Ask Slashdot: Where Are the Open Source Jobs? 506
stry_cat writes "My company has bought into the FUD and is going 100% Microsoft. Rather than work in this environment and be continuously at odds with upper management, I have decided to seek employment elsewhere. Where do I look for an open source job? I've started with the local paper's Sunday classifieds. I've looked on dice.com and monster.com. However almost all are Microsoft related. The few that aren't are some sort of dinky contract or temp job. So is there a place to find a job in an open source environment?"
All around...oh, wait, you mean the PAYING ones? (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, that may be a little more difficult.
You could always work as a contractor specializing in customizing software. Even companies that use FOSS often need someone to make custom modifications to said software to meet their specific needs. But I doubt you'll find many of those jobs posted in "Help Wanted" ads, and I'm not sure how many of them are actually out there or how you would find them.
And if you just want to avoid MS stuff on principle, you could always work as a Unix admin, Cobol programmer, Java developer, etc. depending on your skill set.
I would suggest you avoid Cobol programmer, though. I had to learn that godforsaken son-of-a-whore language in college and would rather eat glass while being raped by an angry Mike Tyson on top of a pyre of burning feces than to ever have to deal with it again. But some seem to find it a somewhat less suicide-inducing-please-god-give-me-the-strength-to-pull-this-trigger-and-end-it-all prospect than I.
You're a douche (Score:4, Insightful)
You're a douche. In an economy where many people have been unemployed for so long that they're just dropping out of the workforce altogether, you're fretting over "FUD" because your company did a normal thing and switched products? Get over it. Do you realize how insane you have to be to take platform wars so seriously that you actually quit your job and avoid any other jobs that have anything to do with Microsoft products? For god's sake, get some perspective.
Re:You're a douche (Score:4, Insightful)
It's pretty clear this guy got fired for being a preachy douche.
Read between the lines..
What is an "open source job"? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are you looking for a company developing something, which is to be released under an open source licence?
Or to support open source platforms, irrespective of what the company itself does?
Are you looking for employment, rather than offering consultancy services / self-employed? If you have expertise with particular open source platforms, are there jobs available to work with those platforms — even if the companies in question do not realise that they are open source?
Could you be looking for jobs where the company wants a solution which does [x], and is not worried how you get to [x] as long as you are on time and on budget, and so would be amenable to an open source solution?
Re:You're a douche (Score:3, Insightful)
What the parent said.
I don't know of many jobs who's specialist requirement is knowledge of random software available under open source licenses, other than maybe working for the EFF?
What skills do you have? What commercially used OSS do you have transferable work experience in that other employers want?
I googled 'linux sip job' earlier and got a shit load of relevant positions ...
Re:You're a douche (Score:2, Insightful)
Right. I'm not sure if this person actually quit, but irrational decisions like this, in the end, always lead to a disaster. Also, they didn't necessarily switch to MS because of FUD, but maybe because there're advantages, since MS products are better integrated... I used to be a big proponent of open source, but not so much any more.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
Platform switches tend to shake out people. There is nothing at all surprising or shocking about this. If he doesn't want to deal with Microsoft crap in his day job, there are plenty of places that are Unix shops. Plenty of places that use Unix also use Linux. All you have to do is search in the places you would usually search.
It's a total non-problem really.
What's your current job? (Score:4, Insightful)
And what is "an open source job"? Is that a job where anyone can come by and do your work for you?
Your knee-jerk reaction makes no sense. You didn't say what you do or how the change will affect you, only "OMG M$!!!!!". In the end your company will be better off without you.
The entire setup seems bogus. (Score:4, Insightful)
The entire setup seems bogus.
If you don't want to work with Microsoft products, there's plenty of room for you out there. Dice and Monster are full of such jobs.
The idea that you can't find any seems like some sort of lame attempt at propaganda.
Re:You're a douche (Score:4, Insightful)
Between the lines, I read that this guy's a douche who doesn't know how to do anything out of his comfort zone. So fucking what that they chose microsoft? It's their decision to make. Every platform has pros and cons. And even if it didn't -- is it his job to chose the platform? Obviously not. So who fucking cares? And what the fuck is "bought into the FUD" supposed to mean?
