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d_riordan
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Location: Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
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 Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2025 1:44 am Post subject: Open Source companies in this ressession |
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I've read here and there that open source companies should do well during this recession, and I believe that they probably will, but I haven't seen any strong evidence to suggest that they are. Have you?
I ask because I may have an interview this week for a position with Red Hat. It's an 'entry level' position, my first foray into IT, and I haven't decided if I'll take it, assuming that it's offered. One thing working against it is that my current job, as much as I'm not so pleased with it, is recession resistant; the company has orders on the books for close to the next two years. In this economy, I'd rather not sign up with somebody if I'm likely to get laid off in a few months.
Your thoughts, please.
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pbharris
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2025 4:43 am Post subject: |
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| dang - i would probably wiegh the pros & cons. redhat would be nice to work for - but it would be scary. if i had a family i would err on the side of caution.
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crouse
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2025 9:19 am Post subject: |
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| I'd have to second what pbharris said. If I was single..... it would be a no brainer, but with my family, it would make me definately do some thinking before I jumped ship.
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d_riordan
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Location: Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2025 10:02 am Post subject: |
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Well, I'm single - and still doing some thinking. I guess I'm a pretty conservative guy by nature.
I just news.googled (is that an appropriate verb?) them and came up with this, which allays my fears somewhat.
Has anybody seen any bad news about them?
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masinick
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Joined: 03 Apr 2025
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Location: Concord, NH
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2025 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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| d_riordan wrote: | Well, I'm single - and still doing some thinking. I guess I'm a pretty conservative guy by nature.
I just news.googled (is that an appropriate verb?) them and came up with this, which allays my fears somewhat.
Has anybody seen any bad news about them? |
If the Westford, MA Red Hat office has jobs, I may look there myself. Most interested in Project Management, but I would consider most anything with a solid future. I like Red Hat a lot. They are, to me, the number one open software server vendor and a strong advocate of software freedom, one of the few COMPANIES that sticks to that position and has come up with effective ways of selling their value added products and services. |
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masinick
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Joined: 03 Apr 2025
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Location: Concord, NH
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| Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2025 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Apparently there are at least a few product management positions in the Westford, MA Red Hat office. I am quite interested in them, but I suspect that since things have taken a nose dive, Red Hat has been inundated with resumes. I want to keep a close eye on how they are doing. I would enjoy working for them very much, and Westford is a very doable commute for me - a lot closer than Boston, and it's easy since Route 3 was widened, both in Nashua, NH and in Massachusetts, going right through Westford. I'd say that the Westford office is 45-50 minutes away, depending on the time and traffic conditions. Compared to the 2 hour+ Boston trips, that is nice, plus I've always liked the way Red Hat does business. |
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BrionS
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Location: Rochester, NY
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| Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2025 12:24 pm Post subject: |
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First thing I've learned about a company's wellbeing is don't look at the stock market - especially now. It's emotionally driven, not rationally driven. Look at RedHat's latest SEC filings (fun read I know) but that spells out their profit/losses and other financial status that is a much better indicator of company health than someone's idea of what their stock should sell for.
Also, in my experience RedHat is very strong in the business server arena - between RedHat and SuSE they probably control about 80-90% of the Linux server market with RedHat being first in the game (in the U.S.) though last I saw SuSE was making headway and possibly overtaking RedHat in the Linux server market.
My point is, my impression of RedHat is that it's doing well and that it will probably benefit from this recession because they can charge less for their server OS than Microsoft can or will, and Linux is a proven server OS.
If it were me in your situation (no family to tie you down to one place), I would read up on RedHat's financials to make myself feel more confident about the company's future, and then I would think about my current job - it's safe, but is it interesting? Would this new job enhance my life or simply shift it from one location to another, or worse degrade my situation?
These are the things I'd think on. Good luck!
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d_riordan
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Location: Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
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| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 1:43 am Post subject: |
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A belated update: I didn't get the interview.
From the e-mail:
| Quote: | | We got your application in the middle of a round of interviews. As of yesterday offers have been made for the two open positions. I'd rather not take up more of your time unless one of the jobs opens up. I should know in a few days whether both slots have been filled. |
Oh, well. At least I know that my resume may be worth looking at. I'm sure I'll have another shot. Maybe not with RedHat, but with somebody.
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BrionS
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| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Standard practice is to keep your resume on file for at least 6 months. Maybe something else will turn up.
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crouse
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JP
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| Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2025 4:46 am Post subject: |
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| BrionS wrote: | | Standard practice is to keep your resume on file for at least 6 months. Maybe something else will turn up. |
That may be the standard practice in IT, but in Grocery stores, I guess it's different ....... I applied to Albertson's for a bag-boy job to supplement my SS, but never heard an answer. I talked to the manager this past week, and he said that if I didn't do well on the final portion of the application, it would have been "round-filed" (thrown in the trash) immediately. I asked what the final portion was, as I didn't remember anything special about the questionaire, and he said it was the questions about how well you got along in grade school, Jr. high, and High school, etc. I said that was almost 50 years ago, what does that have to do with getting a job in this day and age ...... he just shrugged and walked away .... another way for employers to discriminate for age .... I don't hardly remember how well I got along in High school, much less in Jr. High and grade school    
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BrionS
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d_riordan
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Location: Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
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| Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2025 3:16 pm Post subject: |
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| crouse wrote: | | All i can tell you is to keep sending out those resumes, and that it NEVER hurts to keep looking. Your in a much better position to look if your already employed. You have alot more leverage. In this economy, I'd be pretty picky about where I went. |
Thanks for the words of wisdom, Crouse. I am in a pretty good spot right now, all things considered, so I'm not heartbroken about this. (Though, RedHat would have been a realy great place to start out.) But I'll keep looking, and in the mean time, I'll keep learning.
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masinick
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| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2025 2:55 am Post subject: |
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I was kind of hoping that I could land a spot at Red Hat, but I had not heard a word. Theirs were the only opportunities that I have seen with my skill set in the area, until today, when a half dozen potential opportunities popped up - I jumped on them, but probably so did a bunch of other people.
Hope that I can somehow differentiate myself from the pack; not easy to do. Somehow you have to make yourself visible, network, get to know someone. Easy to say, not so easy to do. |
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d_riordan
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Location: Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2025 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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| masinick wrote: | | Hope that I can somehow differentiate myself from the pack; not easy to do. Somehow you have to make yourself visible, network, get to know someone. Easy to say, not so easy to do. |
I think what got their attention in my case is the fact that I drove to the site and handed them my resume in person. That and a good cover letter explaining how eager I was to work for such a fine FOSS company was certainly different from the masses of resumes they see via the net - which is where you're supposed to submit it.
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