[Cialug] Cialug Beginnings

Wed Jul 20 13:58:58 CDT 2011

On Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 1:42 PM, Matthew Nuzum <newz at bearfruit.org> wrote:
> Ah crap. I may have just started a flame war. (Welcome to Linux) In hopes of
> offsetting that, let me just encourage you to seek input from multiple
> people then follow your heart. ;-)

Actually, most people are asking the wrong question when they ask what
language and/or framework and/or whatever they should learn next (and
the same goes for people that answer these questions).

The RIGHT question to ask/answer is - what project do I find
interesting and would like to contribute to?  Once you've answered
that question (and there's only one person in the universe that can
answer that question), then you figure out what you need to learn to
contribute.

Want to write a Linux kernel driver for that old USB thingamabob that
you have laying around?  You'll need to know C.

Want create a plugin for WordPress?  You'll need to know PHP.

Et certera, et cetera.

The interesting part comes when you want to do something that hasn't
been done before, then start with what you know and only start looking
to learn something different if what you know won't get the job done.

> On Jul 20, 2011 1:37 PM, "Matthew Nuzum" <newz at bearfruit.org> wrote:
>> 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++.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> C as a language represents all that is archaic and old. At least use
>> something object oriented. C++, Java, C# and Go are examples.
>> On Jul 20, 2011 11:38 AM, "Pawel" <pdarowski at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> So a hiring manager would like to hear about some personal projects?
>> Perhaps
>>> one good example of an overcome challenge? I guess it would paint a
>>> decent
>>> picture of the applicant's self-motivation and ability to seek answers.
>>>
>>> Thanks for all your input. I'm beginning to see that the biggest
>>> challenge
>>> of development [in my eyes] is having a vision or finding that
>>> interesting
>>> problem that needs solving. Once it's found, the rest is research and
>>> determination.
>>>
>>> Two more quick question while I still have the floor! :) How important
>>> are
>>> certifications in the real world? And please, what is the "industry
>>> standard" for C certificates? I'm having an impossible time finding a C
>>> cert... And my instructors don't really know of any.
>>>
>>>
>>> See you around,
>>>
>>> Pawel Darowski
>>> PDarowski at gmail.com
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 9:44 AM, Matthew Nuzum <newz at bearfruit.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 5:03 PM, Pawel <pdarowski at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Since I cannot attend meetings for quite some time, perhaps the IRC
>>>>> channel would be a good place to start taking advantage of the
>>>>> knowledge
>>>>> that already exists in this group. My question is: how did some of you
>> start
>>>>> your careers as Linux professionals? My goal is to use Linux in my
>>>>> professional life from Day 1.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I too am usually unable to make it to the meetings. I do about one per
>>>> year. However I still feel reasonably involved with the group by
>>>> participating on the list.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Any tips, stories, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>>>>> Thank you,
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The common thread among the people I've met through this group is that
>>>> we're tinkerers. Find some fascinating problem or challenge and dig into
>> it.
>>>> Back in "the day" the most interesting linux problem was figuring out
>>>> how
>> to
>>>> get it to actually install. This one has been pretty soundly dealt with
>> now
>>>> though. :-)
>>>>
>>>> (in my case I owned only about 5 working floppies and lived off campus
>>>> at
>>>> ISU (near towers) and had to ride my bike to Durham to download 5
>> slackware
>>>> disks, then ride back home to complete the next phase of the install -
>>>> which, btw, is slower than a 14.4k modem)
>>>>
>>>> Some people are financially motivated - they want to run PHP or Ruby or
>>>> a
>>>> server and make websites for money. A huge number of people I've dealt
>> with
>>>> are into Games and want to make their own. You'll not find a more
>>>> diverse
>>>> set of development tools than is available in Linux (check out PyGame).
>> Yet
>>>> others are into robotics or hardware hacking which is yet again very
>>>> well
>>>> suited for Linux. A few people use Linux to hook up to their TV to
>>>> record
>>>> and watch TV shows.
>>>>
>>>> By the way, this kind of activity looks great to potential employers.
>> They
>>>> really like to see people who are problem solves and are self-motivated
>> to
>>>> learn new skills and explore new ways of doing things.
>>>>
>>>> I will say that there are three trends to keep in mind as you're looking
>>>> for interesting challenges:
>>>>
>>>> 1. We're in an increasingly heterogeneous environment - windows, mac os,
>>>> linux, ipads and more all need to talk to each other
>>>> 2. The web is either the most important application deployment platform
>>>> now, or is right up there (this ties into the prev point)
>>>> 3. Mobile is huge (and the number one mobile platform in the world runs
>>>> Linux)
>>>>
>>>> (You asked for opinions...)
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Matthew Nuzum
>>>> newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin and twitter
>>>>
>>>> ♫ You're never fully dressed without a smile! ♫
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
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-- 
Jeff Ollie