jobs & salaries

[Ed Skinner]

     Entry- and mid-level Linux jobs in programming are rare. Most of them 
went off-shore over the past ten years. Some high-level Linux programming 
jobs persist, however, and many of them are responsible for overseeing the 
off-shore work as much as for writing code.
     There are at least two general areas where Linux programmers can make a 
good living in the US. First is defense work. To put it succinctly, the DOD 
does not want a missile that was developed by programmers in the People's 
Republic of China. That work will remain within the confines of the US. (Open 
source's very openness is one of the concerns in this area -- but please, 
let's not open that can of worms again. Human nature is not always amenable 
to reasoned arguments.)
     Second, very small, entrepreneurial companies where developers are the 
"Jack of all trade" types with expertise in hardware as well as software is 
another area where Linux can shine. Indeed, the Linux guy/gal may be the sole 
technical resource in the company and he/she draws on whatever resources are 
necessary to get the job done. This, I believe, is *the* place where Linux 
can really be put to good use.
     Within those two categories, the money is good, sometimes very good and 
often has the promise of pre-IPO shares in the second case. (But only one in 
ten start-ups will survive, evolve, and/or be acquired to make those shares 
worth anything. [Come on, MontaVista!])
     Common tools are vi and emacs, make and the shell (i.e., scripts). These 
are the common tools because a great many of the developers in the above two 
categories are "old timers" and they are highly skilled and extremely 
productive with those tools. Those younger than "old timers" tend to prefer 
GUIs mostly because that's what they learned on and, therefore, that's what 
they are most productive with. And there's an over-lapping category of those 
who have made the effort to learn both and, depending on the demands of the 
job or task, can pick and choose the "best" tools. ("Best" may be a 
political, not a technical, decision.)
     One of my favorite GUI tools is Source-Navigator. My favortism is partly 
due to my familiarity with it but, overall, I still think it is one of the 
best when you need to work with unfamiliar code. (I'm using it now for a 
decidedly non-Linux-targetted effort.) But I still prefer Makefiles and vi 
simply because I can get more done in less time with them.
     My advice to beginners is: learn Mandarin.

     The Cynic.

-- 
Ed Skinner, ed at flat5.net, http://www.flat5.net/
and http://conventionalpistol.blogspot.com/