<p>C is becoming a niche skill these days. It implies only three industries I know of: driver/kernel development, embedded development (we're arguably in the post C world here too) and algorithm/library/high performance computing world. At the least, many have moved on to c++.</p>
<p>I'm getting back to opinionated ground, but I don't usually encourage people to start out with old technology. The stuff that's bleeding edge today will be entering mainstream in 3-4 years and be in demand.</p>
<p>C as a language represents all that is archaic and old. At least use something object oriented. C++, Java, C# and Go are examples.<br>
</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Jul 20, 2011 11:38 AM, "Pawel" <<a href="mailto:pdarowski@gmail.com">pdarowski@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution">> So a hiring manager would like to hear about some personal projects? Perhaps<br>
> one good example of an overcome challenge? I guess it would paint a decent<br>> picture of the applicant's self-motivation and ability to seek answers.<br>> <br>> Thanks for all your input. I'm beginning to see that the biggest challenge<br>
> of development [in my eyes] is having a vision or finding that interesting<br>> problem that needs solving. Once it's found, the rest is research and<br>> determination.<br>> <br>> Two more quick question while I still have the floor! :) How important are<br>
> certifications in the real world? And please, what is the "industry<br>> standard" for C certificates? I'm having an impossible time finding a C<br>> cert... And my instructors don't really know of any.<br>
> <br>> <br>> See you around,<br>> <br>> Pawel Darowski<br>> <a href="mailto:PDarowski@gmail.com">PDarowski@gmail.com</a><br>> <br>> On Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 9:44 AM, Matthew Nuzum <<a href="mailto:newz@bearfruit.org">newz@bearfruit.org</a>> wrote:<br>
> <br>>> On Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 5:03 PM, Pawel <<a href="mailto:pdarowski@gmail.com">pdarowski@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>>><br>>>><br>>>> Since I cannot attend meetings for quite some time, perhaps the IRC<br>
>>> channel would be a good place to start taking advantage of the knowledge<br>>>> that already exists in this group. My question is: how did some of you start<br>>>> your careers as Linux professionals? My goal is to use Linux in my<br>
>>> professional life from Day 1.<br>>>><br>>><br>>> I too am usually unable to make it to the meetings. I do about one per<br>>> year. However I still feel reasonably involved with the group by<br>
>> participating on the list.<br>>><br>>><br>>>><br>>>> Any tips, stories, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.<br>>>> Thank you,<br>>>><br>>><br>>> The common thread among the people I've met through this group is that<br>
>> we're tinkerers. Find some fascinating problem or challenge and dig into it.<br>>> Back in "the day" the most interesting linux problem was figuring out how to<br>>> get it to actually install. This one has been pretty soundly dealt with now<br>
>> though. :-)<br>>><br>>> (in my case I owned only about 5 working floppies and lived off campus at<br>>> ISU (near towers) and had to ride my bike to Durham to download 5 slackware<br>>> disks, then ride back home to complete the next phase of the install -<br>
>> which, btw, is slower than a 14.4k modem)<br>>><br>>> Some people are financially motivated - they want to run PHP or Ruby or a<br>>> server and make websites for money. A huge number of people I've dealt with<br>
>> are into Games and want to make their own. You'll not find a more diverse<br>>> set of development tools than is available in Linux (check out PyGame). Yet<br>>> others are into robotics or hardware hacking which is yet again very well<br>
>> suited for Linux. A few people use Linux to hook up to their TV to record<br>>> and watch TV shows.<br>>><br>>> By the way, this kind of activity looks great to potential employers. They<br>>> really like to see people who are problem solves and are self-motivated to<br>
>> learn new skills and explore new ways of doing things.<br>>><br>>> I will say that there are three trends to keep in mind as you're looking<br>>> for interesting challenges:<br>>><br>>> 1. We're in an increasingly heterogeneous environment - windows, mac os,<br>
>> linux, ipads and more all need to talk to each other<br>>> 2. The web is either the most important application deployment platform<br>>> now, or is right up there (this ties into the prev point)<br>>> 3. Mobile is huge (and the number one mobile platform in the world runs<br>
>> Linux)<br>>><br>>> (You asked for opinions...)<br>>><br>>> --<br>>> Matthew Nuzum<br>>> newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin and twitter<br>>><br>>> ♫ You're never fully dressed without a smile! ♫<br>
>><br>>><br>>><br>>> _______________________________________________<br>>> Cialug mailing list<br>>> <a href="mailto:Cialug@cialug.org">Cialug@cialug.org</a><br>>> <a href="http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug">http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug</a><br>
>><br>>><br></div>