Clearly, the 2010 IT Salary Guide reveals that average starting salaries are suffering a rough patch. It's a bit grim to look at the list of IT salaries and see numbers that have fallen since last year: database administrator, down 4.1%; systems administrator, down 2.8%; IT manager, down 2.4%. Factoring in inflation, these modest declines represent true budget discomfort.

You may be hesitant to apply for a new job based on your "volunteer" open source skills. Don't be. As techie hiring managers explain, listing open source experience on your resume makes you more appealing, not less so.

"The FSF is hiring a campaigns manager to be part of the team that runs DefectiveByDesign and PlayOgg, helps coordinate the GNU Project, and generates new campaign ideas. This is an opportunity to take a leadership role in the organization that sponsors the GNU project, publishes the GPL, and fights for software freedom..."

Will a Linux certification help you get a Linux job? The answer is: "Probably."

"This is an opportunity to work for the organization that sponsors the GNU project, publishes the GPL, and fights for software freedom..."

At one point in time and not too very long ago, I fancied myself a decent system administrator with a decent resume and work history. When I finished a series of writing tasks working on technology subjects that included system administration, I thought the time had come for me to work in a shop with Linux and MS.

Take a look: Dice, the tech jobs site, reports that it had 9,631 Linux job listings in August. While this is a big number, what’s truly eye-catching is the percentage growth since January: Linux job listing are up a robust 30 percent – three times the increase of overall tech job listings. (Since January, Dice job listings have grown by 10.2 percent, to a total of 96,548 tech jobs.)