IT jobs scant for college grads, what to do? Open Source of course
College graduates in the IT industry have always found it hard to find that dream job without any formal experience. With most positions needing at least one year’s worth of experience in a particular industry, it leaves the job pool with next to nothing. What other options do you have? Open Source companies are hungry for your knowledge and willing to work with you, if you know where to look.
IT grads are left in a “catch-22″ situation when entering the job market, according to Linux.com. When searching different job seeker websites, most of the thousands of results- even ones for simple entry-level software engineers, requires at least one year of experience in a related field. Most require upwards of 2-4 years depending on the niche and level of the position. Such is not the case in the realm of Open Source technology. Companies like Google and Red Hat offer several opportunities to work with open source projects that are relevant across almost all tech-related industries.
Red Hat is a prime example; they sponsor open-source projects of all kinds, and have seen an increase in projects from 16,000 in 2001 to over 150,000 in 2007. This shows the growing popularity of open-source technology as a whole, and the number of opportunities it creates for entry-level workers. Its philosophy says that while interning at open-source companies during college is always a good idea, it certainly shouldn’t be required to enter the work force.
DeLisa Alexander, senior vice president of Human Capital at Red Hat confirms this belief; “People often get jobs at companies like Red Hat, with no previous relationship to the company. However, interning certainly can assist in opening doors and building relationships that lead to full-time employment,” Alexander says.
Google’s Summer of Code (SoC) is another excellent program for aspiring open-source developers. It provides a “formal sponsorship program” that’s tailored specifically to open-source. In its short 3-year existence, its already brought together more than 1,500 students and 2,000 mentors from 90 countries worldwide. This year along, Google saw some 1,125 student contributors and 175 free and open source projects come together in one place.
I’ve always been a huge proponent for anything open-source for a long time. Sure it provides a good opportunity for people seeking full-time jobs in the industry, but I see the key value as being the aspect of freely available code- and a lot of it. If you understand how it all works, and how to bring it together to create something ground-breaking- why not use it for your own self-stardom as opposed to helping a large company.
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