"Oh no. My management made a platform decision that I don't like. I quit." Then fucking quit you idiot. Go start your own company founded on whatever principles you want and make your own platform decisions then.
If you had to explain to family why you quit your job, do you realize how fucking retarded it sounds to say "I quit because of principles. I refuse to work for a company that buys from Microsoft"
Good for you that you have principles -- but those are fucking stupid principle. Set your priorities. Jeebus Christ this is idiotic.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
You are a dickhead.
His employer switched to a platform he does not have enough knowledge with. He should find a job he can do ASAP. This is normal, happens all the time. I am a linux/unix sysadmin, I do some windows work as well, but I would never take a job were that was my main focus. It is outside my field of expertise, nor do I want to do that job. I will not take a job flipping burgers or digging ditches either.
The economy has nothing to do with it, I am getting 2+ recruiters calling me everyday for the past week. What your skills are matter far more than the economy.
Re:I wouldnt you (Score:4, Insightful)
If you spent "hours upon hours" trying to configure samba to talk to a Windows 7 box then you need to turn in your college degree and ask for a broom.
timothy is obvoously having a slow day (Score:4, Insightful)
Every time a slashdot editor allows a completely worthless article like this to hit the front page, they are devaluing slashdot as a brand. Given how often timothy does this, I am amazed he is still permitted the opportunity to do so.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally, if my employer switched to something I didn't have experience with I'd take it as an excuse to gain experience with something new while getting paid for it, rather than going "wha wha wha, must find a new job and limit my skill set even more".
Re:You're a douche (Score:4, Insightful)
You're a douche. In an economy where many people have been unemployed for so long that they're just dropping out of the workforce altogether, you're fretting over "FUD" because your company did a normal thing and switched products? Get over it. Do you realize how insane you have to be to take platform wars so seriously that you actually quit your job and avoid any other jobs that have anything to do with Microsoft products? For god's sake, get some perspective.
You make a good troll, but the point is right on. Is MS stuff really so hard to wrap your head around that you had to pull the ripcord? If you are right that MS products in general are harder to maintain, then guess what THAT IS THE BUSINESS TO BE IN. Think about this, Mr. I'm So Fucking Smart, if you are right that FOSS products are a dream come true and they work as soon as the key is turned, you are going to have a pretty damn hard time convincing someone to bother keeping you on the payroll. Get an in-demand skill (some of them are in FOSS, most are not) and stick with it. If you are set on being a sysadmin type person, you either need to know old school unix (for those companies still kicking their legacy systems down the road) or you need to know MS (for any modern company of decent size.) That's just the way the world is spinning right now.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
...or he could simply find a new job at a better company.
Chances are that their sudden exclusive use of Microsoft is just the tip of the iceberg.
Ya that's my bet (Score:5, Insightful)
Even if you like, or dislike, a given technology you can work with it. For example I hate Macs, their enterprise support is shit. However, we have some faculty that use them, so I support them. I've worked out how to integrate them in to our system. I feel we would be better without them, and I'll advocate that, but I'm not a dick about it and I'll work with them.
IT professional starts with Sunday Classifieds? (Score:5, Insightful)
I have some serious reservations about responding to this, but so many red lights go off:
-What employer would hire someone who makes rash decisions based on emotion? You're not Steve Jobs.
-Considering the number of Fortune 500 companies that use Microsoft technology, I can tell you the decision upper management has taken is not just on FUD. Just as a way to put a check on your assumptions, revisit the company you have left in five years. Are they still in business? Did they grow? My guess is that moving to Microsoft was a business decision as much as a technology decision. There are pros and cons to all these vendors and ideologies. You want to stake your paycheque on it, don't blame the industry or others.
-The biggest error I see here is, regardless of why you wanted to leave...you were getting a paycheque. Storming off without securing your next employment hurts nobody but yourself. Unless you are in a position where you are being abused, taken advantage of, subjected to unsafe working conditions...why would you leave first? Being unemployed makes you that much more undesirable to any potential employer.
