what linux programmmers/ developers do for a living ?

[medya]

hey guys ,
I am a linux blogger, and sometimes I do programming for linux softwares and working on the linux bugs ...

I never make anything out of my posts ، currently I am a comptuer student in iran, I wonder what other programmers do for a living,
how do u make money ?

after I graduate and get my degree do u think there is a way to make money and live ?

[Bölvaður]

Some work fulltime on the linux kernel for companies like IBM. A guy that contributes to ubuntu by making sure laptops work with ubuntu works at nokia.

[medya]

what else ?
by your idea what are the most wanted computer jobs ?
what skills should I focus more on them , and where I can find jobs?

[Tomosaur]

I am a software engineer developing software for Windows.

[medya]

I am a software engineer developing software for Windows.

can you tell me where do u find job ?
and do u make enough money to live ?
is your job easy ?
what kind of thiugs u can do ? programming or what ?

[Bölvaður]

I see that you are from Kurdistan. I guess there are not as many companies fighting for computer engineers that are on last year in university there as in my country.

What I have been seeing in Pakistan and India is that they have good coders that are working for software firms all over the world to make classes and functions that the software firms dont want to code them selfs.

So I guess you would have to become elite programmer, or at least, not be an amateur one.

I have been checking out job offers and saw one time EA gaming looking for students to join their school. It is a software school for the EA software company where people are trained before they can use you.... you could try look for it.

[medya]

how to become elite programmer ?

[Bölvaður]

you could find tutorials on how to program in some programming language that is wildly used, perhaps C++. Then when you have good enough skills to use it well, you could find some open source project to contribute to, which uses C++.

It can be very useful to point out what open source projects you have worked on when applying for a job.


btw you asked about how easy it is to be a programmer. I would say it is difficult, but it probably depends on how good you are. I'm not going to be working as a programmer even though I can code. Others are just way better at it, so I'll just stick with my user interaction part of the projects :KS

[medya]

what is user interaction ? :D

[medya]

so isnt anything esle in computer which is well-paid than programming ?

[earthpigg]

you should convince the Iranian government to switch over to FOSS in order to ensure Iran's national security, and then become the Minister of Software - does Windows have a kill switch with the American President's finger on it? who knows?

We know they Microsoft can remotely disable the desktop background on millions of Chinese computers with Windows, however.... and Microsoft is an American company, bound by American laws and executive orders and such.

=)

[medya]

still didnt get my answers,
what are the jobs for a guy with computer-degree ,
what skills should I learn to work in America and be well paid what are example jobs?

[medya]

I saw some websites full of Jobs for coders, but u had to buy the jobs ,
a friend told me they are scams !
is there any TRUSTED site full of jobs for coders ?
do you use any of them ?

[medya]

so noone really answered my question ,,, whhat linux geeks do for a living ?

[dmn_clown]

so noone really answered my question ,,, whhat linux geeks do for a living ?

It is not a good time to be looking for programming work in the US. Sun just announced the layoff of 6,000. AMD is laying off close to 1/4 of its workforce, Intel will slow down and probably announce layoffs in the coming months. IBM is slowing. The list goes on...

Granted, you can always find a gas station or grocery store that is hiring and code in your free time, just don't expect to find a linux development job at this particular time :)

[medya]

but when I wanted to choose computers as my field, everyone said, Guys in IT have highest Salary !
now after 3 years , you are telling me I better go and work in gas station ?

[dmn_clown]

but when I wanted to choose computers as my field, everyone said, Guys in IT have highest Salary !
now after 3 years , you are telling me I better go and work in gas station ?

Programming work will always be the first to be outsourced (Or crowd-sourced in the case of Sun). If you want to work with Linux you will want to look into admin jobs, not development. Network and System administration are the most difficult jobs to outsource because they often require being on site.

That is not to say that you can't develop FOSS, just don't expect to find a paying job for doing so. :)

[medya]

so the majority of the linux geeks here, get money from charity or work in gas station or live like a homeless poor man?

[Bölvaður]

He is living in a country where projects get outsorced to... well perhaps india is getting the most attention but still...

You should write an email or ask some one at your local university, they should know the market in your country much better than anyone on this forum.

But dmn_clown was correct, the only good jobs are management jobs, but only if you have high standards. Similarly you can say that you should try to own a company that is making very innovative products that are popular, so you can afford fuel for your private jet.