This guy is an asshole trying to fuck up your browser.
By using javascript to restrict access to my web site, I affect the following:
Restrict access no differently than using .htaccess files, or other techniques.
Send a messages to users of Micro$oft products, who to often have not read the legal decision by Judge Thomas Pennfield Jackson. I want them to read it.
They can make whatever decisions they wish once they are fully informed.
I'm the same way. Married a fucking loaded wife so I just sit around and watch TV and write code for the fuck of it. This is the way to live. Screw jobs!
The engineers here are very sharp. Are you the lone Linux, Perl, Apache monger at your shop? How would you like to work with a group of fifty engineers who love all the same things you do?
The author of Grip works with us as does a recent speaker at Apachecon 2000 and we've got one of the creators of Geko (mozilla rendering engine) as well. We've got some really good Linux Kernel hackers and our systems administration team is first class.
Is hardware or bandwidth a scarce commodity at your place? Not at MP3.com, we keep at least 50 dual 500Mhz, 36GB, 1GB ram systems inventoried at all times. We've also got several gb outbound links from our data centers. Without giving away the whole store, between 10am and 2pm we serve upwards of 550 mb/sec (megabits per second) If you recognize that as a lot of traffic, consider sending your resume :-)
Sorry for the anonymous posting, I've just never made an account :-(
Check out Jobs/lifestyle
I do hope some of you will join us, we're having a heck of a good time here.
No, they do not and this is one reason I am not at all happy with telling people how to search for a Linux job.
As the previous poster said, it is just an OS. Techies are interested, well, in technology. Someone who knows all about one OS might quiet well become useless in the future.
Kind of hey, I know all about VC++ 32 1/2, great but this does not make you a programmer.
Linux is a *nix clone so either be happy with *nix in general or be prepared to be phased out sooner than later as it is not your job you like, it is the tool. Personally I would not have given myself the job under such circumstances and ending up with a bunch of Windows^H^H^H^H^H^H^HLinux specialists who know next to nothing of anything else does not sound like a bright future to me.
I don't know if this message will do any good, but I've really got to bitch about something that's really aggravating me.
I've been going to school for the last few years, and will graduate in one more year. Because I've been going to school in the middle of nowhere (where the largest industries are growing potatoes and making elemental phosphorus) I haven't had any computer related work experience. However I've been using computer almost continuously since I was 7 (in 1982) and can program in over a dozen programming languages, administrate several disparate OSes, admin several RDBMSes, speak X.25, IPV4, and IPV6, etc. I can't show any of this experience on my resume. (Not to mention some of it are things I probably shouldn't mention, like for example I learned how to admin VMS 4.5 by hacking into the SYSTEM account on three vaxen at my high school, which being maybe-slightly illegal is why I shouldn't mention it)
So.. anyway I don't have much I can show to an employer to prove that I can do stuff -- it's either that, or that I live over 1000 miles away from anywhere I've been sending my resumes to -- that I can't get any employer to even talk to me. Last summer for example I sent out like 50 resumes, each one I'd custom written with a cover letter, that basically said I knew everything that they had listed in the job listing, and even more. And I didn't hear back from a single one, I didn't even get an acknowledgment that they'd received some of them (except for a few automated ones that were in response to my email) I called some of the companies HR departments up on the phone and after several calls I finally got ahold of a real human being who said that they were going to go through all the resumes that they had received next week and inform anyone they were interested for an interview to come, and everyone else that they weren't interested. So I waited.. and still nothing.
Someone on here suggested asking for jobs at the local Linux Users Group, which I can tell you already won't work since I'm the founder and president of the only Linux Users Group for 400 miles (well there is another about 60mi away, but all the active members of that one come here) (hopefully this won't give away who I am (w.r.t. Anonymous Coward))
So anyway, I can't seen to get any company even tangentally related to computers to talk to me. My new strategy is to find people inside the company and send resumes directly to them, bypassing the black hole of human resources entirely.
Back to my first point, how do I tell employers that I know what I'm doing if I don't have any work experience to back up my claims. I can't really say that I like to do Linux, Java, crypto research, etc. as a hobby in my spare time, cause that sounds like I just dabble in it (I've been doing those three, for example, constantly since '96)
I'd be happy doing anything related to programming, administration, or computer security, but I'll do almost anything at this point. I am working to put myself through school right now, but it's minimum wage and I only have about $40 of disposable income to work with every month (after bills). And I'm sick of being broke all the time. Almost all of my computer equipment has literally been pulled out of dumpsters, and repaired by myself (if it wasn't working to begin with). When I get a job somewhere it won't be hard to move since, everything I need will fit in a few suitcases (and I'm really desperate to get out of here and live somewhere that isn't freezing all year, full of rednecks, and actually has things like bookstores, and even any store open after 8pm)
I've been really stressed out over the total failure to even get anywhere at all, while I watch people with far less experience than myself able to getting jobs left and right. And I don't have the resources to finish any of the really cool stuff I've been trying to work on in the tiny amount of spare time I have between school and work, and eating and sleeping. (so I don't have any really impressive programs to show off, that aren't halfway finished (and hence wouldn't be a good example of "professional programming skills")
</RANT> (ugh I always hated html, but that's another rant..)
Hey, that's half of my girlfriend criteria checklist.
The other half is:
2. Do you have two X chromosomes?
The best resume is your web site.
The web site should also have the following characteristics:
Original content site.
All servers should be personally administered, configured and managed.
Develop an in-depth knowledge of Linux/UNIX. You have to answer questions, so try to be prepared.
There is no substitute for knowledge and experience, so if you put it on your resume, you should understand that subject in depth.
Hi all !
I'm living in Belgium(Europe) and my dream was to find a Jobs (or summer jobs) Databases about Linux in Europe! but it's very rare.. :o( :)
That why I'm trying (learning) to to code a "yet another Linux & IT Jobs databases in Europe"
My website will be open soon for the public but my Jobs Databases is empty. I will be enjoy if employers can try and use it.
Offcourse It's free and you can Add/Edit All ads that you want
http://www.euroot.com/
From what you've told us, I think the major thing that counts against you is your age. With 17 years of professional work experience must place you close to 40 years old. I've heard of a great deal of discrimination in California of older workers. California would rather hire young foreigners on visas than anyone over 40.
In the Linux area, it seems like a lot of the 40+ set spend their time writing books on Linux and not working in Linux jobs.
