Tyler, You know I can't pass up an opportunity to talk about myself. :] I don't have much time because of an impending Friday deadline, but I will share a couple of thoughts with you. I could share more next week if you want.
>From my personal experience, skills as an open source programming can give employees a definite advantage in their career, especially in two types of organizations. The first type of organization is a small organization that can't afford the cost of proprietary software. This can be a huge cost, especially for software that is geared towards specialized professions, and not the mass of typical computer users. Employees with an open source skill set can offer solutions to this type of organization that wouldn't otherwise be possible. For example, we are able to use an enterprise database system and GIS software at my surveying and engineering company that are open source because of the skill set that a coworker and I have acquired, largely on our own time. This isn't software that my company would have purchased from a commercial vendor. The second type of organization is one in which a specialized trade or profession is practiced. These organizations are often not served by the "out-of-the-box" software that is suitable for more generic types of businesses. Any type of programming skills, including open source programming skills, enables an employee to develop custom solutions that assist their organization. These applications are generally better suited to the specialized tasks because they are written by an individual with a unique knowledge of the "problem domain". This is not typically something you get from software developed by a third party. For example, I'm in the process of developing a tool that will process thousands of points collected during the course of a bathymetric survey, something we currently do in a spreadsheet. The tool, when completed, could save my company several man hours and hundreds of dollars on every bathymetric survey we perform. Landon -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 11:12 AM To: OSGeo Discussions Subject: [OSGeo-Discuss] Your open source career Hi everyone, We've probably all heard of the typical business models for open source companies, but I'm working on a few slides for a presentation that highlight the benefit of open source for employees - and would love to hear from some of you. I have some personal examples where open source made me a more valuable employee, and how other colleagues who were into open source were considered invaluable. I also believe the many employers who value open source are able to attract talented staff that "traditional" or "proprietary" employers cannot. Do you have a story about how embracing open source geospatial applications helped broaden the opportunities for your future or helped you bust out of a mundane box? Maybe you learned on your own time and brought your new skills into the office? I'm particularly interested in your personal stories about how open source may have motivated you to grow, learn and extend your career or professional set of tools. Anyone want to share? Best wishes, Tyler _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss Warning: Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
