On Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 5:37 PM, Grant Ingersoll <gsing...@apache.org> wrote: > One of the things I've noticed in my day job, which is admittedly > self-selecting since I work for a company that engages with people deploying > open source, is that I routinely hear, how shall I say it, more enjoyment > from the developers in their work as compared to the old days when they > worked on a proprietary equivalent, and I think it even holds true when > working on "troubleshooting" engagements where something is broken. Since, > most of us here likely work on open source, I'm curious as to what others > think? Are devs who work on or use open source happier in their day jobs? > And I don't just mean committers/contributors here, I mean people who are > using the software to solve some bigger problem for their company and who may > never do anything more than ask a question on a mailing list from time to > time. Has anyone seen _independent_ studies that say one way or the other? > (References please.) I do think, that some of the answer depends on the > quality of the software they are working on (just as it likely does when > working on proprietary software), so perhaps I should separate out what could > be called hobbyist open source versus open source that has a large community > of followers (regardless of license) like Linux, ASF projects, Eclipse, etc. > Therefore, assuming two different pieces of software, one being proprietary > and one being open, both of which will solve the problem, are developers who > solve the problem with open source happier in their job? > > At any rate, my motivation for asking is that I'm writing an article on some > thoughts in this area spurred by something a client told me (at a very old, > established company, mind you) about why they wanted to get the word out that > they were using open source: they felt it would help them attract and retain > developers b/c they would be more satisfied in their jobs b/c they got to > work on innovative open source technologies. >
I have not seen a reason that applies specifically in "geographically challenged" environments, it is that of "solitude". By this I mean that when you are the only expert in a given technology or product in miles around, it is not easy to have meaningful dialogues and learn, boast or just have insider jokes with alike people. This is more common than it looks, and Open Source projects and technologies make easier that your career keeps developing because, literally, you always have people smarter than you on the other side of the (virtual) tether... So there is a trend to cluster together for people in the same trade, and Open Source is a very natural way to "jam" or "rehearse" technical abilities.... Regards Santiago > Thanks for your insights, > Grant > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: community-unsubscr...@apache.org > For additional commands, e-mail: community-h...@apache.org > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: community-unsubscr...@apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: community-h...@apache.org