In retrospect I probably shouldn't have said anything at all.
Sorry everyone. I'm just dumb today.
Fortunately, admin's are hired for their skill and intelligence - not some perceived silliness concerning "confrontation above communication."
What it does prove:
That I don't wish to allow small minded creatures like yourself to view my web site.
That you're not smart enought to look at the page source code and turn off your javascript!
Have a nice day, Bryan.
Fucking brit.
Tech support for 3 years? Jesus, what a loser. I did tech support for 3 months, while I was in college, and immediately went into development. Get a clue, buddy.
Yeah, but at least he's not an asshole like you... so who is the loser?
This life is not about what you achieve, but the kind of person you are.
-2 (insightful) moderation, please!
huh-uh-huh pf-pf-pf huh-uh-huh pf-pf-pf pf-pf-pf-p-durump-pf-pf-pf pf-pf-pf-p-durump-pf-pf-pf
like a Linux job where I could moderate posts like this one down to -1.
gave me a great job. And only for 5 bucks. If I wanted sloppy seconds, it would have been $2.50, but I did not want Hemos' leftovers on my schlong.
Well, first learn to spell... it looks good on a resume :-)
I'm black ... I must admit, however, that as a self-employed consultant, I dodge taxes big time.
.. Alan Keyes reads Slashdot. :-)
Well, whaddya know
What really needs to be done is people need to reject socialism/communism, reject Linux, and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Savior. No sin, even Linux use, is so great as to forever shut you out of the Kingdom of Heaven. Eternal salvation is there for the asking; it's God's free gift to you. I pray nightly that the users of non-capitalist operating systems will reject them and migrate to good Christian software (such as Windows 2000.)
Thank you for your post, and God bless.
Or, the more pricks like you that will work with Linux for less $$$$, the more money there will be for everyone else.
But remember that Jesus Christ's gift of eternal salvation is free, so material wealth really doesn't matter all that much, does it.
I'm just too good-lookin'. Most geek types feel threatened by me because they think I'm going to steal what few chicks they have a chance with.
But I'm happily married guys, geeze. Give me a chance. I know C cold.
Other men hate good-looking guys... *sob*
Hey, any women hiring Linux geeks out there? :-)
I don't care if I work with Linux, BSD, or some other form of UNIX. All that matters to me is a Microsoft free workplace. Where are all the UNIX jobs(and not just Linux/GNU)?
geez, come on oooh now their are rules to follow to get a damn job. I'm glad that I don't have a job and I don't need one either. I stay home, code whatever crap I want and do whatever I want. screw jobs.
That's a good idea, and I tried it once. I applied for a job with a local company that is running a gardening store online. They were using NT, and I proposed he hire me and I'd switch him to Linux. He had to switch databases anyway - or so he thought.
:-)
Unfortunately, he found a good way to stick with his current database so he didn't need to switch. And I wasn't gonna accept an NT job.
What fumes me is the people that REQUIRE you to send it in Word format. Yes, there are some, even for UNIX people. Maybe not Linux specific shops though.
For the longest time, I did my resume in WordStar 6 (yeah, I know) and gave people only ASCII text, but last year I finally converted to WordPerfect. I can now send RTF if necessary. I will NOT stoop to sending Word files though, and if someone requires that, SCREW THEM!
Personally, I would be very reluctant to hire someone for anything other than a basic unix admin job unless they had multiplatform experience - anyone who hasn't adminned more than one is going to have a hard time identifying when to use OS F v OS S v OS L, etc. Even for junior folks, if they haven't taken advantage of the multitude of freely available unixes out there, why should I believe them when they claim to be OS-agnostic? Anyone who claims "FooOS fits my needs, so I don't waste my time with anything else" is no good to me.
I totally agree. Frankly, I think that any wannabe admin should know both C AND some assembler, so they at least have a clue as to what what executable code leaves in its wake when it runs. Really helps. I simply cannot imagine the confusion of someone attempting to do anything meaningful with computers w/o knowing this stuff. I know I'm so glad I learned it.
Brak: What's THAT?
Thundercleese: A light switch.. of TOTAL DEVASTATION!
I agree that it's important to know lots of tools, and to be willing to learn new tools, but I disagree about listing all of them. See my resume for an example. As someone who's spent a fair amount of time evaluating resumes, I would see most of your list as noise ... I would expect anyone who has Unix programming experience to be able to use shells and editors. I would be more interested in knowing how much experience you have with the important skills on your list: C, C++, Perl, Oracle, Unix, Windows. How long (and how long ago) did you use them, and what did you use them for?
My rule of thumb for listing skills on my resume is simple -- only list those skills that you would want someone to ask you to use for a job today, or those skills that demonstrate depth of expertise in a specific area. I could list COBOL, Fortran, and 40 other programming languages, but I don't have (a) any interest in coding in them today, and (b) enough experience with any of them to consider myself an expert. On the other hand, I can always brush up on them if it's important for a job.
If you have more education than skills, list your education first. If you have more skills than education (my case) then list the skills first. Never leave time gaps in your employment history -- it makes employers wonder why you weren't employed. Only list the non-paying jobs for one of two reasons: either to fill a gap where you weren't professionally employed, or when you don't have enough paid experience on your resume. Nothing before college matters unless (1) it was a professionally relevant job, and (2) you've been out of school less than 10 years.
One last piece of advice -- don't job hop without a damned good reason. While it may be more acceptable these days to hire someone who's worked 6 months here and 12 months there for their entire career, given a choice between someone like that, and someone who works 2-4 years at any particular job, most employers will take the latter person -- because he/she is demonstrably more stable, and unlikely to leave just when they're becoming useful. If you have had to leave a position after a short amount of time, make sure you have a good explanation (and if it's short, so much the better). It's OK to state that your style didn't match the company's style ... as long as you only use that excuse once.
True story: I've only worked at one job (other than my current job) for less than a year -- the company reorganized and moved from Connecticut to Texas, and I wasn't interested in moving to Texas. In every interview I've had since I left that company, I've been asked why I was only there for 6 months -- and I've always explained that the company moved to Texas, and I didn't think that I would look good in boots and a Stetson. Everyone laughs, and we move on to the next item ... but every interviewer has noticed the short-time job.
We call it art because we have names for the things we understand.
Frankly, NO.
