- Site menu:
- Latest Discussions
- Latest Newswire
- Archives
- Submit Story
- Story HOWTO
- Syndicate
- E-mail Alerts
The Myth of a Linux Talent Shortage. Is it true? You tell us.
In an article published about a year ago, people who know the market refuted the myth of a Linux talent shortage. Here are some comments. The first from an OSDL representative. Red Hat also had an opinion of the myth.
The article also mentioned another survey from Forrester Research which said 57 percent of respondents using Linux or open-source software said their biggest concern was lack of support and another 36 percent said they experienced a lack of skills or knowledge. Forrester's survey centered around respondents using Linux who said they experienced a lack of skills or knowledge. The key term in this survey, if you missed it, dealt with respondents using Linux or open source software. Those firms had an incidence of 36%. That's not a high figure and again they only had a concern. Later in the article where people tend to stop reading, Bill Weinberg added:The real myth out there when it comes to operating system skills is that there's an abundance of Windows professionals. I've tried to put together Windows teams to do certain kinds of development and found it difficult to get real expertise of any depth. I found it very difficult to hire resources for anything but the most superficial Visual Basic kind of development. My ExperienceI have seen no shortage of Linux talent even back in 1999, when I recruited programmers, system administrators, webmasters and gurus. I have attended and keynoted at enough UNIX User Groups and Linux User groups to also say a waste of Linux talent exists. I blame the myth on hiring practices. When I speak with Linux people after my presentations I hear war stories. High quality, talented Linux people without Microsoft certifications get the run-around. Hiring managers seem afraid to go with Linux people since the hiring manager doesn't know enough about Linux to judge performance. I went on a number of interviews in the Dallas area for Linux system administrators. I didn't have a problem flashing my Microsoft certifications or my experience programming Windows servers. (Let's not forget I broke MS Exchange's wire line protocol). I also didn't share my resume as a manager on any of those jobs. Even so, the feedback at those interviews centered around the notion of too much experience and a fear that I wouldn't stick. This wasn't 2001 when people jumped ship every few motnhs for better pay. What About YouSince I don't have the kind of scientificly manipulated data or the slant that Forrester and other analysts seem to have, I'd like to see some of your war stories. What's your experience? Have you seen discrimination and what kind? Tell us your stories. |
|
|
Comments (4)
In the last 8 or 10 months, I've interviewed for the 4 or 5 job listings I've found in Denver that say they want Linux, and then never had it come up as question about my Linux experience in interviews. I have missed all of the jobs for various incompletely specified items that seem to relate to my admittedly non-existant Windows experience.
HR departments and job shops need to recognize that a 20-question multiple choice test, typeset with "Word" auto-capitalization turned on, does not constitute a valid measure of *any* skill, much less skill at Linux or Java.
Quoting:The cause of the demise of the US will be Microsoft and the international terrorism. I don't know which one is worse.
I don't know if it will cause a demise, but the collective will of the people seems unorganized. We have a sense of having no control. This isn't like the late 1960's when we almost staged a revolution. Of course, history will never see it that way. It's already been given to the revisionists.
I was alive then. I saw it and I knew what it meant.
9/11 was a terrible event. It did what it was intended to do, terrorize the population. It was a disservice to all involved. I say a fundamental mistake by the terrorists who underestimated the actions of the US administation and consequently the backing of the majority of Americans.
The Microsoft trial was another terrorist act but our government failed to realize it. If you can follow the disservice and the events that allowed GWB to dismiss the trial and order a settlement, then allow the BSA to terrorize the population in a different way, then too people feel like they have no control.
Post a comment
A free account is needed to post. Write your comment here first: your text is kept in this browser while you sign up or log in, and is waiting for you when you come back.
Your message:Sign up and post (it is free) or Log in and post
The reason? Cowardice.
The people at the top of most companies who have final say on things don't know enough about systems to authorize or decline a move away from Windows. Rather than defer to the people in their organizations who do know enough they simply kill the idea believing that, since they don't know enough about it, it must be a risk to the organization.