[OSGeo-Discuss] Re: " GRASS not in demand, says PennState"

[Alex Mandel]

On 10/27/2010 05:50 AM, Tim Michelsen wrote:
>>> Are you seeing positions requiring knowledge of open source software such as
> GRASS?
>>
>> Two of the panelists answered.  One said
>>
>>> More generally, the ability to create custom software solutions - whether
> proprietary or open source or a
>> combination of the two - is in high demand.
>>
>> which is a good, healthy response.  But the other said
>>
>>> Not seeing positions posted with GRASS.
> Please, both users, academia and industry need to see that it's not about a
> particular software product.
> In the end it countshow efficient I can get a particular job done and how
> accurate the results are.
> 
> FOSS stuff is great for teaching because they allow to understand the ideas
> behind both by sound combination of different tools and looking into the
> development life cycle (bug discussions, maillist, code). students can do their
> own work without licese headaches and also achive tracability of the results.
>  

I agree, I don't think the question was asked in the most appropriate
way to gauge the influence of Open Source in geospatial Academia.

For example a recent job post forwarded to OSGeo-Edu
http://osgeo-org.1803224.n2.nabble.com/web-mapping-and-open-source-GIS-part-time-lecturer-at-Clark-U-spring-2011-td5638913.html#a5638913

Open Source credentials clearly part of the mix. I would also note that
the number of positions that specifically ask for Arc Teaching is
relatively low compared to the total number of positions advertised in
the field.

Thanks,
Alex