High demand pushes Linux salaries higher

Good news for Linux professionals (administrators and developers):

High Demand Pushes Linux Salaries Higher

2013 Linux Jobs Report: Pressing Need for Linux Talent | The Linux Foundation

2013 Linux Jobs Forecast: Pressing Need for Linux Talent | The Linux Foundation

Private clouds driving up Linux uptake in Australia: IDC | ZDNet (Australia)

Time to hone our Linux skills

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Comments

lsud00d

I like articles like these

demonfurbie

same here

i know linux well but not certed up, i guess its finally time i look at the RHCE

linuxlover

Me too, this makes me choose my career path even easier.

lsud00d

I'm still undecided about going RHCE/RHCSA/LPIC-2/3 or branch out to VCP or CCNA/CCNA:S next.

tpatt100

Makes sense as data centers grow and companies look for different solutions. One of the links mentions some companies are willing to grow the talent in house and that is something that is important to make a note of. Sometimes your coworkers might not want to learn something new so that is a good opportunity to volunteer if you are interested. I think I would rather learn in a company that knows I am learning vs being hired and my skill level and their expectations are much higher.

N2IT

I work for a monolith of a company and we recently went to one Linux print server inlieu 9 Windows print servers. They're thinking about making some other changes as well in the direction of Linux. Linux is gaining serious traction.

Master Of Puppets

That really is good news!

danny069

The Penguin is moving fast

lsud00d

N2IT wrote: »

I work for a monolith of a company and we recently went to one Linux print server inlieu 9 Windows print servers. They're thinking about making some other changes as well in the direction of Linux. Linux is gaining serious traction.

That is seriously awesome and representative of linux's ability to maximize efficiency while minimizing resources!

WafflesAndRootbeer

lsud00d wrote: »

That is seriously awesome and representative of linux's ability to maximize efficiency while minimizing resources!

Not really. Nine servers were not required when a single one could have done it to begin with and it has nothing to do with Windows vs Linux as a single Windows print server can easily handle a huge number of printers on a network when properly configured and installed.

N2IT

lsud00d wrote: »

That is seriously awesome and representative of linux's ability to maximize efficiency while minimizing resources!

The Windows DHCP and DNS boxes were replaced as well with Linux. I'll find out the solution they are using, it's pretty sweet.

lsud00d

WafflesAndRootbeer wrote: »

Not really. Nine servers were not required when a single one could have done it to begin with and it has nothing to do with Windows vs Linux as a single Windows print server can easily handle a huge number of printers on a network when properly configured and installed.

It sounds like a consolidation effort of print servers built out over a period of time. I agree with what you're saying but it's also true that enterprises are moving to linux servers for aforementioned reasons. It depends on the server OS but there can be massive savings over MS.

UnixGuy

WafflesAndRootbeer wrote: »

...as a single Windows print server can easily handle a huge number of printers on a network when properly configured and installed.

you still need to pay money for Windows license. Linux is free, that's the real difference.

tpatt100

UnixGuy wrote: »

you still need to pay money for Windows license. Linux is free, that's the real difference.

Well "free" to an extent if you are willing to spend money to train your employees and keep hiring decent people. I would still pay for official support if I was signing the checks.

The CALs is probably a big part of the cost some companies are taking into consideration.

sratakhin

Linux is not free. The hidden costs come from having to pay more to qualified Linux admins.

demonfurbie

sratakhin wrote: »

Linux is not free. The hidden costs come from having to pay more to qualified Linux admins.

that depends on how many servers you have ... if you have one server yes windows is over all cheaper. however if you have say 200 servers then linux is cheaper

ptilsen

If you have Datacenter on a single physical box with 200 VMs, you pay for one license. In general, Windows is very cost-competitive as you get to high numbers of servers.

There are legitimate reasons to use both, but I haven't seen any hard facts that show Linux is better for consolidating services. The idea that it is somehow superior at consolidating basic infrastructure services (DHCP, DNS, printers) in particular is fallacious. If bandwidth and architecture permit consolidation, then either OS can provide the service. There is no inherent limitation in a single Windows box as far as hosting different DNS zones, DHCP scopes, or printers that isn't present in Linxu. There may well be many reasons for a large organization to move to Linux servers, but I can't seriously believe anyone is doing it to consolidate those basic services, which IMO are easier to work with in Windows anyway.

Getting back on topic, I do think Linux admins are going to absolutely command higher salaries, because Windows is a more popular choice for IT professionals (hence, scarcity), and because Linux has a legitimately higher learning curve. If you have the drive and aptitude to work with Linux professionally, you're not going to struggle. That is not to say you will with struggle with Windows. Both are popular and have lots of need for high-skill professionals to implement and manage them.

paul78

Interesting read - thanks for sharing.

One of the articles cite tco as reason for moving to Linux but I haven't seen that to be the case, at least not in the business that I support. I have the save view as ptilsen. We choose to use Linux and Windows where it's appropriate for the business. But none of my expenses have ever showed Linux to be more cost-effective.

I do have some embedded experience from previous roles and that's really where I see use of Linux as being cost-effective. That's probably where I would expect most of the higher salaries would come from - Linux kernel developers and embedded systems engineers.

W Stewart

That's good to know, I plan to continue working with linux for years to come.

xenodamus

For the other Linux newbs like myself, I've recently discovered www.linuxfromscratch.org and plan to work through the book.

I just started in a new position where Linux know-how would really come in handy. A senior admin on our team recommended the above as a great starting point for anyone interested in REALLY learning how Linux ticks.