Critical Shortage of Linux Talent Slowing Adoption

You've hit the nail directly on the head and driven it out the other side.

I'm 41 and have been in the computer business (IS/IT/SE/etc) for over 15 years. I've worked with Linux in one form or another since 1996. I've set up web servers, databases, mail servers, backup servers, file servers, print servers, etc. I've programmed in assembler, C, C++, LISP, Basic, Pascal, Perl, PHP, etc. for systems running HP/UX, Sun Solaris, Linux, Novell, DOS and Windows. I've directly setup, tuned, and/or interfaced with dBase, FoxPro (I know), Paradox, Access, SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. I've setup or interfaced with directory servers using Novell's NDS, LDAP, and ADS. I've written countless shell scripts and automated countless tasks.

There is nothing I would like better than to be a full-time Linux guy. One would think I could find work in the sector. -- Nope. For the few jobs that get listed I am overqualified (read: "We don't actually want to pay someone to do this.")

So what am I doing now? Programming Windows software. (Blech!)

Probably not overqualified in reality: but in the minds of people who are looking for Lennox qualified installers. They think that they need more air conditioning in the server room.

Seriously, this is a problem. When I took my first MCP test in 1995 or early 96, (I don't remember) M$ was going nowhere with NT. I remember thinking that the MCP test was more difficult than the CPA exam. Only 1-3% pass CPA exams. Then, M$ made it easier and CompTIA was born. I think 75,000 MCP existed in 1996 globally. Then, in 2000 over one million had MCPs. I went to a course at a college to prep for another exam and the whole time was devoted to writing little rhymes to remember so people could answer the questions on the test. One was something about pizza makes you fat. It answered like a dozen questions on Ethernet.

The point: highly unqualified people have flooded the market and the only thing they know how to do is play a video game called Windows. (Blech!)

It is much simpler than that... In the minds of these guys, since the software is nearly free, then the support must be cheap too ;-)....

If it's free, then why do you need suport at all? I don't understand. It should fix itself. Am I missing something? Oh, it should install itself - that's what I'm missing.

tadelste: that and run HomeWorld 2, Railroad Tycoon and all of the other monocultured games on them there shelves without intervention.

AC: that and actually go and fetch them from the shelves by themselves. And pay the bill!

Just a shortage of skilled techs, full stop.

Any paper tiger with a mouthful of buzzwords can get themselves in the door -- but very, very few of them are producing good results for their employers/customers. They know sweet fanny adams about anything except how to reboot and reinstall, and they'd much rather spend thirty grand on replacing existing infrastructure with a poor system that they do understand, than spend five grand worth of time bringing themselves up to speed on a new and far more capable one (to say nothing of learning how to operate the existing systems effectively).

AC: BDCB (Before the Dot Com Bust) - I helped our recruiting group screen candidates. In 90%, I guess, of the candidates - people said they did things that they couldn't possibly do with the software they claimed to have used. We had a lot of former shoe salessman hired for the bench before I got there.