Proper administration of Linux requires the
ability to understand C code, how it works, how
it's built and installed. Not a super wizard, not
somebody who could write a Linux device driver in one sitting, but you cannot get a meaningful Linux
job just by knowing how to spell it, and maybe
having gone through one or two RedHat installs. Does not distinguish you from the Button-clicking VB monkeys with Tear-off MSCE sheets....
Using a stupid email name like scumbucket is not a plus, either.
While it is true that you can have an unrewarding job programming in Linux, I disagree profoundly that techies don't fixate on their OS. Consider your dwelling. State and federal regulations guarentee you'll have a bathroom, a refridgerator and stove, but it is the *details* of your domicile that make you love or hate it.
It would be nice to be OS agnostic. I am not. I've been burned by M$ too many times. I'd rather work with technologies driven by coders than marketers. Of course, you may enjoy updating your Office every two years and applying service packs to beat the band.
For me, it is a requirement that I be kept as far away from MICROS~1 as possible.
Our class has recently graduated from the DeVry Institute of Technology. While we all have Bachelors of science in our hands none of us has yet to be placed after three weeks of job searching.
Seems that in Canada, employers are less likely to hire less experienced programmer / administrator / developer to fill a position. Also with the Y2K scare and the leap year scare many companies up here put a hiring freeze into effect (TransAlta being one I can recall) which is taking a long time letting down.
I have looked though a lot of Online job sites and receive job listings from the newspapers online. Which this I normally see the following criteria for what seems to be a junior position:
With criteria like the above, I find it hard to even find a position I can apply for... Let alone consider applying to. Even with one-and-a-half years of technical support experience, and contract work that dealt with custom server installations and Perl programming, I get little or no responses.
So in essence it is difficult to take the advice of the article when it states that you should only apply to a Linux job (probably any job for that matter) when you meet all of the skills or have relevant experience. How can you? And what is the harm if you apply to a place with less experience? Then worst I can see happening is that they will not call you up for an Interview.
As for applying to another city, province or country... Does this not make you look like a less promising Candidate? I mean you obviously cannot just show up for an interview (unless you can afford flying from Calgary to Toronto on a daily basis). This added to the simple fact that they would probably have to help you move seems to put any interview I have been interviewed with (over the phone) into a scare.
Of course, perhaps it's just me.
-Of course, if you have 50 companies on your resume, and you've never worked for one place for more than a year, you're much more likely to get passed over for FT employment should you ever decide you want to stop contracting...
:-)
Not really. Working for a lot of places doing lots of things means that I can do a lot of things. I've hit all the hot technologies in the past three years at various jobs. Basically if anyone calls looking for a buzzword technology, I am able to do the job, as long as it's not a Microsoft shop. Also, if someone was under the impression that I'm a bad employee for switching jobs, they should bear in mind that through the entire thing I probably only worked for a single consulting company. If they don't want to hire me, then I'll scratch them off the list and consider the other 150 companies on my list.
These are good times to be a computer programmer.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
You mention consulting companies, and by that I guess you mean body shops...
I work for Ciber, which you could probably consider to be a body shop. They have me working at IBM on a web site development project. I've got a Linux box on my desk, and another one in the machine room. I do Java development mostly, but I've done some TCL too. I work a lot of hours, and because of that I'm going to make much more than Linus Torvalds does this year (I read that he makes $120,000).
I countermand your note. PREFER consulting shops to permanent employment.
-You'll get to do many more things in your career. -You'll work with many more interesting people in your career.
-You'll get to stack your resume with lots of company names: I've personally worked with State of Michigan, Ford, Chrysler, American Express, IBM, Motorola, Dept. of Defense, and Avnet.
-You'll get paid overtime.
-You'll get to pick and choose the projects you want to work on.
-You won't have to pretend that the old social contract is still in force, and consequently you won't be surprised when your permanent employer decides to fire you at age 53, rather than let you retire and have to pay you a pension.
-You'll still get stock purchase plans, 401K's, health and dental insurance, and 3 weeks of vacation a year.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
Tried it.. some interviews.. second interviews even.. all seem to go well but then none of them ever hire me. I have no idea why. I am very experienced in Linux and programming but I don't seem to get any decent jobs. I don't even ask for a lot of money or extras so I don't know what the problem is. The unemployment rate here is claimed to be the lowest in the U.S. but the best tech job I can get pays like $8/hr.. the pizza guy makes $10/hr here. Really frustrates me. I'd really like a contract job by some company for web sites or something so I had my free time to write OSS software but so far I haven't found such a job. My current favorite language is PHP. I love it because it makes developing complex web sites so easy. No nasty hoops to dance through like with C or Perl, though those languages are of course better for some specific tasks. :)
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
Actually... whether or not one is writing for an open source operating system *is* a key technical issue.
Having the ability to read, and make patches to, the OS kernel code is unbelievably useful sometimes, especially in the embedded market.
I spent 5 years studying to get my Bachelor of Sciences in Mechanical Engineering. In the last 6 months of my time in University, I spent every night hacking on Linux, teaching myself the environment and learning C. I did this for lack of a social life and because I was generally curious. As luck would have it, I got hired on at a company that made a VMS emulation suite for UNIX. Once there, they picked up on my love of Linux, and made me head of the Linux port. From there, I got a job working as a Linux SYS admin, and now I get paid a large sum to do what I originally started doing as a hobby. The moral of the story is that there are many more Linux jobs out there, and more coming every day. Roughly 30% of all servers on the Internet are running Linux, even if the companies doing it wont admit it. In the next 5 years, Linux experience will pay a handsome bounty. I'm getting paid about 30% more than if I had stuck with Mechanical Engineering, and my future earnings potential is greater than what I would have had as an engineer. For all my efforts at University, it was those last 6 months with Linux that has put food on my table. Maybe I live a fairytale life, but I don't think I'm at all unusual. Maybe it's just Austin Texas, but Linux is very hot here, and getting hotter. :)
If you can't get a start in Linux, at least get some UNIX experience. Sooner or later, you will end up hacking on Linux, and getting paid a royal sum to do so
-Cheers, and Much love to Linus, Alan, and all the crew that work to make Linux a reality.