-Sunday classifieds? What are you, some sort of dinosaur? Even my non-technology friends do not "start" with the classifieds.
I'll just end with my personal feeling that perhaps you are the one who is under the influence of FUD. I've worked in Linux shops, shops with various Unix flavours HPUX/AIX/Solaris (even SCO back in the day when they weren't just patent trolls,) Apple and Microsoft shops. As technologists, we're pretty adaptable. I'd never take my personal preferences on vendors as the limiting factor on choice of employment.
Best of luck to you.
Mabye he's just better? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't know what kind of work you do but I for sure would seek other employment if I was asked to do a wholesale move of the systems I work on to Windows. I'd also find other work if my employer told me the only work they had for me next month was mopping the floors.
It isn't beneath me to mop the floor. If they need me to do that *today*, I will. But janitorial work won't move my career in the direction I wish to go so if that's the core work they have for me, it's time to move on.
I feel the same way about managing and/or writing code for Windows systems.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
"Oh no. My management made a platform decision that I don't like. I quit." Then fucking quit you idiot. Go start your own company founded on whatever principles you want and make your own platform decisions then.
He did quit. Why does he have to start his own company when he could work at an existing company that embraces his ideals? Not everyone wants to run their own company, nor should they.
If you had to explain to family why you quit your job, do you realize how fucking retarded it sounds to say "I quit because of principles. I refuse to work for a company that buys from Microsoft"
Good for you that you have principles -- but those are fucking stupid principle. Set your priorities. Jeebus Christ this is idiotic.
There are companies that would embrace him and his ideals. He just doesn't work at one, and judging the fact that he's looking in the newspaper for a new job and not Craigslist, he probably doesn't live in an area where he's likely to find a company that's runs significantly on open source software. Just because you have no ideals surrounding open source, that doesn't mean that no one else should. As for what he tells his family, that's none of your concern - his wife may be a hardcore OSX geek and completely understand.
That said, he's going to run into Microsoft at just about every company in the back office, but there are plenty of companies that use Open Source products for their public facing web sites and in-house tools. For some things, Microsoft is the Right Answer, it's just that MS comes with a lot of baggage and the foot print starts to grow and before you know it, you've got your entire infrastructure on MS and there's so much momentum behind it, it's hard to move off. SaaS is making it easier to not grow a large MS infrastructure to run your business, but even SaaS providers often come with Microsoft dependencies either with MS-only thick clients, or MSIE requirements for full functionality.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
If he can find work he likes better, - for whatever reason, why shouldn't he switch?
I've left a job because I didn't find it challenging enough. I left another one because I didn't like the way they ran their projects and I wasn't in a position to change it. An important aspect of any job I take is that the company or organization be one that benefits society in some way. I tend to end up at non-profits. So I'm kind of picky. Luckily there's been enough opportunities that I can afford to be.
When I'm hiring I look for someone who's going to be enthusiastic about the position and the company. If he's at odds with management, they are both better off if he goes some place else.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
It's pretty clear this guy got fired for being a preachy douche.
Read between the lines..
Actually, it sounds more like someone else is being the preachy douche. These days, you don't get a business advantage by letting your IBM (or Microsoft) rep run your IT department. Most shops may be primarily Microsoft (or more rarely, primarily open-source), but most successful shops realize that no one solution exists for everything, and thus have little pockets of alternative solutions.
When you flat-out slam the door on alternatives, you also slam the door on opportunities. Better to bail before things get worse.
The difference is degree (Score:4, Insightful)
they could be a shop where as of now the Microsoft method is Preferred (but they will use FLOSS when needed)
or
a shop where if FLOSS is required to do something IT WILL NOT GET DONE
or
a shop where you will get escorted from the building by security for having FLOSS stuff on your person/computer
im thinking that the problem is he is dealing with case 2 or 3
True but (Score:5, Insightful)
You know who is going to be blamed when it all goes pear shaped. You have 10 years of experience in a mainframe product. Do you:
Some of the people posting here obviously think that changing architectures is just a five minute job. Perhaps, given the relatively simple applications on offer, that's the case for phones or tablets (I doubt it, in reality). But, say, a switch from SAP/Oracle to Dynamics for a senior developer? Not so simple.
