[Asterisk-Users] Career Opportunities

[Andrew D Kirch]

Douglas Garstang wrote:
> I've been working with Asterisk for a little while now, and have been looking recently at my next career opportunity. It seems from searching the various job sites that the predominant VOIP technology is not the applications-based open source approach we took, but Cisco, with a really heavy emphasis on the networking (ie network engineer) aspect. If you do a job search for (VOIP or Voice-over-IP or "IP telephony") and you mostly get results for network engineers with lots of Cisco experience.
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> Because Asterisk is a feature-rich solution, my emphasis has been on providing and developing features, applications and systems (ie asterisk, Linux), redundancy, customisation, programming, as well as overall architecture, especially in relation to SIP (and working around all those Asterisk HA limiations!). There of course has also been a networking component as well. On a side note, apparently my current employer tried a Cisco solution before I came along, and I hear all the time how absolute crap is was. Is that how people who have used Asterisk feel about Cisco? Is Cisco that bad? Is it lacking in features? I know we investigated a Sylantro solution and I remember that was pretty nasty.
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> Anyway, based on the absolute dominance of Cisco it almost seems like what I have been doing with Asterisk has been a complete waste of time from a career perspective. I'm not sure how I can use Asterisk to my advantage over Cisco here. Having moved to a small city and working for a CLEC makes finding work outside the city even tougher.
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> I'm wondering if I should have stuck with Unix or SAN admin that was I doing before, and if my recent work with Asterisk has jeopardised my current experience status with my previously used skills.
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> Anyway, just my 2c worth..... other opinions welcome.
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> Doug.
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Doug,

	I currently work as an Asterisk solutions provider and can tell you
that you're absolutely ahead of the curve.  I might suggest two options:
1. start a small asterisk deployment/consultation firm
2. see if there is one already in your area

	I've yet to run into a contract where I was bidding against a Cisco
solution that I didn't win.  Some things to consider (in non geek-speak):
1. Asterisk is based on the Linux Software platform.  Linux is free
(discuss the free as in beer concept and even refer the customer to the
Cathedral and the Bazaar (I generally recommend specific essay's that
are pertinent, instead of forcing them to read the whole thing.  I also
find it effecting to give them links to ESR's website outlining the
advantages of the Open Source model.)  In comparison Cisco Call Manager
is currently based on an unsupported or extended support (depending on
the version of the server OS) Microsoft Operating system which has had
it's source code leaked and is notoriously insecure.  Because of this
Cisco Call Manager's code base is being migrated to Linux.  That means
that in a year or two when you want bright shiny new Call Manager
features you are looking at a total migration which may result or
require that you throw away some or all of the hardware you purchased
from Cisco.
2. Cisco's phone have since the beginning supported Skinny/MGCP.  These
phones and call manager are now being migrated to support SIP.  Asterisk
has supported SIP nearly since it's inception.
3.  Asterisk is an open source open standards platform, there is no
vendor lock-in.  If your customer doesn't like you he or she may toss
your PBX in the street and purchase any PBX which supports the SIP
standard without losing his phones.  Speaking of those phones they may
use any phone they choose.  Most non-Cisco phones are $100-200 less than
the equivalent Cisco phones.



-- 
Andrew D Kirch  |       Abusive Hosts Blocking List      | www.ahbl.org
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