-Master Switch, one more element in the machine
Some of us fully under stand Microsoft's browser war tatics, but refuse to lower ourselves to their level. The point of your resume is to show how good you are at doing your job. If was looking at your site to determine if you were a suitable canidate for a web coder or admin I would reject you immediatly. For the plain and simple reason you don't show you know how to communicate to the general web user population. Further more it shows that you place confrontation above communication. Both traits are bad in an employee.
Relax. There will still be plenty of jobs when you get out of school, unless, the Internet isn't popular anymore and we enter a recession, neither of which looks likely at this point.
That's true -- we can't forget the BSD's, can we?
i'll second that. get a job you want and then gradually switch the company over to unix. its a lot better to make your own job (and become an admin at the same time).
Pfft. Come over here and say that :)
You can't win a fight.
Most people have several billion.
perl -e 'fork||print for split//,"hahahaha"'
Larger, more established companies are more likely to have invested a considerable amount in operating systems on which they standardized years ago. Even if the company were to switch to Linux simply by downloading and compiling the source, it would still cost a lot of money in terms of personnel-hours, retraining users and developers, re-jigging their system to work under Linux and possibly rewriting whatever custom software they had. This doesn't mean that a larger, older company can't switch to Linux; it simply means that there's considerable cost in doing so. Even when companies can afford to make the switch to Linux, they generally do so slowly to work out the inevitable kinks in any switch-over.
On the other hand, start-ups generally come into existence as blank slates. There's a certain freedom in not having a pre-existing infrastructure in place, and as a result, you'll find more start-ups using Linux either as its sole OS or as in a mix with other OSs. Money is extremely precious in a start-up, so if software is either very cheap or free, it tends to be used. There's also a "break from the status quo and break new ground" mentality that seems to be common to start-ups, which also makes Linux particularly attractive to them.
Schmooze.
Not as easy as it sounds, especially since the majority of geeks tend to rate as INTP on the Myers-Briggs personality test. However, those who present themselves well tend to be rewarded (and that will only be an addition to the fact that you're a pretty skilled person too, right?)
A great place to meet potential employers is at computer-related conferences, especially those that tend to attract either developers or managers who have the authority to hire or recommend you. While these conferences are expensive if you attend the sessions, the passes for the showroom florr tend to be pretty cheap, and the showroom floor is the place where you meet people. You may find potential employers behind the booths, but the best source of jobs are the people wandering the floors, looking for solutions for their firms. Keep your eyes open for people's companies (it's typically on their badges) and your ears open. Have some material -- business cards, resumes, the URL to your resume site or a CD of your past work, a 50-word-or-less spiel why you would be a great employee at a Linux firm -- at the ready.
There's more to development than coding.
(I can already hear them saying "Wha'chu talkin' 'bout, Kode Fu?")
Not everyone can be a coder, because not everyone has skill and not everyone has the will (cue rap music).
I myself am the odd man out in a family of doctors. I've seen first-hand that it takes more than just doctors to make a hospital run; it takes more than just programmers to make a software firm run, too. Different software firms will have different needs, but based on experience, here are a few positions that a Linux-based software company may need:
Never underestimate the power of a good dye job and rock and roll accordion playing.
Hey, it got me a few offers at LinuxWorld Expo NYC and my job at a Linux company...
I'm employing people to work with (amongst other) Linux systems. Check our jobs page for positions managing a Linux NOC, Java/XML/XSL/Oracle developers.
So it does matter to some degree what computing environment you are using.
On a tangent, I suppose to a certain extent it makes a difference to be patient - there are a few applications at our company that could benefit from a beowulf cluster! But someone's got to understand the issues and make a business case for it. So I guess what I'm saying here is that perhaps your job may be a potential linux job and you just don't know it yet!
Michael
---
You were a moderator with 5 points. You should have read the moderator guidelines before you did any moderating
-----------------------
Nicotine free Amish .sig.
Damn - maybe that's why I keep getting rejected
"Oh, I got me a helmet - I got a beauty!"
"Oh, I got me a helmet - I got a beauty!"
Jack Nicholson, Easy Rider
>> If you answered 'Yes' to all of the above,
>> congratulations, you're qualified for
>> practically any job out there.
1) Yes, I have a pulse
2) Yes, I am a crack addict
3) Yes, I plan to immediately defraud the company
4) Yes, I have been convicted of homocide.
Therefore, I am qualified for any job out there (!).
Are there (m)any jobs out there for someone who knows admin but not C? I haven't had the time to learn C, but I've been making shell scripts lately and they're fun. Phone tech support pays the bills, but it'd be kind of fun to have work with Linux while actually getting paid.
As for code, I use someone else's to develop my own. I then offer to give it away for free.
When it comes to beer - I brew my own, then give some of it away for free, and teach others on how to make it on their own. Brewing can be open-sourced as well. more information at: http://www.umich.edu/~nsbc
Share your knowledge. Do it yourself.
- passion
here is a poll about jobs
and here is another.
and here is a totally unrelated polls about your root password
I haven't been as successful as I like but I am not a loser either. I am married. I drive a new car and I just purchased my wife a new car as well the day before yesterday. I have a nice house in the suburbs and I am one of the youngest homeowners in my entire nieghborhood at 24 years old. I enjoy my job although it is not exactly what I was looking for. You have the advantage of a college education. The truth is there are people like me who can outperform people like you. Are you scared your boss might find me, or are you just a typical jerk?
I have been using linux for about 3 years (don't recall the kernel version), but I started coding when I was 10 years old. I am now about to turn 25 and now that I am married, my programming is interfering with my personal life and I would like to make it my profession and keep my freetime as my freetime. I have been a computer tech support person for the last 3 years, which is the most computer related job I have been able to find in Memphis. I have been employee of the month several times and I am always in the top on the charts. I have been selected along with about 4 others to assist with the creation of tech support tools for a new computer related product which is somewhat interesting but I am still looking for a programming job like I always have. A major setback is that I don't have any credited college or professional programming experience, but then again - was a supervisor at Office Max before I worked here but I seem to be doing fine because I am very skilled, motivated and a superfast learner. I have applied for several jobs but people want me to relocate. I just bought a house with my wife and she has career ties here as well. I have been thinking of seeing a recruiter in desperation. Many people have told me that this is not a good idea but I am running out of ideas and this is beginning to cause problems for me. I don't need the best paying job. I just want to do what I enjoy (coding) and make cost of living without having to pull a second job. I am fluent in multiple languages and have even begun trying my hand at X things like GUI design with C++/Qt. Can anyone out there offer any suggestions or give me a fair shot at a job? My present employer would probably write me a recommendation.
