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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.
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.
Yes, and while we are discussing Americans, I would like to ask you to help me move 4.5 million (4,500,00) dollars (UDS) into another account...
The Yasashii Syndicate ||
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
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?
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)
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 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?
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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
I'm not really a counterexample, because we have *nix experience in my shop, but if you gave me a bid that recommended Windows, you would not get the job, and you'd be asked not to submit any more bids to my company. There may be some things Windows is good for, but we don't do any of those things.
While you make a good point, I think the ease of use issue is mostly irrelevant.
Regardless of whether or not linux sucks, it will eventually become the defacto operating system because it's cheaper. Without all those monopoly profits flowing into one vendor, there will be more money circulating in the economy to be used for growth.
When you have the choice as a business user between those $300 licenses (BTW how can you possibly charge that much for something that literally sells billions? The R&D has long been paid for, Bill.) or spending that money on something else that will earn more profit in the end, all while putting up with a crappy linux desktop environment, the choice becomes clear. Even if you're just spending that money on extra support staff and the migration, at least it's going back directly into the marketplace instead of Microsoft deciding how best to spend it.
I also think that the quality of the desktop is not that huge of a motivating factor for people to begin with. The eMac and iBook are both only slightly more expensive than your average bargain Wintel box and support MS Office, Photoshop, and Macromedia stuff, which would probably cover most non-financial and non-gamer users, but Apple's market penetration is still extremely weak.
And the Windows desktop isn't the paragon of useability. Log on to any non-technical user's system and you'll see something like 15 icons in the tray all eating up memory, ads that pop-up even when no browser is open, hundreds of icons all over the place for programs they haven't used in years, many of them for readme files and expired shareware, and maybe a few viruses. Quite simply, the average user will put up with whatever shit you put in front of them as long as the price is right. They just don't care as much about the quality of their workspace as we do.
As more people adopt linux and shape it to their needs, its value rises, overcoming migration costs. But it doesn't really matter whether improvements in the OS relate to increasing its value in some unrelated way or reducing migration costs, either is fine. But really, it just doesn't make sense to pay an inflated price on top almost every computer sold when you don't have to. That money can be used to buy more machines, or more people, or whatever else will help make people more productive. Ultimately, things will improve for everyone but Microsoft.
That's just my armchair Micro-econ 101 analysis of the situation anyways.
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
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.
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.
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.
Windows puts power in the hands of management
That has been the perception and that is the point of the Microsoft ads.
It doesn't really, but that's another issue.
Considering the technical knowledge of management in most companies, these are exactly the hands that you do not want to have power.
Errrr, there's something backwards here. The fundamental nature of management is that it is management that has the power. IT is there to serve the priorities of management, not the other way around.
What is happening is that Windows is slowly taking over the joint, and to be perceived to be doing so by PHBs. The PHBs will not like that.
Something I read a long time ago put a value of 85% on the overlap of the skill set for good programmers and good managers. Both have to deal with conflicting priorities and limited resources.