If there's a better field to be in than software development,
nobody's talking about it. Software engineers are writing their own
tickets so freely, meter maids are complaining.
"What I tell candidates is, find the right environment for
yourself because you'll make money wherever you go," said Jay
Soshnick, president of Adam
Jordan Associates (Boca Raton, Fla.). Soshnick
said the void of good candidates is so great, he can't begin to
think of filling each of the 100 or so jobs that come across his
desk each week.
That translates into supply-side leverage. "Unless it's a
really hot, emerging company with a lot of marquee value, we need to
really get the interest of a potential candidate," said Soshnick.
Out west, little is different. Neil Sims, managing partner of
Optimum in San Francisco, said the recruiting business for software
engineers is still "frenetic."
"I wouldn't suggest that it's going to change any time
soon," said Sims, the bulk of whose business comes from toddler
firms looking to grow. Pauses from Y2k issues that might be
affecting established companies don't make a dent in these
businesses, said Sims, and they can devote all the necessary
resources toward adding staff.
The revolution always eats its own. It was only a matter of time
before the free-source movement begot by Linus Torvalds succumbed to
the shining lure of the great bull market.
The perversion — er, commercialization — of Linux is now
complete with the news that Red Hat Software Inc. (Research Triangle
Park, N.C.) has announced its plans to go public — and in the
process make many of its employees rich beyond measure. Though it
may be too late to get in on the company's initial public offering,
which was announced in early June, it's not impossible to find work
there.
Red Hat is
looking for a systems engineer with two years of experience in
Linux, an independent software vendor-relations coordinator with
Linux and C savvy, and other jobs for software engineers.
VA Linux
Systems Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.), another "IPO-track"
Linux company, has bundle of openings, including a slot for a senior
software designer with a BS or MS in computer science, OS design
skills and a background in computer systems architecture, interface
design and at least five years of experience in software
development. VA also needs a product designer, a kernel developer, a
software project manager and a person with a strong background in
graphics. On the hardware side, the company is looking for a senior
developer with five or more years of experience in high-performance
microprocessors, interface design, power conversion, SCSI hard disks
and computer systems architecture.
On the pay-for-platform front, jobs abound.
PeopleSoft
Inc. has numerous openings at its Pleasanton, Calif. campus,
including research and development jobs in Web applications and PSBN
component base applications development. The latter post calls for a
person with five years of experience in product-quality development,
as well as two years in server-side Visual Basic and COM components.
Facility with MTS and ADO/OLE is preferred.
PeopleSoft is also seeking help in Vancouver, British Columbia,
in its educational and government products unit. The company has an
opening there for an analyst/developer with Cobol, SOL, HRMS and SAP
on his or her resume.
Mosaix
Inc., which has offices in Alameda, Calif., and Redmond, Wash.,
is also looking for developers. The firm, which creates call
management systems and customer relations software, has about a
half-dozen software engineering openings. Qualified candidates
should have at least two years of experience.
Finally, Utah-based Novell
Inc. has scores of software positions available, mainly in Provo
and Orem, but also in New Jersey and San Jose, Calif. The company,
for example, is looking for about a half dozen software engineering
managers, jobs that require between eight and 10 years of
experience. Novell is also hiring a senior software engineer for its
Advanced Development Group. That post demands between five and eight
years of experience in software design.