Since we are on the subject of Linux jobs, I was wondering if those of you who have gone before use who are still in collage could tell us what you think should go on a resume. I am being told to put the following on: Courses taken, education(what collage and greaduation date [expected]) work experience, computing experience, interests and activities, awards and places that I have been (i.e other countrys). Also I have put on programs that I have writen and were they are loacated. My question is, is that to much, what will a propective Linux job oppotunity be looking at. anything that would be needed. I am no thinking about this stuff now that I am in my 3rd year of collage and expect to be graduating next year, I am looking at a BS in CS.
The other way to do this is to do your crap jobs as early as possible. I have spent the past three years working crap computer jobs (mainly during the summer). With each job they get less stupid and more fun. Except for a brief stint in Tech Support, which was horrible.
My first project was organizing the software cabinet, and checking out the companies licensing position. By the end of the summer, I was macro programming for clients. By the end of the next year, I was writing database apps, and maintaining a database server.
I lucked out, I convinced my boss to hire me on expected skills. He thought I would make a good programmer. He also did everything he could to make me one. Congrats on getting a good job without a CS degree. I found it very hard to be taken seriously without a High School diploma, much less a CS degree.
The only thing I can add is network, network, network. Making contacts can get you more important and interesting jobs. And search a lot at small start-ups. They will be more likely to give you a chance.
Best regards,
Nate Custer
"The poet presents his thoughts festively, on the carriage of rhythm; usually because they could not walk" Nietzsche
Perhaps, you should not look for the best as they stand, but the best as they will be... Not everyone is particulary good at C or is an out of the box kernel hack, but there are plenty of people who more than anything just want a chance.
There are intelligent, self-motivated people, who have on their own started pushing into technology from other fields. Find them! If they are intelligent, and can demonstrate they can learn coding then HIRE THEM.
Hell, I've had so much success in this that I don't hire anyone who lists what I need on their resume. I hire those that want to learn it. Of course, as I am in a university and do teach these things I have more allowances.
"2) Which edition of the "C programming Language" did you learn from? (trick question)"
What am I missing here? Why is this a trick question? I've always thought of it as a perfectly reasonable book to learn C from.
Hear hear. If I see one more ridiculous job posting like "PC technician - requirements: BSCS and MCSE" Im gonna friggin puke. You know some pointed-haired HR dumbass writes the requirements.
In response to other posts:
Word format. I submit most of my resumes in Word format from StarOffice for one reason - I've found most places wont even look at your resume unless its in Word format. HR people do Word. Like it or not, its a standard in business. I like to eat and make my rent and car payments.
As to the guy who blocks IE on his website, you're shooting yourself in the foot. That kind of arrogance wont get you a job. And IE doesnt run on only Windows. Tomorrow I find out if I got myself a sys admin job working with NT and Mac OS X servers in a 90% Mac shop. Guess what the guy that took my resume and interviewed me uses on his Mac? Internet Explorer. And MS Word. Software is a tool. Software does not have any intrinsic moral value, only instrumental value. People use what works, and what they prefer. Its that whole CHOICE thing OSS is all about. You just alienated a lot of people who may have been willing to give you a job, just because they happen to prefer IE over Netscape. Bad move.
while it seems like I have people lining up to give me near 6-digit positions in the fortune 500 club, getting a linux job anywhere is another story. I think half my problem is that many of these big companies frankly over-pay because they are simply stupid/wastefull, and hanging arround them long enough makes you into a "dull-blade". I decided to deal with this by beefing up my linux training, hanging out arround more linux related activities, and deal with a massive pay cut. Yea it's tough, but the writing is on the wall - anyone who doesn't "get it" (with Linux) is simply gonna get it.
David
I had an interview there and the first question that I was asked was "do you even know what linux is?". For years I'd been taking a whipping at other companies because they blew off my attitude about Linux as naieve, only to be totally humiliated in my attempts to embrace it. Other than that it was the most intelligent and insightfull interview I'd ever been in, but I came off like a UNIX idiot. I felt misjudged (or perhaps rail-roaded by the unchallenging overpaying corporate jobs I've been in) it was soo very fusterating. The experience I had seemed to count for nothing.
Long term prosperity does not come from overpaid work, but productive work - otherwise you're just inflating a baloon. The simple fact is that the linux paradigm is able to achieve much more for a fraction of the cost. Only an idiot would think that they are isolated from the free market competition because too many people value their comfortable place. Too bad, deal with it.
I understand this very well. I was a Windows' programmer up until about a year and a half ago. Every time somebody installed a new version of Office, my host connectivity middleware wouldn't work any more! Of course, debugging on my machine never yeilded any problems - since I refused to install Office for at least 4 years.
What I finally did was to get my project converted to Java - then I would work on my FreeBSD partition for development, and only use Windows for testing. I've now got somebody else to do the Windows' testing, so I'm free to just develop on FreeBSD and/or Linux.
What's more, since switching to FreeBSD (and Linux) full time, I've felt like my mind has been coming out of a coma. Double clicking and dragging and dropping are fine for some things. But coding requires a keyboard. Vi doesn't take my hands far from the home keys, which couldn't be avoided with VC--. Shell scripts, makefiles, etc. All of those wonderful utilities I used to use back in college that save time when used well, slowly came back to me. I was able to think again!
I used to be the "answer man" for any kind of problem with Windows - since I'd probably had it and figured out a work around. Now, I tell them, "I don't do Windows."
That's true -- we can't forget the BSD's, can we?
;-) And don't forget the VMSs and the Novells that are out there in many places as well, etc.
;-)
That's right... FreeBSD being the most prolific (I personally run NetBSD at home).  
-- Win2k: "It's not so much that it's only 65,000 bugs, it's just that they stopped at 65,535 to prevent an overflow."
Of course, if you have 50 companies on your resume, and you've never worked for one place for more than a year, you're much more likely to get passed over for FT employment should you ever decide you want to stop contracting...
-You'll get to pick and choose the projects you want to work on.
I work FT for my current company, and I pick and choose my projects for the most part. And if I get stuck on some crappy, death-march project, I can always quit...
-You won't have to pretend that the old social contract is still in force, and consequently you won't be surprised when your permanent employer decides to fire you at age 53, rather than let you retire and have to pay you a pension.
