[COLUG] Re: Musing on training, another view

[Brian Miller]

On Monday 01 October 2007 1:53:00 pm Joshua.Kramer wrote:

> Likewise, the mid-sized organizations - "county seat" community hospitals,
> small to mid-size banks, colleges - often don't even have Open Source on
> their radar because all of the people who "know computers" in these areas
> have their MCSE's and that's it.
>
But this will gradually change.  Even though many people had experience with  
Windows when MS launched their server product, it still took some time before 
NetWare was displaced, and for much the same reason.  It took a while before 
the "computer people" could get up to speed on the Windows server (although 
it was somewhat easier to get up to speed on that server, because people were 
using a similar product already on their desktop).  Linux doesn't have that 
dynamic going for it.  This is one reason we need to be pushing Linux in the 
classroom.  If kids graduate from high school (and college) knowing Linux, it 
will migrate into the businesses.  That's one reason UNIX in general migrated 
into businesses--all those college graduates had studied and used it, and 
convinced their new bosses that it was a great investment for the company.

> An interesting side note is that of salary; most of these orgs pay below,
> or far below, going market rates in a Columbus-sized city.  While a
> sysadmin who is experienced in Linux may fetch upwards of $75k in the
> city, it is not unreasonable for such positions to be capped at $55k
> farther out.  Is this because the sysadmin can "sell" these skills easier
> because there is a bigger market for them?  Is it because smaller firms
> don't understand the savings that a qualified OSS admin can attain?  If
> the sysadmin does not have $75k worth of value farther out, can such value
> be created when the sysadmin demonstrates appreciable savings?
>
But most MSCEs further out don't make as much as they could make in Columbus, 
either.  The decrease in salary is more of a geography thing--the cost of 
living is lower, and therefore salaries are lower.  And smaller companies in 
general don't have as much $$ to spend on their "computer people".  I would 
think that most small to medium sized businesses in Columbus won't be paying 
their MSCEs, RHCEs, etc. that $75k either.
 
> Of course, that is all an economics diatribe for now.  But here's a
> specific question: if someone is forming a new company, to be all
> open-source based, how easy would it be to tap the local pool of MCSE-type
> folks and train them on Linux?
>
Why are you so worried about getting MSCE-type people and training them on 
Linux?  Why not find someone with the technical aptitude and get him/her 
trained?   I have a brother-in-law in Logan who refused to work at his 
parents' business when he graduated from high school.  So he got a job at 
another company, and eventually wrote some sort of a database program in 
Basic.  That company runs their business on that database today, although I 
think he had to upgrade the program to Visual Basic a couple of years ago.  
He is self-taught, and his company was willing to let him learn on their 
dime.  Grow your local talent; don't worry about importing it.

Smaller businesses don't usually have a need for high end skills.  They can 
often get by with "learn-as-you-go" administrators.  That's another reason 
they don't pay $75k a year.

With the recent anti-Linux campaign from MS 
(http://certcities.com/editorial/columns/story.asp?EditorialsID=219), more 
and more people will start to hear about Linux.  There are plenty of people 
who aren't moving to Vista (http://computers.tekrati.com/research/9416/, for 
example);  and use of Linux is growing 
(http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070925/earns_red_hat.html?.v=4).  MS always did have 
a good marketing department.  I find it ironic that MS marketing has the 
potential to increase the uptake of Linux.