My dilemma.

[YourSurrogateGod]

Ok, I've fallen in love with Linux (Ubuntu specifically.) Imo it's the greatest and most stable operating system out there (keep the Unix nuts at bay, I don't want to start a flame-war.) However! What about getting a job? Looking at the different jobs offered out there, most of them require working Windows in a very involving way (not looking for a flame-war.) I'm a developer (well, CS student at the moment) by the way and you don't get that many opportunities out there to develop software in Linux and actually get paid for it (I like money.)

So what would you do? Would you go back to Windows in order to stand a chance at nailing a job out there so that you could get stuff or stick to an ideal that may or may not pay the bills?

P.S.: Yes, I know that there are opportunities out there to make money off of open source, but like I said I'm just starting out and as such it would be exceedingly difficult to land a job at a company doing development on a Linux box.

[poofyhairguy]

So what would you do? Would you go back to Windows in order to stand a chance at nailing a job out there so that you could get stuff or stick to an ideal that may or may not pay the bills?


I would go back to Windows. There is nothing wrong with being a Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hide- the evil Linux side can come out at night at your home.

Personally this nerd is running away from programming. My cousin recently lost a really good job developing software for HP and it was a wake-up call for me. Was she a bad worker? Did she make a huge mistake? No....her job got outsourced. I decided I cannot compete against people in places that can live on a percentage of what I can.

So next year I plan to go to law school. I will study IP law- I will specialize in open source and GNU licences. That is a job that can't be outsourced.....and I can have a job related to Linux.

[mstlyevil]

Ok, I've fallen in love with Linux (Ubuntu specifically.) Imo it's the greatest and most stable operating system out there (keep the Unix nuts at bay, I don't want to start a flame-war.) However! What about getting a job? Looking at the different jobs offered out there, most of them require working Windows in a very involving way (not looking for a flame-war.) I'm a developer (well, CS student at the moment) by the way and you don't get that many opportunities out there to develop software in Linux and actually get paid for it (I like money.)

So what would you do? Would you go back to Windows in order to stand a chance at nailing a job out there so that you could get stuff or stick to an ideal that may or may not pay the bills?

P.S.: Yes, I know that there are opportunities out there to make money off of open source, but like I said I'm just starting out and as such it would be exceedingly difficult to land a job at a company doing development on a Linux box.

Many companies need people that are proficient in both so I say learn both and work on both. Then you might have a leg up on those guys that only do Windows.

[YourSurrogateGod]

I would go back to Windows. There is nothing wrong with being a Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hide- the evil Linux side can come out at night at your home.
Yes, I've done that already.

Ideally I'd like to move myself and my work over to Linux in the future, but for the moment I'll be in windows. Please don't hate me :( .

[YourSurrogateGod]

Many companies need people that are proficient in both so I say learn both and work on both. Then you might have a leg up on those guys that only do Windows.
True, but when it comes just development, I don't see too much of it being done in Linux. Much of the work is being done in .NET for consulting jobs.

[bored2k]

So what would you do? Would you go back to Windows in order to stand a chance at nailing a job out there so that you could get stuff or stick to an ideal that may or may not pay the bills?

When I think I'm ready to get a job (once College cools down a bit || I graduate), I don't plan to let my ideals get over my head and refuse a job just because I would not be using Linux. Like you wisely say, we need to pay bills, and since no one in Linux camp is paying me to use it, I plan to use whatever pays me. Although I greatly love Linux, I wouldn't mind working for a company which forces me to use Windows. Heck, I'd love to work for Microsoft.

C#, .NET? Bleh, whatever pays me.

[YourSurrogateGod]

Heck, I'd love to work for Microsoft.
Heathen :) .

[bored2k]

Heathen :) .
Heh. Still, although I'd love to stick with the Linux boat (and most likely will, at least at $HOME), I wouldn't have a problem with working on a Windows box, like many here do. Of course, if the company uses Windows and I know I can do my job of linux, obviously I'd convince them to let me be.

