Muktware (02/15/2012) Swapnil Bhartiya

Of the more than 2,000 hiring managers at corporations, small and medium businesses, government organizations, and staffing firms worldwide polled by the Linux Foundation and Dice, 81% say hiring Linux talent is a priority this year. Linux talent with three to five years of experience is sought by 75% of respondents. However, 85% of respondents say it is somewhat to very difficult to find Linux talent, which observers say should prompt college students to consider Linux as a career. During the first half of 2012, 47% plan to hire more Linux professionals than they did during the last half of 2011.

Linux professionals saw their salaries rise 5% from 2010 to 2011, compared with a 2% increase for other tech professionals. Bonuses for Linux professionals surged 15%. With regard to perks, 37% of employers offer flexible schedules to Linux talent, 30% provide additional training and certification programs, and 28% offer bigger salary increases than the company norm.