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Linux Jobs on the Rise
Jan Stafford writes "Looking for a job at LinuxWorld and everywhere else? IT recruiting expert Scot Melland says you have more grounds for optimism than in recent years. In this Q&A, he describes where the jobs are and how much they're paying."
My last job was a SCO shop. They were migrating to Red Hat when I left.
My current job is using linux on a lot of lower end servers.
This is a far cry from 2000-2001, when no one would even touch the OS.
Now, it is my desktop, and that of others.
They stuck me in an institution, said it was the only solution, to...protect me from the enemy, myself
I am working at a Microsoft Gold Certified partner business, and I am impressed by how well Microsoft stuff works. I am not realy that much into Linux, but I have played around with it. Microsoft gives Linux a lot of competition on interoperability, although it is only with other Microsoft products.
Security isn't that big of a deal to lock down either, as long as you have a decent firewall configured right.
Go on americans! go get those jobs before africans beat you to them! hehe
They're referring to set-up and maintenance of Linux workstations, networks, clusters, etc. Unless you're one of Red Hat or the like, yeah, it's pretty difficult to make money developing Linux =P
Its a combination of things... Ill give a list.
/tmp after program crashes)
1: Unexpected program operation
2: Features not documented (ala commandline arguments)
3: Poor settings that are not accessable through GUI (ala mozilla about:config )
4: Bad or lacking help in help file. No exmples are a big concern in many programs
5: Not working due to silly happenings (lock file in
6: Insane setup required or large amount of dependancies on source packages
7: Just plain bad configs for your system (and youre not a programmer) and doesnt compile
You support these (or..ahem, make these) and you get money.
Cheers,
Erick
http://www.busyweather.com/
Because we have something called an economy here in America that demands that money gets circulated. Russia almost has one, too! Wowie!
This is as it should be. Support is what's most important.
Major vendors (HP, IBM, Dell) have tech support with Linux savvy techies who can speak to a UNIX admin with very little disconnect. The other day I called HP about an issue with a DL380 G3 running RHEL 3 and they knew exactly what I was talking about and could help me out. They even give you the ability to flash your BIOS IN LINUX, as root of course. It does require a reboot to take effect.
Most of the open source jobs I see are for BSD stuff. Perhaps it is because of the area in which I work (networking). A robust TCP/IP stack is vital. Linux still has a problem with this. The other issue is the lock-in that the GPL creates. Most corporations prefer the freedom of the BSD-style license.
I'm a sysadmin, I build and maintain Linux systems for production use. Others where I work use the OS for various purposes, including software development and embedded systems. Some use it as their primary desktop, as I do. The results of the development, made more productive by a solid IT infrastructure foundation, make the money.
I suppose one could turn the question around and ask how one makes money using a non-free operating system, when they're not the one selling/developing it. If anything you would seemingly make less because the OS adds an additional cost, but that doesn't show the big picture. It's the results that really matter, the OS is just a means to the end.
GPL: Free as in will
Thanks for the link to a page of adverts to a page of adverts and 100 lines of content, when a site has more advertising on it than content it makes you wonder if i value their opinion on anything. ----------- hey hey, that's evil. think about the good folk at msn.com, and imdb.com. imo the page isn't that bad. atleast not in konqueror. all the adverts are in the bottoom :D except for a single square from Computer Associetes.
Not sure if that is konqueror frelling the design up, it probably is. But for me it isn't that bad.
Linux jobs won't spread until of more there are more Linux installs. This won't happen until Linux becomes easier to use, and more widespread.
:)
Biggest of all is going to be when big companies can just move their software to a linux box without making software changes. And now since so many companies are still getting locked in MS contracts, this won't happen unless big hardware suppliers start packing Linux on their servers. One company doing this is IBM. Of course they are also packaging systems that will run MS server software, I guess covering their bases.
Anyway, best way to get Linux on the street would be to give me a prepackaged linux PC my wife could use. When that happens and she can browse the web, send email, and play her favorite games(or equivalent) then she won't be switching. Her and monay others, as another poster mentioned, don't want obscure and undocumented command line only changes to be required to set things up.
