Thinking about pursuing a career in open source? There couldn’t be a better time to do so than now. Based on the most recent Open Source Jobs Report, demand for open source technology skills continues to rise, with some companies even offering additional training and certification opportunities to current employees in order to fulfill skills requirements.
The Open Source Jobs Report is an annual report produced and released by leading tech and engineering careers site Dice, in partnership with the Linux Foundation. It focuses on open source career trends and this year, has found there to be more of a demand for open source skills than ever. The report has shown that 87 percent of hiring managers are currently having trouble finding open source talent, with open source talent being the top priority for 83 percent of employers, an increase from 76 percent last year.
Most Sought-After Skills
These trends are certainly consistent with the current state of open source in software development. Walk into any technology trade show today and you’re most certainly going to find companies that aren’t just hungry, but starving for people with open source skills. Open source software has penetrated practically every area of technology, with more and more companies recognizing it as the best way to move forward with their business.
According to the Report 80 percent of hiring managers are looking for Linux skills, the most in-demand skill by far and an expected one even for entry-level open source careers. This isn’t at all surprising considering that most cloud and container technologies as well as DevOps practices typically run on Linux. Demand for these skills is followed by demand for cloud technology experts at 64 percent; container expertise at 57 percent (more than double the percentage it was last year); security and web technologies at 49 percent; and networking at 46 percent.
Some hiring managers (34 percent) are also looking for professionals who are adept at open source licensing and compliance issues.
Filling In the Skills Gap
Because of the demand for open source-skilled developers and the apparent difficulty to procure them as much as 55 percent of employers are now offering to pay for employee certifications, an increase from 47 percent in the previous year. Over 70 percent are now using incentives such as more vacation time and flexible work hours to lure open source talents. Some companies (48 percent) have also begun to support open source projects for the explicit reason of recruiting individuals with those specific skills.
Despite increasing demand for open source skills however, hiring managers are moving away from hiring outside consultants, preferring to train existing employees on new open source technologies. This benefits both company and employees as it gives companies greater security, established experts in their existing systems, and slightly less expense; while giving current employees added skills and certifications.
Seizing Greater Career Opportunities
So what does all this information mean for you as a tech professional? Obviously, it means that now is a great time to kickstart a career in open source software development; and if you haven’t gained any open source skills, then it’s about time you got started. You can start by making small contributions to open source projects, and seeking out open source training and certification opportunities online. If gaining more open source skills is currently out of the question however, you should at least be open to getting additional training in the future, and let potential employers know.
The annual Open Source Jobs Report produces data that is gathered from more than 750 hiring managers from various agencies, businesses and government organizations all over the world, along with responses from over 6,500 open source professionals worldwide. To learn more, visit https://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/2018/06/open-source-jobs-report-2018/