I don't know anyone that still belives this farce (at least nobody in high-tech).
I wouldn't say that FTE is better than working for a "body shop" or vice verse. It all depends on your situation at the time.
The Daily Build
It's obviously all about html! Especially if you are a coder... write some tight simple html that can be seen anytime ... (even printed from within Word if necessary) ... The days of paper resumes for tech jobs should be nearing an end soon... just as black text on white backgrounds deserve to die (monitors are NOT paper either!) but that's a different rant. Am I right or am I right? Props to Beppu-san for teaching me this. TTFN & Shalom.
-PipTigger
As for other helpful job search engines, I find that Techies.com and Monster.com are two fairly great job sites as well. I like how you can narrow down jobs to a certain merto area.
Sure, we all like to sit at our computers using linux, playing some games etc, but we try not to let it rule our lives. A social life is important, girlfriends are important (as illustrated in a linux using friend of mine. He has a girlfriend who lives in Hong Kong and that he's never met, who's coming to visit him in Australia where he has recently started going out with another girlfriend.) What can this poor man do? Try to sort out the situation. Not sit at home at his computer all day and all night. He has an external life. If you choose to get a job where you work 9 hours a day at a computer screen using linux, where do you find the time for girlfriends. You would most probably become obsessed with your work. If you want a job, get a job that allows you to interact with different people and different environments away from your little "linux hobby" at home. You will find that your life will; have new meaning, and different social pathways will open up to you. It's your decision about your future, but choose wisely lest you wish a sad, desolate life in front of your linux box.
All i can tell is, the good people live out side the states or already have killer jobs elsewhere. I've been thinking about just running down all the linux kernel comment looking for hackers that might be unemployeed or looking for better jobs.
Maybe i'll run down http://advogato.org/person and see if i can find some canidates. We are looking to hire anywhere from 10 to 20 coder over the next 4 months, so, i'm sure it, behoves us to start looking now.
If anyone has any idea on how to go about hiring this kind of skill or what sums of money its going to take, i'm interested in hearing from you.
It seems to me most people here talk a brave fight, but i have to wonder what its going to take to put together the team of coders/hackers that is going to form our development department. There has been talk about 'raids' on tech companies such as intel, but i'm not convinced thats a road we want to go down. We might wind up with a largly inefectual big-business framework without having the techincally savy we need. Sure everyone wants to make programming a process that monkeys can do, but for a startup you don't want the dead weight these processes impose upon talent in the organization.
matt at cgibuilder.com
BTW - As far as the word format on your resume...sorry to burst most Ub3r h4x0rz bubbles, but most
companies have lots of management, and management uses Windows...word is still the way to go in a
resume, but that doesn't mean you have to like it.
Depends on the company. If it's an old corporate behemoth then layers of Microsoft-dependent pointy-hairs are likely. If it's a small startup or Linux consultancy, or it comes from an academic/UNIX background, that is not so.
Perl monger meetings, usually held once a month, are better than LUG's if you want to meet other programmers in your area.
Don't. If the person your sending it to doesn't already know who you are and isn't expecting your resume, this is a bad idea. If there are a hundred applicants for a new job, which do you think a manager is likely to chooseWhat it takes is a little research of a few companies that interest you and some contacts. If you haven't met somebody from a perl monger meeting or LUG working there, then just call up an engineer at the company. That is tough, I know. But you're not calling them to ask for a job, just for info. You want to find out about the open job, what skills it requires, the group manager, and the company in general. Remember, the guy at the other end is a geek just like you.
You mean other than for or (gasp!)against? O.K.
Q."What's your favourite beer...?"
A. cold
--or--
A. free
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
If you belong to a LUG or writing a OSS you can always find some type job related
on my LUG'S listserve they always have job postings.
http://theotherside.com/dvd/
Where I live, there are practically NO linux systems deployed in such a manner that they need folks yesterday. This is industrial/agriculture/lumber country, so the tendancy is toward AS/400. The only major IT shop in the area wants Windows and Mac folks to write code on those platforms. The employer offers the same hypercasual, laid back dress code; the same Mountain Dew supply and the other perquisites to attract what they need. Pay is less than average, but expenses like rent and electricity can be less than average, too. What really matters when it's all said and done is how much disposable income is left in your pocket when the paycheck is received.
This doesn't mean folks aren't wanting employees yesterday; they do, but in skills like truck driving, nurse's aides, machinists and home care aides.
All the folks flocking to programming has seemed to leave a void in skills like machining, sheet metal workers and tool and die makers. I can't swing a dead cat around the classifieds in the paper without finding decent industrial jobs.
And, no, I cannot move. There are many reasons someone older cannot easily pick up and move.
--
Gleepy the Hen. More intelligent than the average hen.
This is extreemly important. I have so many tools on my resume because I was always been willing to say, shure I'll try, learn, and do it. It sure helps that I bothered to learn the fundamental computer science theories and am willing to learn more.
My own technical book collection is now a couple of shelves larger than the 4 foot wide floor to ceiling book case I originally allocated for it. Sure some of the books are now old and dusty, but then I've been collecting for 2 decades. The dustier ones will soon be cataloged evicted to boxes till I get a larger place. Sure it's expensive to maintain your own persomal technical library, but I've found it indespensible. I use books as refferences nearly daily. I consider it much more important to know how to research and look up something than it is to know it off the top of the head. More often than not the memory isn't quite all there, but you know that printed page ratains what it was told very faithfully. It's also much easier to hand to somebody else so you can off load the task and get on to some more important task.
Networking, networking, networking.
-- ;-)
See, you not only have to be a good coder to create a system like Linux,
you have to be a sneaky bastard too
-- Linus
Why keep yourself to only US workers? Notice the way that list of kernel hackers has lots of email addresses that have something after the ".com" or ".edu"? There are some pretty good coders outside the US, you know!
They are cheaper, too, and don't even try saying that you need all the people in the same place for a project to work well - there's that whole kernel thing, again.
You also get the benefit of having people in different timezones, so when you get to work in the morning you'll find a days work has been done while your asleep.
(I'm in Australia, so I'm a little biased. OTOH, I'm not really looking for a kernel hacking job, so I'm not that biased. YMMV, though.)
Just out of personal experience, the most important skill any potential candidate can have for ANY position at all is:
A willingness and ability to learn.