Me, I'm a geekboy at heart and miss a good command line go once in a while.
Later folks,
Tojo
So far in 2004, respondents to the Dice Salary Survey who have Linux skills reported earning an average salary of $67,000 (6% higher than the overall average). Contractors and consultants do even better, earning an average salary of $87,000.
Does anybody know what this means? Jobs usually have benefits added above the gross salary, don't they? Is the contracting rate really better than the salary in this case?
Where I work we are developing a few different boards that all use embedded linux on an Arm9. I think that Linux may develop to take over that market really well. After all, who needs a full blown Windows installation on an embedded device? And is Windows even capable of running on an MMU-less processor?
Surfing for pr0n in the dark is not a job :)
... etc etc.
Kidding aside, yeah there is money to be made out there. I do part time work as a consultant and am able to make some cash on the side coding for Linux. But I really think this has much more to do with the growing demand for *NIX people as a whole, as the industry is starting to discover the wonderful fact that properly written UNIX-y software (e.g. in POSIX C) will work beautifully on Linux, BSD, Mac OS X, Solaris,
The number of job postings on Dice.com that required some type of Linux expertise increased 190% over the past year to over 2,200 positions.
Not to pooh pooh this kind of increase, but it isn't as cool as jobs actually doing Linux development, or other OSS development. That would be even more exciting. Just because a job has need for Linux experience, doesn't mean that you'll actually have time to work on your favorite OSS project as part of your work. It may just mean that the company is using Linux to power some solution that you'll be working with.
On the other hand, I've seen data that does show that more developers are getting paid for OSS work. I would like to see a 190% jump there next year.
CKO
- Sighuh?
it's pretty difficult to make money developing Linux =P
As there is more money to be made overall and more positions to be had in carpentry than there is in designing hammers.
The primary point of tools being their use.
KFG
Linux is getting big here in Markham, Ontario (Home of ATI). A couple years ago IBM built a huge R&D lab right near my house.
My first linux job was at 17 at the local soctiabank doing simple perl scripts. I had a second job at 18 programming software for a handheld device using linux. At 20 I got a job designing a sprinkler system at a local golf course that used a linux system to manage watering, etc...
Basically, there are tons of jobs out there that use linux, and I am grateful for that.
--Using slackware since I was 13 (now 22)
This is encouraging news, although I develop using WebSphere Studio under Linux, I'm not necessarily coding Linux, but WebSphere. It does make me ponder if I might be able to get a new better job in the future. Anyone know the fate of WebSphere developers?
I will be hiring for a linux tech in bout 6months or so. you can contact me at Simontek@theopenstore.net
SimonTek
And we saw how well the communist economy, with everyone on a level playing field works. I for one hope that despite the OSS movement, people will be paid to WRITE software, not just be living in the computer equivalent of a McDonalds service-slave job market to everything given away for free. Not everyone dreams of maintaining Linux user accounts for a living.
LinuxWorld preview: Linux jobs on the rise, so do your homework
By Jan Stafford
30 Jul 2004 | SearchEnterpriseLinux.com
IT pros heading to LinuxWorld next week with resumes in hand, or just looking for a job in their hometowns, have more grounds for optimism than in recent years, according to Scot Melland, CEO and president of Dice Inc., a New York City-based firm that provides online recruiting services for technology professionals. If you're doing some last minute homework before hitting the IT street, read on. Just before he headed out to LinuxWorld, Melland shared Dice's research on the current job market and advised how to stand out from the crowd.
Has the job market for IT pros, in general, improved in 2004? What's ahead for the next year?
Scot Melland: The improvement in the IT job market over the past year has been quite dramatic. On Dice.com alone, the number of job postings has more than doubled to approximately 50,000 positions. Hot areas include the defense and financial services industries, as well as the Washington D.C. and New York metropolitan areas. Given the increase in technology spending by corporations during 2004, we expect a steady improvement in the tech job market for at least the next 12-18 months.
Linux skills haven't been in great demand in corporate IT shops in the near past. Is that changing? If so, why?
Melland: It's definitely changing. The number of job postings on Dice.com that required some type of Linux expertise increased 190% over the past year to over 2,200 positions. That's a significant increase. With the support of IBM and Novell, Linux is becoming more mainstream, which is leading to increasing demand from the Fortune 1000.
