Linux Jobs on the Rise 219
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."
True (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
My Linux career. (Score:3, Interesting)
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 [cybersource.com.au] *. Ended up being the 'Windows guy' at a L
Quick survey of my mates Linux careers too... (Score:2)
* 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 li
Anyone on Slashdot like Linux and Pron? (Score:2, Interesting)
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 att
Re:Anyone on Slashdot like Linux and Pron? (Score:2)
Re:Anyone on Slashdot like Linux and Pron? (Score:2)
Specifically because, in the UK, "Hoover" is very common as a generic term for "vacuum cleaner".
For a brief moment before the site loaded, I was expecting "horny Electrolux will suck you dry" and " Dyson has a 25-inch attachment"....
I don't know..... (Score:5, Funny)
Security isn't that big of a deal to lock down either, as long as you have a decent firewall configured right.
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2)
That, and forbidding users to use Internet Explorer or Outlook.
Just my $0.02
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2, Insightful)
They're mostly patched now, but there were several cases where vbscripting and the like would automatically execute [slipstick.com] in Outlook.
Re:I don't know..... (Score:5, Funny)
You keep using that word "interoperability," I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security isn't that big of a deal to lock down either, as long as you have a decent firewall configured right.
"security"
ditto
Inconceivable! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I don't know..... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2)
Hopefully with the inclusion of the NX flag-aware code, most buffer overflow attacks will just throw
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2)
Eskimo XML - Has lots of structure for types of ice, snow, frost... not so heavy on tropical breezes.
Porn Collector XML - has lots of types of breast size... no so heavy on plot types.
Different markups for different folks, THAT's the point of XML. MS is free to mak
Re:I don't know..... (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft's products are really getting a hell of a lot better aswell. They are also being much less 'ghey' towards the OS community overall. Most MS employees will freely admit of liking FireFox, Apache, PHP etc (I've chatted with quite a few). I'm actually quite sure the Billy Boy at the top loves OSS, but Balmer probably despises it. Ever notice how Balme
Re:I don't know..... (Score:3, Insightful)
i liked it better the first time, when it was called java.
Re:I don't know..... (Score:3, Informative)
Really. So what exactly did Bill Gates mean when he wrote this:
An Open Letter to Hobbyists [blinkenlights.com]
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2)
What hobbyist can put 3-man years into programming, finding all bugs, documenting his product and distribute for free?
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2)
Windows, and Microsoft products are well integrated, not interoperable. It was a poor choice of words. Microsoft products work incredibly well with each other, and an all-Windows and Microsoft network runs really smooth. By smoothly though, I mean the workflow of the end-users. the Microsoft stuff is just top notch for everyday business. Outlook destroys any of the other Email clients I have used. Word and Excel are just as good as their OSS counterparts
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2)
It doesn't seem like you looked very hard then.
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2)
I'll agree with this statement because most E-mail clients can't keep up with all the viral E-mails sent out by Outlook.
Re:I don't know..... (Score:2)
Re:I don't know..... (Score:3, Informative)
And that firewall is usually running...ding, ding, ding...Linux.
I'm glad to hear (Score:2)
Fanaticism just makes everyone sound incredible.
Re:I don't know..... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Willing to take a pay cut? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Willing to take a pay cut? (Score:3, Insightful)
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 happen
What I've noticed (Score:5, Interesting)
Linux? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Linux? (Score:4, Insightful)
The BSD license has some things going for it, but if we look at what corporations are backing Linux and what are backing *BSD, it seems that the GPL "lock-in" doesn't bother IBM, Novell, etc.. In fact, it might encourage them since after adding lots of code to Linux, a third party can't just take the code, add a bit to it and then sell it as proprietary software -- they must give back, just like people before them did, and I'd say that's pretty fair.
The takers do, the givers give to linux (Score:2)
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
Re:Linux? (Score:2)
I can understand this thought train if you were a development shop, but I can not understand it one bit for in use servers and workstations.
the GPL does nothing to you if you are using it. I can write closed source evil software in linux with no requirement on license. Hell I can install SCO extensions and software I like and nobody that has anything to do with the GPL or linux can do a da
If Linux TCP/IP has a problem... (Score:2)
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.
Re:Linux? (Score:2)
Nah, that's just a troll - no evidence whatsoever, linux networking is excellent - although I will admit, 10 years ago his ideas about bsd networking being better would have been true.
Companies can still write proprietary applications to run on Linux (although why should they?)
Why shouldn't they? Linux makes a fine platform for closed source apps, as well as open source ones.
Re:Linux? (Score:3, Interesting)
If you're a non-developing client, then the BSD license allows the developer to close-source their code and, possibly, lock you in as a customer. Some people see this as A Bad Thing(tm).
the GPL means that the developer can't hold you completely hostage becaus
it's not a given that he's nuts (Score:2)
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.
How about Embedded Linux (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How about Embedded Linux (Score:2)
As to
Re:How about Embedded Linux (Score:2)
Call it what you want (Score:2)
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,
Linux Use VS. Linux Development (Score:5, Interesting)
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 [infonomics.nl] that more developers are getting paid for OSS work. I would like to see a 190% jump there next year.
CKO
Re:Linux Use VS. Linux Development (Score:2)
Re:Linux Use VS. Linux Development (Score:2)
Re:Linux Use VS. Linux Development (Score:2)
I'm lucky to be at the head of a very large linux migration for our company. I get to suggest, implement and use lots of cool linux and opensource tools every day. One of the nice side effects of this is that I also get to help with bug fixing and reporting on the projects to get them working the way we need them to work.