[mstlyevil]

Heh. Still, although I'd love to stick with the Linux boat (and most likely will, at least at $HOME), I wouldn't have a problem with working on a Windows box, like many here do. Of course, if the company uses Windows and I know I can do my job of linux, obviously I'd convince them to let me be.

Maybe you can take what you learn from Linux and use it to make Windows better for the consumer when you get that high paying position of picking up Steve Balmers thrown chairs. :)

[fuscia]

many people can't even get a job in their field. be picky when you have the oppurtunity to be picky.

[YourSurrogateGod]

many people can't even get a job in their field. be picky when you have the oppurtunity to be picky.
Wise words... I know what you mean, hence my dilemma.

Oh well, it doesn't seem that I won't be able to do what my employer says during the day and then do some Linux development after work.

[mstlyevil]

Feed the family first is what I believe. Besides you can still contribute to the community on your own time and who knows, you might figure out a way to develop for your employer in Linux and make converts out of them.

[bored2k]

Maybe you can take what you learn from Linux and use it to make Windows better for the consumer when you get that high paying position of picking up Steve Balmers thrown chairs. :)
"There is no knowledge that is not power."

[mstlyevil]

I have thought about making a carrer switch to IT. I was wondering what I would need to learn and what kind of training is required. Would I need tech school or an associates or do they require a bachelors degree. I build my own computers so learning hardware issues and configuration is no problem. I install and maintain my OS's so I am sure that helps somehow. (No calling Geek Squad for me.)

[YourSurrogateGod]

"There is no knowledge that is not power."
Hmm... now if you get into Microsoft and have Ubuntu take over from within by converting their employees ;) ...

/a plan is hatched...
//adjusts tin-foil hat...

[bored2k]

I'd just try and stealthly make sure everyone within a 100 meter radius of me knows that Windows is not the only and definitive option. We don't know what lies beyond the second that just passed, so I don't think we can't afford not taking jobs just because we would not be using Linux. Linux is not a religion, it's an OS, and yes, maybe even a way of life. But last time I checked, my check for using it had not arrived yet.

[bored2k]

Heh. Even the guy that got me into this Linux "thing" changed his job (on which he used and administered Linux servers) to a higher paying one, which makes him use software written for Windows, and since he's a "networking" guy, there's not much he can do to make them make their software for Linux. I think that was the real awakener for me. We can't be zealous enough as to not pay our bills just for not working for a company other than a UNix-oriented one.

[briancurtin]

why does what operating system you use personally, have an effect on getting a job? it doesnt as far as i know, and my dad, a hiring manager at a top investment bank does not care one bit about what you use in your personal time for computing. it shouldnt matter at all actually.

im looking to get a job for a certain company and one of their 3 big locations is in stamford, where YourSurrogateGod is from. its the same investment bank my dad works for actually. they are one of microsoft's biggest customers, second i think, and i will continue to use linux in my personal computing even if i was to work there, or anywhere actually. they have loads of unix/linux/solaris stuff though, and i worked there this past summer as an intern and my web application was done in tomcat with JSP and java on a linux server, but i did the work in windows through putty. i know windows and linux well enough to do work in both, and i think thats a beneficial thing, but it also depends on the size of the company. the company is 67,000 people, so they are going to have lots of systems. if you work for a 200 person company, they might be 100% windows, but that still should not stop you from using linux in your personal life.

[lotusleaf]

if you work for a 200 person company, they might be 100% windows, but that still should not stop you from using linux in your personal life.

A long time ago, people lived their values and philosophies. Now they're expected to shove those things into a mental shoebox and take them out when they're done helping to aid world changing companies with different goals.

Open source means many things, and as demonstrated in an issue of Wired magazine, it also includes Amish barn raising. Open source will survive, but it won't change the world like it could if people didn't place money above all else.

No wonder history has so few Gandhis.