Where are the hot spots for Linux jobs, in terms of business sectors and geographies?
Melland: From a geographic perspective, California is the clear leader based on our postings. Thirty-two percent of Linux jobs on Dice.com are located in California, followed by New York and New Jersey with 14% and 6%, respectively. The hot spot in terms of function is clearly programming. More than half of the Linux postings on Dice.com are for programming or developer positions.
How much clout does a Linux certification have? Do employers value certifications?
Melland: I wish that I could say that Linux certification carries a lot of clout, but so far it has not taken off the way people expected. Certification doesn't hurt, but what employers are really looking for today is experience. This is true across most technology disciplines. Candidates need to demonstrate that they have "been there, done that" rather than just proving their skills.
How much can IT pros expect to earn in various Linux IT positions?
Melland: So far in 2004, respondents to the Dice Salary Survey who have Linux skills reported earning an average salary of $67,000 (6% higher than the overall average). Contractors and consultants do even better, earning an average salary of $87,000.
Don't IT pros have to have experience in multiple operating systems to be marketable today?
Melland: Not necessarily. It really depends on the level of the job, industry and size of the company. However, the reality is that most companies, and certainly most consulting firms, will find you much more attractive if you have experience with multiple operating systems.
Could you offer some dos and don'ts for Linux experts seeking jobs today?
Melland: I would offer the same advice to Linux professionals as I would other candidates looking to land a great position:
* Make sure your resume demonstrates your experience -- experience sells.
* Be flexible with geography -- the opportunities are out there, but they might not be next door.
* Put as much energy into your job search as you do into your job. If you do, your professionalism will show.
Well, RTFA dude. The article states that the largest number of jobs are for programmers. The point is that having a system adminstrator position is one thing, but most companies using Linux also need some people to write custom applications or to port applications from Windows/Unix/Whatever (TM).
If my answers frighten you, stop asking scary questions.
I'm a college student studying computer engineering. I've been learning linux all summer long in the hopes of it helping me get a good job when I graduate. It's nice to know watching all that compiler output will lead to somewhere.
Although so I don't sound like an anti-linux hitler nazi, I am very happy with the switch to linux and specifically gentoo.
Ah damn, now I sound like a gentoo karma whore. Oh well. Show me the...high paying salary!
I'm confused... recently there have been several articles about IT jobs getting shipped overseas, outsourcing, and how the IT job market in the US is pathetic compared to the relatively recent past. So does this article by someone who I'd consider to be "in the know" negate all the other articles, or is there a truly dramatic and (presumably) completely unexpected shift in IT hiring?
"It's better to have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have it." ~ Christian Slater, True Romance
How does a pilot make money flying through free air?
In the third world (between Kansas City and Denver),
I find if someone mentions linux in an ad, its something
like must know MS Active Directory, MS IIS, MS blah blah, and Linux.
Mostly, linux is used solely as a filter to weed out
paper MCSEs. As one who uses Solaris, BSD, and Linux
on a regular basis, I can't get an interview or
someone to talk with me. Apparently you don't use
windows, you're incapable of knowing how a computer
works (to the PHBs). Graduated from college a year
ago and can't get anything.
Linux jobs could be going through the roof for all I know, but the apparent "research" done for that article is absolute cr@p.
Counting the job postings on Dice? Please. This could be due to nothing more than Dice negotiating some special contracts with a few big companies.
Anybody every notice that big defense contractors, and a few other institutions absolutely flood those job boards lately? Often posting over 100 jobs in a day just for one city.
I live near Aurora Colorado, good sized Ratheon installation there. If the number of jobs posted just on hotjobs is any clue, then Ratheon must be hirering about 150 new people every day. On Dice, it Lockheed that floods the job boards.
I don't know what kind of games they're playing, or what of deals are made; but you'd have to an idiot to think all of those advertised jobs are for real.
Besides that, is Linux a *primary* qualification? Or is just one the many, many, qualifications that are typically thrown in along with everything else but the kitchen sink?
