

Ask HN:  Where are all the Python jobs? - j_baker

Alright, I hate to post another "Who's hiring?" thread, but it seems as though Python jobs are suddenly getting a bit hard to come by lately.  Am I just not looking in the right places, or is Python not a very hot skill right now?
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RiderOfGiraffes
My experience is limited (although unusual) and my exposure to the current job
market even more so. However, it's my impression that there are very, very few
"Python jobs." It's becoming more and more the case that multiple skills are
required, and frequently Python is one of them. However, it's common to find
that people are looking for "C++ and Python" or "HTML, Python, SQL and
framework."

We're not hiring at the moment, but we use Python extensively. Even so, if
someone was primarily a Python programmer, without equally strong skills in
something else, we wouldn't be able to hire them.

As I say, strongly biased, unsupported by statistics, random opinion.

~~~
j_baker
What would that "something else" be? For instance, would "Python and SQL" be a
good combination?

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
Again, speaking personally, not for us. We would need "Python and C++" or
"Python and assembler" or "Python and web site management" or "Python and
MatLab." For others, I'm sure "Python and SQL" would be a reasonable
combination.

But perhaps the real point is that "Named Language" only sells to HR
departments. The people who really do the work are looking for people who are
"Smart and Get Things Done(tm)." Listing fluency in only one language seems to
mark a candidate as someone who doesn't program because they want, but program
because they're trained. I've hired someone who couldn't program in any of the
languages we cared about, because he could clearly program in a range of other
languages, and was a natural problem solver.

I recently read a remark (third hand) from a basketball coach. They said: "I
hire tall players. I can teach how to play, but I can't teach height."

Curiousity, puzzle-solving, hacking about, learning, playing withh computers,
these are things that show that you are fun, smart, interested, self-
directing, and generally have the potential to be useful.

I've got off-topic. Sorry. Hope that helps - there's lots of other advice
here.

------
orenmazor
I'm coming at it sideways. I work in a .NET shop and I'm pushing for
ironpython at every opportunity :)

~~~
unbracketed
If you're looking for ways to help convince management to use Python there are
some good tidbits in here: <http://blip.tv/file/3041158>

We also talk about hiring and training people who don't have Python
backgrounds but have the right skill sets to transition.

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wensing
Check out some of the hubbub going on around PyCon. Also, look for Python-
related meetups if you're in a major metro.

Coincidentally with PyCon, Atlanta seems like a hotspot judging by the number
of members of the PyATL and Django meetup groups.

~~~
icey
There were also a TON of Python people from the DC area at last year's
Djangocon.

~~~
Josh0
Very true, we've got a lot of Django stuff going on around here. Discovery,
NASA, PBS, Washington Time, Washington Post, and a number of startups all
using Django in one capacity or another.

------
Josh0
What sort of Python job are you looking for? I know that there is definitely
demand out there for Python programmers who work with Django (a web framework
built on Python, for those who don't know). We (Discovery Creative—part of
Discovery Communications, parent company of the Discovery Channel—out of
Silver Spring, MD) are currently looking for Django/Python people.

~~~
wensing
Are you open to remote/telecommuters?

~~~
Josh0
It's less ideal, but not impossible. Drop me an email if you're interested
(josh_ourisman@discovery.com) and I can pass your info along to the right
people.

~~~
Josh0
Unfortunately, I've been informed that HR will not allow us to consider remote
candidates for some asinine reason. So unless you're able to work out of our
offices in Silver Spring, MD I'm afraid we're stuck. :(

(I'm hoping we can get around this somehow with Discovery's other
offices—which are literally all over the world—but we'll see how that goes.)

------
notmyname
Rackspace cloud is looking for python programmers.
<http://www.rackspacecareers.com/>

------
nroach
What are your criteria? Do you have a geographic location that the employer
must be within? Do you have a minimum salary you need to make (before bonus or
equity)?

We just finished a hiring round, which included Python. I expect that we'll
wind up hiring some more in the not too distant future.

For what its worth, I post my jobs on Craigslist and at local university
offices first, only falling back to the big job boards in a worst-case
scenario because as an employer they present a poor signal-noise ratio.

~~~
j_baker
Really?! I never really considered checking craigslist. Also, if you want to
get in contact with me, my email is in my profile.

~~~
kaens
I get a lot of my work off of craigslist. It takes some sifting through, but
it's not too bad.

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jmaygarden
I use python all the time, but I'm an embedded developer. So, the python code
is just for internal tools and rarely ships. Therefore, a posting for my job
would require C and assembly not python. However, it would definitely be
useful.

------
jswinghammer
Depends on where you are maybe?

I don't think many places pick Python because there are fewer people who know
it. I know some people who use it in their jobs though and their employers
sort of just understood that people had to learn it on the job. I wouldn't say
Python is a hot skill really but it depends on where you want to work.