Re:You're a douche (Score:4, Insightful)
I'll take his job! (Score:1, Insightful)
There are companies that would embrace him and his ideals.
No company will hire this guy or anyone else that is going to quit because of selection of software.
It shows that he's not reliable and maybe a flake. What next, he'll get hired at another company and quit because they're switching to Oracle?!
If you're that much of a zealot that you'll quit because your company isn't using FOSS, then you really need to get a fucking life.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
The people who most deserve our admiration are not the ones who meekly go along with incompetence and short-sightedness and stupidity; no, they're the ones who stand up to it. And in a week where we learned of the death of Roger Boisjoly [latimes.com], a man who did that very thing, maybe we should remind ourselves that if we really want to call ourselves professionals -- and not cheap whores who will do anything for a paycheck -- then we are REQUIRED to stand up for our principles. Anyone who can't or won't do that is a spineless, worthless coward.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
I wouldn't father children with a woman who doesn't fucking pay attention, and doesn't extrapolate, to begin with. But hey that's just me. Apparently this is more about you and your family or something?
So do political systems. You could say that about everything, it's just sophistry filler. Would you say the same to someone in 1940s Germany quitting their job for the Nazi party? "oh, but everything has pros and cons *scratches beard in a wise manner*". Well, so does having priorities other than you, for example.
Now feel free to go nuts over me making that comparison, but you basically say food over principles, and I say that doesn't leave much food in the long run to be used for anything worth a damn. Everybody dies anyway, see heat death of the universe. It's how we spend the time is what makes the only difference. Nobody surives, no memories survive, everything is irrelevant and dust. What matters is wether your soul soars or is tethered to the fears of mediocre people and blind, doomed materialism. That is all there is. But I digress.
Oh, and maybe ask slashdot for pointers? What exactly is your problem then?
Re:I'll take his job! (Score:5, Insightful)
Woohoo, what is it today, a generalization day? People have drives and ambitions. I'd much rather someone who is outspoken and has a passion, than someone who will just nod at the meetings, but wish he was doing other things.
Re:You're a douche (Score:5, Insightful)
People should be forced to work in their position regardless of the practical and moral personal guidelines they may have. And if they decide not too, we can use guilt and shame to persuade them otherwise...don't forget to mention the torment they will be putting their family through.
If that doesn't work, you blackmail them into staying by threatening their ability to gain future employment elsewhere. One of my personal favorites is the "do-not-poach" agreement I have with several other related (and non-related) industries. Collectively, we maintain a registry that we put these rejects with "principals" into...slavery...err...(cheap) employment then becomes quite easy. I have even been able to issue paycuts and salary reductions to those individuals that I have caught on Monster and Craigslist...
I am on board with you 100%. It is time that we as employers stood up to these bullies, who always demand better pay and health insurance, and put them in their place. They work for us at our leisure. If I call programmer X at 3am because I want a new programmable interface for my coffee-pot that allows per-day timer functionality, he better have it done by 8am and he can forget about extra-pay, overtime, or and type of bonus...he should be glad I didn't fire him on the spot for the hesitation I heard when I told him to do it. I don't care if his wife is currently in labor and about to deliver...how the hell is he going to support a child if he doesn't have a job.
That brings me to healthcare. Our efforts at lobbying and media-manipulation have not been as successful as we have hoped. Within 3-years, employees will be able to decouple their insurance plans from their employment. This has often been the primary tool that we us to keep these people in-line and their salaries capped. We need to implement more public disdain for ObamaCare...maybe leak plans for those that take early retirement to include mandatory enrollment at age 85 to a nursing facility...we can call these "death-camps". Imply that participation will result in them killing their grand-parents. We should be able to gain a few more years of enslavement security or maybe even repealment of the bill.