We recently hired an employee to do Linux / PERL work, not because of his skills (no PERL at the time) but because he was willing to go learn it over the weekend. So far, he's worked out better than we had even hoped.
Cheers
I dont know about anyone else's experience in landing a job, but I know I had to work the crap jobs for 2 years before I have had companies consider my resume. Its hard if you have no experience, only a degree. Its even harder if, like me, you have no Computer Science degree. I went to college for Philosophy fer cripes sake. But if you do have a CS degree, its gonna be a lot easier. Take those crap jobs. Get your bastard lessons, take your lumps, do your time. Keep your eyes on the job postings. Sooner than later you'll get a crack at a good job. Best of luck.
I would think that other than in ISPs and small to medium Linux saavy companies, one might be wise to have some experience in the other OS as well.   Reason being that many companies have had Linux hiding in the background in the backend, and the higher ups having discovered it, have often appreciated its usefullness.   Thus places such as these are slowly becoming more "Linux friendly" as well.   However, these companies often have a large user and/or server base of something else, and often need migration-saavy IT staff, knowledgeable in multiple OSes.
-- Win2k: "It's not so much that it's only 65,000 bugs, it's just that they stopped at 65,535 to prevent an overflow."
There's something about convincing the CEO that Linux has significant advantages for some project or other, and that it costs less too! The look of enlightenment on the face of a PHB who suddenly groks the advantages of OpenSource is priceless. And it gives a real chance for OpenSource advocacy when the BSA audits you and finds that you're using a whole lot of OpenSource software, so they can't say a damned thing! :)
Plus, it lets me put BSD in where I see fit too...
--
: remove whitespace to e-mail me
We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex—but Congress can. – Cullen Hightower
...the sort of questions that come up at interview time are:-
1) Can you survive outside Visual Studio?
2) Which edition of the "C programming Language" did you learn from? (trick question)
3) Which kernel version do you use?
...and if you get offered a job, they point at the tie you're wearing to the interview and say "You won't be needing that!"
All your ghosts are just false positives.
I have rarely had any difficulty ascertaining the skills of a fellow hacker. Its like a painter judging the technical skill of another painter, its easy, you can see why they do what they do and how. A few examples and a fairly short chat will do it. On the other hand, when I try and figure out whether a painter is a good painter, or whether a banker knows what the hell he's talking about, I'm in the dark, and pretty much no amount of evidence that they can provide will enlighten me beyond "gee thats a lot of stuff".
:) if they're trying to pull something. Simply find a friend or employee who is a Good Hacker (tm), explain carefully what you want in a new employee, then let them sit in on the interview, and if they want ask questions.
My personal urging towards employers at least is ensure that when you go to speak to your prospective hacker, bring along another one, one you trust, because they will see right through them (assuming a reasonable social ability
As far as going for a job, I'd be concerned if I was merely interviewed by management, unless said management is particularly technical. Kirrily may not see this from where she is, she is surrounded by the tech world and more importantly, a good judge herself, but if the interviewing group doesn't consist of at least one person fairly familiar with the stuff that you do, you simply aren't going to get a good show. The job will go to the person with the best social skills and the ability to sell themselves, which is all fine and dandy unless the person concerned can't actually do the job.
They say interview technique is important, but more so these days is Who you have at the interview, than what you do there.
You can't win a fight.
This is a really weird article. Getting a job that's Linux-based isn't necessarily a good thing, or at least it has very little to do with your personal satisfaction. Linux is, after all, just an operating system. What's more important is the type of work you're doing, the people you're working with, how well a company is managed, and so on. If you want a Linux job solely because you think Microsoft is evil, then you need to pull back and look at your personal crusades in perspective. If you enjoy programming, then you'll get the same problem solving and code writing pleasures regardless of whether you're working on a mainframe, a proprietary embedded system (much more common than either Windows or Linux in the job market), a handheld device, or some form of desktop PC. Ranting about how Linux is superior to Windows really does give the same impression as arguing whether Captain Picard could take down Captain Kirk. It looks really weird to most people, because most people, even the techies, don't fixate on which operating system their computer is running.
I'm currently a college senior looking for work and I'm having the hardest time finding a job for after I graduate. Just about all of the companies that I talk to are looking to fill immediate opennings, i.e. within two weeks. No one is interested in looking for someone who has the skills and the education, but isn't available for another two months.
At my school, most (if not all) of the recruiters looking to fill full time positions come in September. The Career Center says you should have a few offers by December. Then you should make a decision by Janruary. Well, that was true for CivE, ChemE, and MechE, but the only jobs available for CS at that time were from companies that "need people." Those are the jobs where you go to work eight hours a day and come home ready to die. *bleah* I had one this summer, I don't want another.
How am I supposed to get one of these "linux friendly" companies to take a look at me months in advance? I have the education and an excellent GPA (3.5). I go to the conferences to learn about new technologies, not the freebies. I've been using Linux for four years and I finally use it on my desktop. I do linux programming when I can, but my coursework takes up most of my time. And most of all, Linux really excites me. All the IPOs are cool, but I really don't give a damn. I just want a roof over my head, food in the fridge, and small part in the Linux Revolution.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Nate
Two summers ago, I tried to find a job at a startup company. My resume is pretty good, at the time I had done a lot of work on Java, had been published in books on Java, etc etc. I had worked at Microsoft. I figured my chances were pretty good.
But, to my tremendous surprise, none of the resources that I had at my disposal resulted in any really strong leads. I emailed my resume around, I posted on HotJobs, Monster, etc. all the big sites. I did a lot of searches for open job postings. And although I got a few offers, it was an awful lot of work.
So, a friend of mine and I started our own company, which we called Catalyst Recruiting. It's designed to help students and recent graduates who are smart and have a high skill level get connected with startup companies. We've been in business since last August, and have a web site built 100% from free and open-source components. I designed most of the technology, and I think it's pretty revolutionary relative to what's out there for recruiting today. We even plan to open-source the software (check out enzyme.sourceforge.net)
But enough about me. I think that we are a great resource for
Anyway, that's my spiel, hope you didn't read it if you're not interested. If you are interested, there's a link in my sig. We don't spend a lot of money on advertising (except for our sponsorship of The Onion), so I try and get the word out any time I have a chance and a sympathetic audience.
Thanks,
Eric
Want to work at Transmeta? Hedgefund.net? Priceline?
Can your IM do this?
