From ‘Linux HR’ files:
A new study set to be released by career website Dice.com and the Linux Foundation paints a very rosy picture of the Linux job market.
Now the fact that the Linux Foundation is involved in this study means that it could potentially be seen as self-serving (but hey what PR isn’t), but the trends are unmistakable. The survey found that the vast majority (81%) of companies were going to making hiring Linux people a priority for 2012.
Now digging a layer deeper, only 47 percent actually noted that they expect to add more Linux people to their staff in early 2012.
While the demand for Linux skills is high, on the flip side there is a gap. The report found that 85 percent of respondents had a hard time filling their Linux jobs.
That’s shocking to me. Linux is not new, the skills are out there, so it’s either a case of just too much demand or perhaps a need for paper certs (which to be fair aren’t always as common, since so many Linux pros are self-taught, I know I am…).
So hey, if you are out there and need a job, or know someone that does (and sadly don’t we all?) – tell them about Linux.
“In the last ten years, there’s been no tech skill that matches Linux in terms of growth in hiring requests and size of demand and clearly it’s not done,” said Alice Hill, Managing Director, Dice.com. “The best Linux candidates have options and we need more talented professionals to join the community. Linux is simply a core skill for anyone pursuing a career in software development or systems administration.”
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.