Times Are Bright if You Know Open Source

by Mike Gunderloy - Mar. 12, 2008Comments (4)

Are you a software developer looking for the ticket to riches, or at least a high-paying job? New York-based IT staffing firm Bluewolf says your open-source programming skills are in hot demand. According to results of their latest salary survey (published in CRN), a specialization in technologies like LAMP might net you a 30-40% salary increase this year.

According to Bluewolf, the "huge wave" of companies embraching open source technologies (perhaps coupled with the rise of "Web 2.0") has outstripped the supply of programmers who are expert in those technologies. Settling on free software is only half the battle for enterprises that want to bring open source into their companies. The other half is finding competent people to install, customize, and tweak the software.

So, there's another positive answer to the question of whether you can make money in open source. Even though finding funding to pursue open source software directly can be tough, the skills you learn from working with open source technologies can be used to strengthen your own career. It's the individual side of the idea of giving the software away for free and selling the ancillary services.


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4 Comments
 

And, people say you cannot make money from Open Source! Sites like ww.ohloh.com give exposure to individual developers of Open Source projects, so their work can be showcased. With so much point development being done at small and large shops, it is no wonder that there is a demand for people with skill.


0 Votes

With the recession well underway, you can expect oss developers to command a higher premium as companies look for OSS alternatives...


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Well, let's hope there are not a ton of layoffs. Just a couple of years ago, enterprises were taking it easy with new licenses, and decided to cut back on license software. They were surprised to see their IT guys deploying Open Source, and that has not swelled into a big movement.


Any slowdown should result in a deeper focus on Open Source, but people should adopt Open Source for the freedom and flexibility, not just for the cost.


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I am working on the Public Knowledge Projects that aims to provide open access to academic publishing. We are trying to hire a PHP developer:


http://pkp.sfu.ca/job


Any input on where to post this job would be appreciated.


Cheers,


Henrik Bennetsen - hbeATstanfordDOTedu


0 Votes
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