On Sep 23, 2010, at 1:07 PM, Emmanuel Lécharny wrote: > On 9/23/10 5:37 PM, Grant Ingersoll wrote: >> One of the things I've noticed in my day job, which is admittedly >> self-selecting since I work for a company that engages with people deploying >> open source, is that I routinely hear, how shall I say it, more enjoyment >> from the developers in their work as compared to the old days when they >> worked on a proprietary equivalent, and I think it even holds true when >> working on "troubleshooting" engagements where something is broken. Since, >> most of us here likely work on open source, I'm curious as to what others >> think? Are devs who work on or use open source happier in their day jobs? >> And I don't just mean committers/contributors here, I mean people who are >> using the software to solve some bigger problem for their company and who >> may never do anything more than ask a question on a mailing list from time >> to time. Has anyone seen _independent_ studies that say one way or the >> other? (References please.) I do think, that some of the answer depends on >> the quality of the software they are working on (just as it likely does when >> working on proprietary software), so perhaps I should separate out what >> could be called hobbyist open source versus open source that has a large >> community of followers (regardless of license) like Linux, ASF projects, >> Eclipse, etc. Therefore, assuming two different pieces of software, one >> being proprietary and one being open, both of which will solve the problem, >> are developers who solve the problem with open source happier in their job? >> >> At any rate, my motivation for asking is that I'm writing an article on some >> thoughts in this area spurred by something a client told me (at a very old, >> established company, mind you) about why they wanted to get the word out >> that they were using open source: they felt it would help them attract and >> retain developers b/c they would be more satisfied in their jobs b/c they >> got to work on innovative open source technologies. > > Interesting questions. Being somehow an old-timer developer now (45 yo, damn > !), I can tell you that working on OSS makes me happier by at least an order > of magnitude :) > > Everything Sylvain said are very valid points, and I share his opinion. > > But I see also extra advantages, probably more related to the fact I'm > working on an ASF project : > - First of all, and it may perfectly well be specific to France, a country > where people value diplomas, and other things like 'he wrote a book on the > subject !', being an ASF developer help you to get a social status in the > development team you are working in. In other words, you are likely to be a > star (that always puzzled me because I'm not better than I was before > starting working on an OSS project, or slightly (thanks to what I have > learned at the ASF !), and also because I was certainly not better than many > of my co-workers who are not involved in OSS).
I was just talking with a friend yesterday, and fellow committer, who said he is a much better programmer since contributing. Of course, it makes sense. If your underwear is on display for all to see, you sure better make sure it is clean! > - As a direct consequence of the previous fact, you don't have to *prove* > yourself when switching from company A to company B. And that's a relief ! In > this world, people are extra cautious (again, may be a cultural bias in > France, where hiring someone can take longer than firing someone, assuming > that it takes usually 3 months at least to fire someone ;) > - Another consequence is that you can still be a developer even if you are > more than 28 yo, which is the deadline here : if you are not a project > manager at 28, you are probably a loser (anyway, those days, we don't develop > in France, we 'manage' developers - well, Indians or youngies - ) > - As France is not specially known as a country where we develop software > (with a few exceptions), being an OSS developer gives you an opportunity to > work on interesting pieces of code, instead of doing code reviews or managing > schedules. > - Last, not least, developers have a very strong ego. It's sometime painful > to have to fight with other developers to push your - valid - point, and > being able to relax and use your 'OSS developer' super power to shutdown an > ego fight is frankly a relief. Of course, as soon as the other peeps find out > that you are not any better, this competitive advantage will vanish, but up > to a point, it will spare you a hell lot of energy ! Interesting... Hadn't heard that one before. -Grant --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: community-unsubscr...@apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: community-h...@apache.org
