Open Source Jobs

[daniel]

On October 15, 2004 02:18 pm, Henry Spencer wrote:
> On Fri, 15 Oct 2004, Jing Su wrote:
> > As someone who's in graduate school, I have to agree.  I think that
> > unless you really want to pursue some kind of computer research, it might
> > not even be worthwhile to get a CS degree...
>
> One caution:  if you don't have *a* degree, most any employer large enough
> to have an HR department will have a strong tendency to consign your
> resume to the recycle bin without reading it.  This has nothing to do with
> your real qualifications, and being good won't automatically overcome it.
> This "if you couldn't get a degree you can't be any good" reflex *can* be
> overcome, but people inside the company have to really want you, and even
> so it's often an uphill battle.  In a tight, competitive job market, you
> don't want to start with two strikes against you.

i'd have to disagree here.  while this was the case in my job search in 
ottawa, i've found it to be the complete opposite here in toronto.  both 
companies i've worked for here had little interest in what papers i had, and 
more interest in what i could do.

what scored me the job i have now is a great online portfolio with working 
examples of previous and ongoing work and then a successful interview.  not 
once did anyone ask about "formal training", in fact i had to tell them flat 
out that i've had absolutely none.

'course the job i'm doing might be different from what you're looking for.  
i'm a web developer (php/mysql) and sysadmin (linux) and i've worked at a 
really big porn company and i'm currently at a medium-sized online 
advertising firm.  if you're wanting to work for ibm as a software engineer, 
i would imagine that the screening process would be considerably different.

-- 
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 - River, Firefly, "War Stories"
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