Linux Means More Opportunities -- for Retraining

Computerworld - IT staffers at The Sherwin-Williams Co., which began converting its Unix-based systems to Turbolinux last year, found learning the Linux operating system to be a relatively painless experience, says Wade Young, manager of application development at the Cleveland-based paint company.
"Moving to Linux required fine-tuning rather than totally reworking our knowledge base," says Young. "There aren't major differences between the operating systems."
A new operating system that's easily learned is cost-effective, another reason why Linux adoption is rising. Framingham, Mass.-based IDC expects spending on Linux operating environments to increase from $80 million in 2001 to $280 million by 2006, with a 28% compound annual growth rate. The operating system also has solid footholds in government and the retail and finance industries.
But for the IT professional, the ease of learning Linux has drawbacks. Instead of creating jobs in a still-slow employment climate, it appears that Linux is enabling companies to fairly quickly retrain existing personnel in the operating system.
At Sherwin-Williams, which worked with IBM consultants to roll out Turbolinux, one person was hired. But Young says the fact that the person had Linux experience wasn't a major factor in the hiring decision. In fact, though the company is now a Linux shop, Linux skills still aren't a hiring prerequisite.
"We'd look for a whole host of development skills and business knowledge," says Bill Thompson, director of IT at Sherwin-Williams' paint store group. Furthermore, Thompson says he doubts that Linux skills would merit any salary or bonus premiums.
That may hold true because a big supply pipeline is filling with Linux-skilled talent. Cisco Systems Inc. includes Linux in a fundamental course in its Networking Academy Program, which has 400,000-plus enrollees. Red Hat Inc. has introduced a lower-level Linux certification program and is forming closer relationships with universities and high school technical training programs, says Peter Childers, vice president of global learning services at the Raleigh, N.C.-based company.
As Linux spreads, it will create more jobs, say its supporters. "Linux lowers the overall cost of computing so IT can solve more business problems," says Daniel Frye, director of IBM's Linux Technology Center.
In the meantime, though, Linux converts such as Brian Dewey at Raymour & Flanigan Furniture Co. in Liverpool, N.Y., say that both their peers as well as new entrants to the IT workforce need to know Linux to be competitive -- but that it's too early to specialize only in Linux.
"I still deal with Windows every single day," says Dewey, who is trained and certified in Novell andMicrosoft network technologies. "You can't run away from the marketplace reality."
Watson is a freelance writer in Chicago. Contact her at sjwatson@interaccess.com.