However, our efforts in deunionization are finally taking hold. With any luck, we will be able to reinstitute mandatory 7-day work-weeks (at reduced pay) by the end of the fiscal year.
With your help, I am sure that we can reduce further occurrences of these idiotic people jumping ship every time we make decision they claim is irrational. I find it refreshing find such a like-minded ally, thank-you.
Re:I'll take his job! (Score:5, Insightful)
There are companies that would embrace him and his ideals.
No company will hire this guy or anyone else that is going to quit because of selection of software.
It shows that he's not reliable and maybe a flake. What next, he'll get hired at another company and quit because they're switching to Oracle?!
If you're that much of a zealot that you'll quit because your company isn't using FOSS, then you really need to get a fucking life.
I can't speak for other areas, but there are plenty of places in the SF Bay Area that will hire you (or not) based on your support of FOSS - bonus points if you can point out actual contributions to FOSS software. Many of these places were started by and run by people who also embrace FOSS software. Tell them that you can only work on a Windows desktop and the interview will end quickly.
Granted, he's probably not going to get a job at a large fortune 500 (or even fortune 1000 company), but there are small companies and startups that embrace open source since it was FOSS software that helped them get their company off the ground at little cost.
Me? I'm somewhere in the middle - I prefer FOSS solutions, but will use the right tool for the job. I work with (and sometimes manage) Linux, Microsoft, and Apple zealots, and you know what? They all have valid points about their preferred platform - I don't expect our PHP developers to code a .Net sharepoint interface, nor do I expect our SQL/Server Admin to set up MySQL replication. Of course, I don't expect our SQL/Server admin to design a web page because that's not what he's paid for and that's not his core strength.
If you're that much of a zealot that you'll quit because your company isn't using FOSS, then you really need to get a fucking life.
Of course, some would say that if you're willing to whore yourself out to whatever technology your company deems appropriate, you need to get some balls and take control of your life. If you don't want to be a .Net programmer and you have the skills to get another job doing what you want, why shouldn't you?
Find a new job, then quit (Score:4, Insightful)
Find your new job before quitting.
In the meantime, learn all you can about a MS shop. Who knows; your next gig might be migrating a shop from MS to OSS.
Re:All around...oh, wait, you mean the PAYING ones (Score:5, Insightful)
There's a reason MS stuff is out there.
I can't remember where I read it, but there was an article about how you can't make software too easy to use and install. That would not leave much work for the consultants and IT folks, and they would thus not push the product to their clients.
You need that right balance between having a good product and leaving enough work for the IT workers to really get that into the market.
Now, that changes a bit with 'the cloud' to some extent as now the goal the software creator can deliver and charge for the service directly. They don't need the IT consultants as much to 'push' their product.
This is one the bigger reasons for MS dominating the general PC environment including the office. They leave their products with boatloads of customizability and scripting and push the IT folks and consultants with training to build out that ecosystem all tied to their platform of course.
Open source environment typically lack this push. To emphasize again... this is not an engineer or technical push. There are generally equivalent open source projects... but a business and marketing and ecosystem push.
Even something as simple as how to develop for 'Windows'... it is easy for anyone to start... get Visual Studio is the answer.
This is why you typically find far fewer custom FOSS shops. Most companies I've seen want to use FOSS as a replacement. They don't want to/think to do the kind of customization you can often do with Windows for desktop apps.
So where are the open source jobs?
Generally you can find Linux development jobs in embedded systems. But if you have worked for a 'Microsoft Shop', I'm guessing this is not your niche.
You could also go with Java, and many corporations and banks use Java.
Many 'cloud' based solution typically have FOSS backends... as again... no need to have consultants push the solution.
But in the end, they are just different models. I've never had the kind of anti MS passion many people have.
Look for specific apps (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't look for an "Open Source" job. Look for a "Linux" job or a "Apache/Mysql" job. Or a "PHP" or "Ruby on Rails" job.
And don't waste your time with the paper version of the newspaper. You won't find the high tech jobs there. Go for Monster, Career Builder, craig's list and other online job sites.