I was looking for a new job recently and I had some interesting experiences. I have been a C and C++ programmer for about 15 years (mostly C, only a little C++), with about 17 years of professional programming experience. My last two jobs, a total of 11 years of work, have been doing Unix work. My first Linux kernel was 1.2.8, back in about 1996. I live in San Francisco and was looking for work near home - I did not want a car-only commute. At my last job I used almost all the popular commercial Unicies - AIX, HP, Solaris, SCO, Digital, NCR and so on.
I was looking for Linux work, and got two hits on my resume from Linux-related companies. The first was a company making a Linux-based product. I had a somewhat unusual phone interview - the guy who was the chief tech wanted to know how much Debian experience I had. My preferred ditribution is Slackware but had installed Debian twice. I really didn't use it with any regularity, or have any specific experience. He semed to be interested in Debian install packages, and didn't seem to think that my experience building install packages for seven different Unix native installers meant much. I guess my lack of Debian-specific experience counted quite a bit against me, but I also got the impression that because I didn't use Debian I was somehow politically incorrect. The other problem I had was that I could not offer any code samples from my last job. All the code was proprietary and even though I am quite proud of my coding skills I could not prove anything. I have not had time to work on any outside of work Open Source projects so I could not show any code from that source. I think that this also counted against me in the "politically incorrect" category. The thing that most annoyed me was that after the phone interview, I never even got a call back from the company or their in house recruiter. I figure if you bother to do a phone interview, you should at least have someone call back and say "Sorry, we are not interested."
The other job was with a big name Linux distributor who was interested in doing alot of new kernel feature work, plus some interesting user space stuff. They were a much more professional operation, but once again I felt that the fact that I had not contributed to any open source projects counted against me to some extent. I felt I had a good shot at a position there because I had skills that matched one of their specific needs fairly well. Their main drawback was that they were a very bad car-only commute from my place.
In the end, I decided to take a non-Linux job doing Java Programming. This was because the vast majority of jobs I saw listed were Java jobs and I decided that I better pick up some new skills so I could continue working for the next few years. Also, a good friend works with me at my new company, and the staff is mostly older people who have a good sense for "quality of life" issues and are more interested in experience and proven skills than flash.
There were not many really good looking Linux jobs, from my rather narrow perspective, but this will change over time. The current jobs seem to prefer a certain amount of Open Source credibility. In the end I think I made the correct decision for my future, but I would have liked to have a job in the community. Maybe next time!
I've had my resume out there for a while, and while I wouldn't consider myself even close to the top echelon of linux coders out there, I get a whole lot of calls just based off of the fact that my resume is out there, and people are interested in hiring me.
I'm in college, and I'm going to be looking for a "career" soon, but so far, I haven't really had to look, companies seem to just find me on the internet.
It seems at times that with the economy that we've got now, and with the job market in our sector the way it is, here's my checklist --
1: Do you have a pulse?
2: Are you a crack/heroin addict?
3: Do you plan to immediately defraud the company?
4: Do you have any convictions for homicide?
If you answered 'Yes' to all of the above, congratulations, you're qualified for practically any job out there.
While that is a bit exaggerated, it has seemed to me recently like a lot of employers are desparate for employees. Good economy means expansion in business, expansion in business means that you need more employees. And there aren't any to be had as far as I can see....
(Note: stay away from consulting firms - I've interviewed with 2 - and they seem to be of two breeds - the sharks, and the pimps)
My $0.02
-- Truth goes out the door when rumor comes innuendo. -- Groucho Marx
Plain text or simple HTML are very good universal formats. If somebody can't deal with either of them, are you sure you want to work for them?
I once maintained my resume in MS Word format, but decided that it was a waste maintaining a Windows system at home just so I could maintain my resume. I now have my resume posted on my web site. I keep the HTML in it and my web site simple as it is there for information transfer, not glitz. If someone needs it in text format I will transfer it over to text buy having Lynx translate it. The resume is currently in flux as I'm updating it for a new job search. I'm looking for a place that will allow me to only work 30 hours a week preferably in web security or programming.
However, at the end they recomend four job portals: Linux.com, Linux Today, User Friendly's GeekFinder and Linux.org.au. I agree with the first two, and (since I'm in North America) have no valid opinion on Linux.org.au.
The problem with Geek Finder is that it is really just a front for Dice.com. Unlike all the other resources mentioned, dice.com charges employers for listings, instead of being community-based and advertiser-supported.
Instead, I would recomend the following additional job portals, where I have actually posted jobs:
- Superexpert.com: not great, but it does host linux jobs.
- JustLinux: a smaller Linux portal, with a nice jobs page.
- Free Software Jobs Page: This is the GNU jobs page. It is strictly for free software jobs, so only hard-core open source jobs get posted there.
Finally, WireX's research jobs are here and our production jobs are here.Crispin
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Crispin Cowan, CTO, WireX Communications, Inc.
Immunix: Free Hardened Linux Distribution
Jobs!
OK - Item number 1 (actually the 2nd item) dealt exclusively with source code. Do you have to be a programmer to be a player in this game? I hope not, I gave up programming about 10 years ago, I really got tired of dreaming about the code I was currently working on. I've now moved on to other things (project management, specifically) but I still love the whole Open Source/Linux thing. What percentage of /. 'ers are actually programmers? Would this make a decent poll?
mas cerveza, por favor politically incorrect stu
This isn't really anything new. To find a job in any field, the key is to demonstrate that you know what you're doing. Open source involvement and having the skills that you're looking to get employed in is of course good. But this article seems to be for the geeks out there who would like to code for 36 hours straight rather than actually develop some social skills as well.
Sorry to burst your bubble - but for most of you looking for a job, there's probably someone at least a qualified. The KEY to finding a job is how well you come off in person. Are you a likeable person...do you work well with others? This is a VERY important aspect of finding the right employee being that the IT industry seems to have a very hight percentage of assholes in it. (read: tech support). Many seem very aloof and overconfident in their skills.
Your resume should speak for your skills/interests, but that's only about %25 of it. Your resume gets you in the door. The interview gets you the job...so concentrate on that.
BTW - As far as the word format on your resume...sorry to burst most Ub3r h4x0rz bubbles, but most companies have lots of management, and management uses Windows...word is still the way to go in a resume, but that doesn't mean you have to like it.
-FluX
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"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -David Hume