And, most importantly of all, what is the ratio of new positons vs the number of people flooding into the field?
As a college graduate one year out of school with some minor sys admin experience and a couple years of web dev experience, I haven't exactly been getting many interviews. I've been searching monster, dice, career matrix, michworks, mlive and several other sites, and haven't had much luck.
I guess what I'm trying to say is there aren't many junior linux admin positions open.
it's a real bummer to be unemployed right now.
Looking for Book Reviews? Check out Literary Escapism.
Oh gee. Now he tells us. Anyone need a plumber?
"This is as it should be. Support is what's most important."
Check...invest in pantyhose market.
I saw a recent posting of Unisys job announcements and was pleased to see Linux among the "looking for" skills, along with the usual J2EE, Oracle, etc etc. But they want someone with 10 to 15 years of Linux experience. Kind of like the postings for Java jobs that only Gosling could qualify for.
I suppose one could turn the question around and ask how one makes money using a non-free operating system, when they're not the one selling/developing it. If anything you would seemingly make less because the OS adds an additional cost,
I work in a Microsoft Shop, we use
Out of the blue I've had three calls this week for Linux admin projects. 3 Years and no calls from Dice. Now I have a Baby is due any day and can't leave. :(
Less people can be good developers than sysadmins? Forgetting about India?
BTW, these jobs where the least experienced of you makes 85k, where are they located? Are these figures in US dollars?
Working as a consultant I have a *very* strong UNIX background, and I can do more in UNIX ;quick and simple stuff; than I can in windows. I like UNIX but I have stopped trying to introduce UNIX into bids, because, well there is nothing that UNIX can do that Windows can't and it doesn't alienate most people[non-geeks] when they try it out.
Windows puts power in the hands of management: adequate MS Engineers are easy to hire and fire = cheap like electricians
Most people know windows, and don't want their egos being bashed when they find out they have a learning curve to climb.
Windows puts power in the hands of management: You don't feel like your forced to use one hardware vendor
UNIX like ORACLE is seen as stable, secure, and reliable [don't know why - it's no VMS]. BUT Windows can do clustering -> Redundant Array of Inexpensive NT boxes
Windows puts power in the hands of management: most people use windows these days and on bids you needn't rely on a geeks-eye-view and can go to other companies to ask how they are doing, and allay some of your fears about the perceived costs of some of the shortcomings you have heard about windows servers
...added to these arguments Microsoft seem to have done some pretty neat things in W2003 Server that means I might not need Cygwin anymore.
I like UNIX for so many reasons and it remains my OS of choice for home. But there are so few cases when I can recommend UNIX in a new site if they don't already have in-house UNIX expertise, or have some bright young manager who's read an article on Linux and thinks that they are 'thinking outside of the box'.
Somebody please dis-agree with me
1998 - Finished high school. Was career-minded kinda guy. Decided I'd rather get an exciting job than go to University (I'd done some tertiary stuff in year 12, but three years of Uni just wasn't my thing).
1999 - I'd already had a lot of experience playing with Windows NT out of interest, so I got an MCSE to try and prove my skills to potential employers. Volunteered to assist my local 1300-member LUG at an IT show. Met my future boss, Con Zymaris from Cybersource *. Ended up being the 'Windows guy' at a Linux / Unix / BSD shop. Spent most of my time learning Linux.
1999 - Began career as Linux journo - was initially asked to do Linux software for APC magazine's CD ROM, but I went beyong the brief and wrote a 2 page article on Linux gaming. They liked it and put it in the mag. I then worked on Linux workshop, a couple of Linux features, wrote a little under half of the Linux Pocketbook Third Edition, more than half of the Advanced Linux Pocketbook, became PC Authority magazine's Linux columnist, and then was poached back to APC briefly before the editor that got me there left and mag and me went in different directions. **
During this time, I still got half my income from Linux consulting for Cybersource.
2002 - Wrote and began teaching a Linux training course for Advanced Training, Melbourne. Again, still worked consulting for Cyber.
2003 - Got poached by Red Hat Asia Pacific. Teach RHCE courses, and the nifty new RHCA type courses (which cover clustering, packaging, cross platform authentication, etc).
