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Finding Employment is a Gamble, Open Source Careers Aren't a Bad Bet

Esther Schindler at the Linux Foundation Developer Network offers some insightful analysis on developer career choices -- is it easier to find employment and make a living working in a proprietary or open source development environment?

Schindler explains that while gathering data on the number of available jobs in these fields is challenging (and determining the number of qualified candidates competing for them is moreso), looking closely at job search sites, recruiter information, and career statistics indicate that a career in open source development can be even more lucrative than one in a proprietary setting.

Schindler's conclusion is that while open source developers have fewer employment opportunities, they are often paid higher salaries. That's great news for those currently in open source programming positions, but job hunters needn't despair -- Schindler found strong indications that advertised positions in the open source market are on the rise.

The breakdown of available jobs versus average pay rate is helpful, but Schindler's analysis raises another interesting point: Finding an open source programming job can be complicated by where and how you search. Recruiters, at least those with long histories and more clients, tend to attract businesses that aren't dealing with open source software (or aren't working with it in a significant way). Job seekers wishing to work in open source, then, might do better to use recruiters they know work with open source clients, or continue to actively search on their own in addition to using recruiters.

It's important to do something you love, and are passionate about, but it's also important to pay the bills. Choosing a programming career doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your passion for a paycheck. Schindler's summary is heartening, and her almost "peripheral to the story" insights -- search various places, use many services, and search with terms ranging from general ("Linux") to specific ("Linux AND Python AND Ruby") -- offer job hunters real hope, and very good advice.

• open source
• Programming
• linux
• developer
• employment

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