A good example of this is CUPS. I've had a chance to find bugs with CUPS and get them fixed as well as feature requests
Ontario, Canada.... (Score:5, Interesting)
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)
Salaries (Score:2)
Re:Salaries (Score:2)
Just what I needed to hear! (Score:2, Interesting)
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!
More Jobs or Less Jobs? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:More Jobs or Less Jobs? (Score:4, Insightful)
The jobs are different though. Most are doing fairly boring things, and salaries are in the $30-40k range. (very few are in the $50k range). There are obviously exceptions (one of my friends makes $85k), but the average is still ~$35k.
Then again, that's better than being unemployed... And there are cently more jobs there now than there were a year or two ago. But they're crappy jobs.
Re:More Jobs or Less Jobs? (Score:2)
Indian Tech Support Guy (ITSG): How are you gentlemen!!
Office Manager (OM): I need some tech support.
ITSG: What Happen?
OM: I'm calling because our E-mail's broken and the Exchange server has a blue screen with weird charactors on it.
ITSG: Somebody set up you the bomb?
OM: That doesn't sound good. I'm s
This is a joke, right? (Score:5, Insightful)
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?
Re:This is a joke, right? (Score:3, Insightful)
6 years Windows XP experience
10 years Java 2.459
5 years JCL
12 years COBOL
5 years RedHat Linux 9.1
Must be nice... (Score:3, Informative)
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.
Linux becomes another HR buzzword (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Linux becomes another HR buzzword (Score:2)
Just halve the years of experience required (5-8 years) and you should find enough people easily. Add a few years of other *nix OS's and it's just fine.
Re:Linux becomes another HR buzzword (Score:2)
Re:Linux becomes another HR buzzword (Score:2)
That is true if you are talking about the kernel, linux which hasn't been around as long as the other core technologies which are now used in GNU/Linux systems, like X11R6, GNU userland etc. etc. You know, the starting point of this free software thing isn't linux 0.01, it is RMS's GNU manifesto.
Agreed, I've had three calls this week (Score:2)
Re:Agreed, I've had three calls this week (Score:2)
I am glad to have found a Linux job. (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
Re:I am glad to have found a Linux job. (Score:2)
It's refreshing to know that there are people who value their convictions more than a paycheck.
The research stated that the hot areas include the defense and financial services industries which many slashdotters' believe are evil, so I guess that still means that many Linux loving slashdotters will still be out of work.
Re:my email to Glen (Score:2)
"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...
Excellent job and salary information (Score:2)
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.
Linux certification (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Certifications that value and expect thinking. (Score:2)
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
Re:Certifications that value and expect thinking. (Score:2)
Then you weren't paying attention to the second paragraph. 2 1/2 hours of troubleshooting . maintenance, 3 hours of installation. This includes making sure things are set up in a secure fashion (although 'properly' is often).
As I also said above, the instructions for install and configuring only specify the end objectives - not how to install them.
But don't matter, it sounds like y
Re:Certifications that value and expect thinking. (Score:2)
Re:Linux certification (Score:2)
Because he sympathizes with people who are finding it impossible to get started. Can't get a job without experience, can't get experience without a job. In today's market that's not just a cliche.
I don't think anybody expects a cert to carry a *lot* of cloat, but it would be nice if it carried enough for somebody to get started.
linuxworld expo (Score:2)
http://linuxtoday.com/it_management/20040728031 2 6O PEV
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/ nl/page.asp?nav_id=5415
So what do ya say? Should i, b
UK stats verify this, (Score:2)
Linux jobs [jobstats.co.uk]
Solaris jobs [jobstats.co.uk]
Unix job stats [jobstats.co.uk]
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
u mm.... (Score:2)
**I'm an AMERICAN you insensitive clod**
Dice.com fanboy (Score:2)
Experience (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Some caveats (Score:2)
There is still a lot of distrust... (Score:2)
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
Jobs slashdotted!! (Score:2)
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
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
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Interesting)
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 pro
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Less people can be good developers than sysadmins? Forgetting a
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
An AC said it so it must be true.
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Re:Obligatory Monty Python Quote (Score:2)
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
How does a pilot make money flying through free air?
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
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)
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Re:Nigeria! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Spreading Linux jobs (Score:2)
So I've seen steady linux growth. It will take time, but it
Re:Spreading Linux jobs (Score:2)
this wouldn't be a problem if the cio's, analysts, and architects would do their jobs correctly and design for platform independence to begin with.
Re:Spreading Linux jobs (Score:3, Insightful)
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
Re:Spreading Linux jobs (Score:2)
The part that I have trouble with is where you say that Linux must become easier before there will be jobs for it? So, we only find easy work for people? Someone must do the complicated tasks -- and usually they are paid more for it.
Microeconomics vs. Macroeconomics (Score:2)
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
Re:Spreading Linux jobs (Score:2)
OSS non-supported software, it may require you to hire additional devs to maintain your kernel.
Are you on crack? That statement doesn't even make sense.
Re:Linux Jobs (Score:2)
I certainly don't work for free - in fact I make better money than most of my windows specialist acquaintances.
Just an observation -
Re:Linux Jobs (Score:2)
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.
Re:Do The Math (Score:2)
Would it be better for you if they said "Linux job postings up 190%. Total job postings up 100%"?
Remind me to never hire this guy named Coward if I am relying on math and communication skills.
Ignore the above clueless advice. (Score:2, Informative)
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.