Spending the weekend learning about Kerberos, LDAP and Active Directory to teach the 423 course.
* Yes, the current Cyber web site looks terrible in Moz. It used to work ok in every browser - then Moz changed its rendering technique. Since I was respomsible for the original non-standard code, there's a fully XHTML version I templated just before I left here. Hopefully Cyber wil start using that one soon.
** I've been told that APC's readers want to do 'the hard stuff'. I disagree - people want to do interesting, useful cool things, regardless of whether they're hard or not. These guys are mbasically Windows power users, who want the basic stuff (installing, setting up a web server) to be easy, so they can focus on doing the cool stuff - anything that's cool or easier / cheaper / better than Windows. I reckon showing people how to do practical stuff with cool apps like QEmu, MythTV, Liferea, etc. is more interesting than yet another guide to installing Apache (including a page of how to compile it, for no other reason than Compiling Makes You Leet).
If I was gonna wrote about Apache, I'd write about creating a blog or CMS using Movabletype, or show people how to get Apache serving ASP 1.1 with mod_mono.
I had a great time at APC, and met some cool people, including Ashton Mills (who's now the editor of Atomic) and David Flynn (an editor who's simply damn good at his job). But the mag's editors don't want what I have to offer anymore, and I don't want to write what they offer me. Pity.
just one thing...
I have something that I want a computer to do. Maybe it's to render frames for an animated movie. Maybe it's to run a database. But it's not to run a particular OS. Nobody (well, almost nobody) in the business world is religious about the OS, they just want to get their work done.
And very often, what I want the computer to do is to run some custom application. In other words, regaredless of what the OS is, the business still has to hire people to support the custom app. (Note, however, that very few of these apps require custom kernels in Linux. Also note that those that do, require things that would require custom kernels in Windows, too, except that the Windows license doesn't let you do that. In other words, if you have to hire additional devs to maintain your kernel, it probably would not even be possible to do the same thing on Windows. But I digress.)
Here's the macroeconomic point: This is not a zero-sum game. Switching to an OS with lower total cost of ownership makes things economically possible that were not possible before. In other words, the whole economy grows as people stop wasting so much money on OSes. That means a net increase in jobs.
And yes, this does apply to Linux vs. Windows. You need to replace your Windows admins with Linux admins, but one Linux admin can take care of more boxes, so you don't need as many admins. You can spend less on admins and more on what your business is really trying to do. This can help your business grow (meaning you can employ more people).
Linux, in a way, is a racket similar to the one that IBM has had cornered for so many years. Selling services for products that require service, that is. Note their interest in Linux. It's my opinion that in 10 years, most Linux companies will have folded or been bought by IBM. Sun is now reacting, we'll see what and how they do.
ps: I am not talking about Linux at home here, but real Linux money making.
Most of my geek buddies ended up working in Linux related areas too...
* Leigh: Sysadmin / Developer at IT Services company. Also does the Linux column in PCAuthority now.
* Matt: Sysadmin / Developer. Works for hosting company.
* Daniel: Young guy, still finishing Uni. Got involved in Freedestkop.org, works as a contractor on Xorg stuff for HP last time I checked, but I hear rumors he's got a new job. Tells me all the cool shit that's happening with X.
* David: Works for Transgaming coding Winex. Got to live in Canada for a couple of years to do it. Makes Apple's life hard helping people play their itunes music on Linux boxes. Wrote an OSS Warcraft 3 in his spare time once.
I recently landed a Linux job. It was very hard to find. 99% of the jobs I looked at were Windows based. I stuck to my convictions and I eventually found the job I was looking for. I chalk it up to luck. There aren't that many Linux jobs in my city. Hopefully that is changing.
In my shop, everyone uses Linux, and most users (and they are not very computer literate at all) don't care that they are not using windows. We have managed to make Linux as user friendly as possible.
We impress the accountants with how cheap we can do things now. LTSP is a beautiful project which can save you time, money and hassle. I strongly suggest that any system administrator take a look at the project.
Sorry, the way you began just reminded me of this:
"ROGER: Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say 'ni' at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land. Nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
ARTHUR: Did you say 'shrubberies'?
