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2010 Salary Survey Highlights IT Woes
CWmike writes "Trapped between flat salaries and ever-increasing workloads, IT professionals are about to explode. That's the top takeaway from Computerworld's 2010 survey of nearly 5,000 IT workers. 'Bonuses and benefits are way down, and workloads and work hours have increased. Meanwhile, salaries are stagnant (rising just a microscopic 0.7% on average), and — not surprisingly — satisfaction is on the wane.' Another finding of note is the shrinking female IT workforce. Have a look-see at how IT fared in your neck of the woods with this smart look-up tool."
Actually as a person currently look to hire F/OSS experience would be a definite plus. It shows that an applicant is really interested in the field and the work. Granted, we're not the corporate IT office you refer to, but if an applicant for our software position (if anyone is curious and interested in north central FL.... http://tdt.com/news/jobs/softwareengineer.htm) was actually interested enough in programming to do outside projects that would be a positive.
In general you need something to make you stand out, and contributing to or starting a project is a reasonable way to stand out. I interviewed some current master's students and was optimistic until it was clear that they did exactly what coursework required but weren't interested in exploring for their own interest.
The 1950's called. They want they're attitudes back.