I’m a computer engineering undergrad in my finals and I really don’t care about applying for jobs, there’s so much competition and I hate just about every one of my classmates. I don’t want to spend hours making shitty bloated proprietary software but 99% of jobs seem to be like that. Is it possible to actually make a career in free software, should I just ditch out of tech and pick something else

  • cook_pass_babtridge@programming.dev
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    2 months ago

    I think you should try a few different things out before you judge all software engineering jobs. There’s a big variety.

    As for “making shitty bloated proprietary software” that only really applies to the really big tech companies and banks etc… Most dev jobs are about using code to solve a problem. I’ve worked in lots of small companies and we use open source software almost exclusively. If there’s anything you write that you think could be useful as an open source project, they’ll generally let you spin it out into a standalone library and you can spend some of your working time on that. The company benefits from increased visibility and can be a “thought leader” at conferences etc if it takes off. Definitely worth asking about that in the interview though, since different companies will have different philosophies around it.

  • onlinepersona@programming.dev
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    2 months ago

    Straight up, you need to be good, lucky, tenacious, and driven. There are many good opensource devs out there that have to work in corporate jobs. You might be cut from the right cloth, who knows, but it isn’t going to be a cake walk.

    There’s definitely no shame in going another route and making money doing something else you like. Trade jobs are an option of course and probably well paid too. Unless you’re 60 or older, it’s not too late to switch.

    Honestly though, I’d give it a shot first before quitting altogether. Try and follow your dreams so that at least you will know what it’s like.

    Anti Commercial-AI license

  • Toes♀@ani.social
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    2 months ago

    I don’t want to spend hours making shitty bloated proprietary software but 99% of jobs seem to be like that.

    It sure is. :(

    I really don’t care about applying for jobs

    Unfortunately that’s not going away in any other profession. Unless you’re a unicorn and best friends with the hiring manager.

    I hate just about every one of my classmates.

    Sadly, that’s the biggest boon about going to school is networking with people that can provide you an easy in at their workplace and hopefully life long friendships.

    Your certifications aren’t going to be all that helpful beyond meeting the checklist HR is following.

    Is it possible to actually make a career in free software

    People do make money off free software just look at Patreon. But they are the exception. Kernel development might be a in as well.

    I just ditch out of tech and pick something else

    You’re in it too deep now in my opinion.

    Fortunately database developer roles are in high demand if you can stomach SQL and whatever unique cloud solutions they are invested in.

    Also, if you want to tame a beast COBOL developers are in high demand too.

    If you think robots are cool check out embedded systems.

  • baritone_edge@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    Theoretically.

    You’re going to subsist off donations and side hustling. Which you don’t need a degree for so you’re shooting yourself in the foot by collecting debt.

    There are other smaller tech jobs that may or may not be better for you. I’m thinking dirt pay working at a not-for-profit. You’d be way over qualified and the smartest person in the room, so you’d have a different reason to hate your peers.

    What I’d look in to if I were you are smaller neiche software solutions that you could make yourself and sell as a subscription. They are out there. I wrote a customized solution to a warehouse once. It was stupid easy and I didn’t charge them much for the sub, so it wasn’t really profitable for me. But networking outside the tech industry could prove beneficial if this is your intended route. Maybe make friends with “the life of the party” and go into business together selling custom software solutions.

  • luciole@beehaw.org
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    2 months ago

    A lot of sectors need custom software and some of them have a mission more noble than profits. Government, education, science, culture… IT jobs in non-tech places can be rewarding too and you’ll get to have plenty of colleagues that aren’t your classmates. Being knowledgeable about various open source software can be valuable as well career wise.

  • BakedCatboy@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    You could end up working for a company that develops free software so that’s one way. My company develops an open source science tool and it’s free for anyone to hack on, run their own copy, and use for commercial purposes, but we sell support which usually seems to involve being paid to develop certain features and fix certain bugs, as well as advise on how to keep their system running smoothly.

  • Lee Duna@lemmy.nz
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    2 months ago

    Possible, but it’s really hard to make a living. Just look at lemmy devs, they’re work totally on this project and rely on donations.

  • Tarn Adams seemed to do well with Dwarf Fortress. It was (I think still is even, at least the last version before the Steam release) free until his brother got sick and he worked with some people to create and sell the Steam version to help make money for medical care.

    • RonSijm@programming.dev
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      2 months ago

      The month before Dwarf Fortress was released on Steam (and Itch.io), the brothers Zach and Tarn Adams made $15,635 in revenue, mostly from donations for their 16-year freeware project. The month after the game’s commercial debut, they made $7,230,123

      So about $16k on a 16-year project = $1k a year. He seems to be doing well after the paid release. So not really a success of “free software”

    • kabi@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      free =/= free

      OP means libre software, as opposed to “shitty bloated proprietary software”

      I think the DF creator said he would open source it when he is finished or no longer able to work on it (i.e.: dead), but we’ll see how that goes.

  • magic_lobster_party@kbin.run
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    2 months ago

    If you want to get away from competition, making foss is not the way to go. You’re making a product, and to make a living out of the product you must people must be willing to pay for it. And people won’t pay unless you have a competitive edge.

  • db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 months ago

    It’s extraordinarily difficult to make a living in it unless you luck out and start a project that is extraordinary popular from the get go and even then you have to be more skilled than all the copycats. I’m running the only Foss ai api and I’m barely covering costs even though we have thousands of users 🤷

  • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
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    2 months ago

    I have no experience making free software or even just software for a living. What I do have experience in is making a living in a historically cruel and enshittified industry while staying true to my values.

    So in order of complicatedness (low to high):

    • work at shitty company and make enough
    • work at shitty company and make bank
    • work at less shitty company
    • work self employed for multiple companies
    • make own company that is not shitty