ROGER: Yes. Shrubberies are my trade. I am a shrubber. My name is 'Roger the Shrubber'. I arrange, design, and sell shrubberies.
BEDEVERE: Ni!
ARTHUR: No! No, no, no! No!"
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it dissolve.
Not directly relevant to the topic, but you can view some pretty comprehensive salary information at
http://www.h1b.info/lca_search.php
The information from the database is supposedly taken from the details provided by employers filing for H1B visas, so may not 100% reflect what's out there in the market. However, I've been told the amounts pretty much reflect what US citizens would expect to receive anyway.
Why would he wish that certification carries a lot of clout? And who is it that expected it to?
Linux is certainly growing in market share, but it's still mostly in environments with management that values the thinking processes and figuring out the right ways to do things. When Linux finally reaches the level where it gets used by managers that don't value the thinking process, and just pick things because it might look good, or because someone wearing another tie said it was good, then we'll see certification in more demand. And they will get what they deserve, too, just like they got when they wanted an MCSE to run their Windows machines. The more the masses get certification, the less value that certification has. But that seems to be when managers want it most. How silly.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Being a small single employee company, The Linux-world expo sales reps. contacted me for their Utrecht edition in October. Sadly however it seems that current Linux-world expo's are not what they used to be:
2 6O PEV
:
/ nl/page.asp?nav_id=5415
http://linuxtoday.com/it_management/20040728031
There's this Linux-World Expo planned in Utrecht (Netherlands) later this fall. Here's todays latest update on the results of attending
http://sites.vnuexhibitions.com/sites/linux-world
So what do ya say? Should i, being a small single employee company spend EUR 3.250,= for a "promo-point" on this 2-day Exhibition ? Hard to tell, maybe i get some major deals closed, who can tell? So i was invited, which seems a great thing. However I need to pay the EUR 3.250,= first. Their plan is basicly this : Organize a linuxworld-expo, but only stand-holders and exhibitioners are to 100% pay-up for the costs made: Admittance is 100% free as is gratis. So i asked their sales rep, who will be attending then ? "ehh... a selected public inside the Dutch IT scene "... I almost choked... "whot? no linux hacker at home is able to take the train to Utrecht and pay a fee and get a ticket for a day?" "ehh No sir..."
Can one honestly believe such things? I decided that organizing exhibitions in this way would be a no-go and a serious offensive show-stopper for me. So no deal. We'll see what happens
Robert
It's often funny to see the differences. Sometimes specific bugs crop up on Windows, sometimes on Linux.
(BTW Parent shouldn't have been modded flamebait)
8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
I have no idea what connection any of your rant is supposed to have with linux... but it sounds like you're confused about a few things, and have several wacky misconceptions about linux.
I certainly don't work for free - in fact I make better money than most of my windows specialist acquaintances.
Just an observation -
There's only one company that's making Windows and the demand for the support for Windows is still great. Even for some unlikely reason that only Linux distro you can buy is IBM Linux, as long as enough companies are using them, there will be a demand for the Linux support.
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
BTW, these jobs where the least experienced of you makes 85k, where are they located? Are these figures in US dollars?
An AC said it so it must be true.
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
Found this while searching for tech jobs online.
g el es/1271123.cfm
Live near Agoura Hills, CA? Get your resume ready.
Vivid Entertainment is looking for a new PROGRAMMER
for Vivid Entertainment
Required Technical Skills:
Linux, Design, Database design
Job Description:
This is an intermediate to mid-level, full-time position. In addition to the programming skills mentioned below, the candidate should have strong database design skills and some clue about Linux system administration and networking.Ability to multi-task; Can-do attitude; Organized; Detail-oriented; Independent, yet team-player; Flexible; Open to new ideas and ways of doing business. Monitor, track and report on progress. Salary is dependent on experience and qualifications. We offer a competitive salary, medical, paid vacation, 401K and more.
http://www.computerwork.com/cfm-bin/Jobs/Los-An
To make 85k in today's US market, you need to do alot more than linux.
Fanaticism just makes everyone sound incredible.
It's refreshing to know that there are people who value their convictions more than a paycheck.
It would be sad if people were being paid to do what they like doing.....
So I guess it's more like.
"Military is evil, greedy corporations are evil, but I LOVE working for them!"
There are many self-rightous people in here but their true form appears when money's involved...
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
Read the other messages in this discussion. People are emphasizing how pleased they are to be able to get support jobs in the OSS market, because those are the most important. These jobs exist no matter what platform you use, people will always need support. Why don't you clarify those misconceptions? I don't buy into Linueconomics. It makes as much sense as outsourcing all your IT jobs and becoming utterly dependent on foreign countries. Same thing happens: your population is reduced to service jobs and can't afford the so-called cheap goods that companies are now producing (and selling for the same expensive prices, I might add).
www.jobstats.co.uk is a great website.
Linux jobs
Solaris jobs
Unix job stats
Bear in mind the scale is different so there are many more jobs listing Unix than Solaris or Linux. But the growth in jobs using Linux as a keyword is much stronger.
Alex
BSD license is nice if you want to take and give nothing back. the GPL requires you to give back so only companies that want to be part of the community can take part. Now lets have a little check about major companies back Linux vs BSD eh? IBM HP Novell etc etc vs ehm Apple. Oh I am sure there are some BSD users I left out but my excuse for that is that BSD users might never notice as companies that use BSD code never need to tell. Is MS using modified BSD code? Who knows, if they used modified GPL code we would know (MS is a lot of things but would never be stupid enough to set them self up like that, gates is shrewd enough to know wich laws to break and wich not to break)
BSD license has a "nicer" philopsphy behind it. It basically leaves people free to do whatever they want. Problem is that if you allow people to just take without giving that is exactly what they will be doing. The GPL forces people to play nice. Why should you be free to use my code without ever giving back?
BSD is old style logging, chop everything down then move on to the next tree. Linux is sustainable logging. Replace each cut down tree with a new one so the next generation will have a forest as well.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Try to spot a paragraph without a blatant plug for them, so this is bogus and not an article at all, just an advertisement for a job site.
http://slashdot.org/~GuyFawkes/journal
Find market trends of whatever IT skills you might have: Skilltracker.
from http://imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes: [Vizzini has just cut the rope The Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up] Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE. Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
> reported earning an average salary of $67,000
The national tax preparation company I work for shows very different numbers. For people with Linux in their job description, their pay is an average of just less than $22k per year. The $67k was what a small group *claimed* to have made. You always get much smaller numbers when you look at the truth rather than some "bar room" BS.
From my experience, the average pay for a Linux programmer around Atlanta, GA, RTP, NC, and St Louis, is about $25k. We pay a little less than that for our 15 sys admins, 4 Oracle on Linux DB admins, and ~20 C programmers. $67k is a lie. I wish I made even half of that managing all of those guys.
aside from your low UID.
**I'm an AMERICAN you insensitive clod**
Here in MA, that ususally means not only have you written a Linux device driver or TCP stack (everybody has done that, right?) but for a new protocol that hasn't even been finalized yet. That pretty much narrows the candidates down to the 3 or 4 companies participating in the standards process with a dozen or so people involved overall.
I constantly amazed by the lengths companies will go to avoid actually training anybody. It must be some kind of game of coporate chicken where they burn through their window of opportunity trying to get somebody who will hit the ground running, with built in feedback making it all the more so.
You see job ads indicating those kind of situations which keep getting reposted, which makes you wonder how insane someone would have to be to take the position that late in the cycle.
Off to Funroll Loops with you!
Hmmmmm . . . Linux job postings up 190%. Total job postings more than double. Sounds to me like Linux is LOSING ground.
A lot of the Linux jobs out there (especially on Dice) are predicated on the idea that people know some of the big-name packages like Oracle and Veritas. There aren't a great many lower-level positions, at least in my region of the country. I did find a low-paying (well, for IT -- about double minimum wage) job about a month ago involving Linux. It might or might not be a steady job. 80% stuff out there is consulting/contract work, but I suppose that's not a Linux-specific problem (er, I personally see that as a problem because it takes me forever to get comfortable in new environments, and I just don't like dealing with the uncertainty -- some people thrive on stuff like that).
...of Linux based companies towards new employees. It seems that some employers think "I am a company that uses Linux, I am a Linux-professional and everyone else is a Linux-starter".
I experienced this on a job-interview for a Linux job involving Red Hat and satellite internet. It went quite well and I thought I had made my point in being someone who could handle it, only to be rejected because they thought I wasn't good (at all) on the Linux side.
If Linux-based employers want to grow, they need to shed some of this (amateuristic) distrust and have some faith in the people they hire. Not everyone is boxed within Microsoft-software.
Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
I work at a large semiconductor company in the Austin (Texas) area -- we've been running Solaris for years upon years. After a lot of grassroots work we've begun to get Linux desktops to replace the aging Sun workstations.
Lightning stuck a power pole outside, cycling the power in the building. The Linux boxes were up within a minute, whereas the Sun workstations were busy repairing their non-journaling filesystems and (in many cases) failing.
I can't wait for them to roll one of those puppies out on my desktop!
Yeah, jobs were available. Thanks slashdot. You ruined it all for me!!!
// file: mice.h
#include "frickin_lasers.h"
Yes, the contracting rate is a lot better than the salary rate. The catch is that you have to be good. Plan on it being at least double. If you've done impressive work and have good clients, you'd better be making a lot more.
Salary benefits and what not adds up to about $10-15K per year tops. That's with a 2 week vacation.
So yes, the contracting rate is far, far better than what you can do with just a piddling salary. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn't at the top of their field.
Could somebody translate this into English, please? Or tell me what language "ghey" is so that I can look it up?
Art Makers Just an excuse to show photos of naked women !!
I don't buy into Linueconomics. It makes as much sense as outsourcing all your IT jobs and becoming utterly dependent on foreign countries.
I'm afraid your wacky ideas about linux and the economy have been rather soundly refuted by the likes of IBM, Oracle and Novell. On a personal note, I started making good money after I became linux-savvy.
When Linux finally reaches the level where it gets used by managers that don't value the thinking process...then we'll see certification in more demand.
You walk in to work. Your machine has been trashed in eight different ways. Fix them.
You walk in to work. Your machine is trashed again, it won't even boot now.
You have 2 1/2 hours.
Your boss asks you to install and configure a box with some combo of RAID/LVM, network auth, a couple of Apache virtual hosts, some samba shares, FTP, iptables, etc. You have 3 hours.
Fix it. Don't do it any specific way - that's your own personal preference, use whatever tools you want. Just fix it.
If you can, you've just successfully completed the RHCE exam.
Someone asks if you know that 'tac' is 'cat' backwards. And various other questions. Welcome to LPI.
The high-end Cisco gear kind of bogs down if you
do fancy stuff that can't be done in hardware.
Sure, for basic IP routing, no PC can keep up.
Also, extremely large routing tables have to be
done on Cisco gear due to a patent.
If we assume that he's doing weird stuff though,
he certainly could be better off with Linux.
(the 2.6.x kernel of course -- Linux changes)
He forgot to mention ebtables, ip, and tc.
...then I don't know what you're going to do.
It was just this past week that FreeBSD finally
announced that an EXPERIMENTAL option was
available for SMP-capable networking. Linux has
had that since the 2.4.xx days.
Put your BSD on a 4-way box, or better yet an
8-way box with hyperthreading enabled. Put at
least 4 gigabit cards in the box. Start routing
and serving...
Linux TCP/IP was second to BSD in, oh, 1995 maybe.
Any jobs opened here at Slashdot? Man! more than 13 hours without a single news?
The observation about your pay is just silly; Linux jobs are not higher paying than any other job, they should all be about the same. If you think they are, provide some backup besides anecdotal evidence.
Again, I ask you to provide something other than generalities about Linux and the economy. Let me know what's wrong with the thinking in a logical manner, and I'll consider your point of view.
That's great, until you realize that the ability to design a hammer (in this case) also confers the ability to be a master carpenter. I forsee a lot of unemployment among those only skilled enough to be a carpenter, and a step down for hammer designers.
As many have said, it's economically inevitable and for the best in the long run, but it's not what I'd consider a happy situation.