~~~
j_baker
I live in Dallas, but I'm looking to move to the Bay area (San Francisco).

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ned_batchelder
HP in Massachusetts is looking for Python talent:
[http://nedbatchelder.com/blog/200912/looking_for_a_python_de...](http://nedbatchelder.com/blog/200912/looking_for_a_python_developer.html)

------
mattj
If you are in the sf bay area, Yelp (in SF FiDi/SoMa) is looking for a bunch
of python programmers.

www.yelp.com/jobs

------
jister
From what I noticed so far, Python is not hot in the market. Java, .Net and
PHP still dominates the market. Again, this is just my observation though.

~~~
dannyr
Depends where you are.

Here in the Bay Area, demand for Python programmers is pretty high.

.Net is almost dead here.

------
ibarrac
We are looking for someone with Python and strong Teradata SQL knowledge for a
contract position in Orlando, FL.

Dice.com posting:
[http://seeker.dice.com/jobsearch/servlet/JobSearch?op=302...](http://seeker.dice.com/jobsearch/servlet/JobSearch?op=302&dockey=xml/9/3/93b7ed8c82e8353f1cf18a6fa317cb06@endecaindex&source=19&FREE_TEXT=&rating=99)

~~~
bayleo
You may want to keep in mind that using "ELT" vs "ETL" (even if that's what
order Teradata works in) makes it harder to search for the job on most sites.

FYI -- I was about to apply for this until I noticed the 2-month contract. I'm
more junior than what you're looking for but if you dropped the pay & extended
the contract a bit I'd definitely be interested.

~~~
ibarrac
If you know Python and Teradata, please send me your resume anyway to
contract-mco@actifact.com and I will keep it on file for any future position.
It's very hard to find people with both Python and Teradata skills.

The contract starts out at 2 months because that is all my client will commit
to at the moment, but I consider it likely to get extended if you are any
good.

I don't mind missing out on applicants that are searching for the usual "ETL
developer with Informatica or DataStage experience". I am looking for people
with strong SQL, not a particular ETL tool. Thanks for the suggestion.

~~~
bayleo
I'm more of an Oracle guy but I'll send one along tonight regardless in case
you have anything more entry-level pop up.

------
trefn
We use Python extensively at Mixpanel (web analytics) and we're hiring. We're
based in Mountain View, CA.

jobs@mixpanel.com

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kaens
I currently do freelance work, and a lot of it has been "write me a little
application that helps me search these websites for these terms relevant to
the services my business provides". Python is very well suited to such tasks.

There seem to be quite a few smaller-to-medium web-shops using python.

------
matrix
Anyone know of any Python shops in Salt Lake City area? I'm about to start
looking for a new gig myself...

------
jlees
It's interesting that this is sort of self perpetuating, though. I was looking
for python developers (I sort of still am; Python + NLP), and literally
nothing promising came by. Part of that was being located in Scotland, but
still. I changed the job ad to Python + Java and got a ton of recruitment
agency spam as I had clearly hit some kind of programming-drone buzzword (not
one of the candidates foisted unconsentingly on me looked remotely
interesting). As a result I wouldn't hire for either skill again - as other
posters in this thread have alluded to, it's more about general ability than
specific Python experience, especially as Python isn't too challenging to pick
up.

------
alttab
The limit of my response is but of my own humble opinion.

Python is a relatively simple language, with a small learning curve, and many
applications. I've seen python used as a tool more than a primary technology
for shops (unless they are a web company running Django.)

My advice is that it seems like you are looking at your career a little
narrowly if you are simply looking for "python jobs" because it doesn't seem
like you are willing to challenge yourself.

Do a little more personal stretching and you may realize there are more real
opportunities than you have previously allowed yourself to notice.

~~~
alttab
I can only assume the downvotes are due to my explanation of python as a
language.

When looking for jobs, you have to see how the business world views a
certainly technology, not a collection of personal opinions.

Python is a great tool no doubt - but I see little in the way of careers
revolving around _just_ python knowledge. In most hunts I see it as "icing on
the cake."

But again - take my word for what its worth - a guy on the internet. However,
the fact the OP even posted this question only supports my argument.

~~~
jheriko
I upvoted you. I sort of agree with your point.

My opinion is that as a stand-alone language Python can do nothing that can
not be done better with other, higher level, faster or more proven languages.

However, I think Python has a solid place in providing scripting support - it
sure is a lot faster to install and start using than it is to write a
scripting language from scratch in your language of choice, and Python fits
most tasks well (the only exception I've come across is real-time rendering
applications, although I haven't tried newer versions since about 2005...).

This vaguely fits the data too. :)

~~~
alttab
Thanks, and you would be correct.

However, did you know that Sound Spectrum, the maker of G-force that was used
in Apples iTunes as the high speed visualizer, uses python as a high
performance scripting environment that runs through bindings in C to openGL.

So theres a direct application - but here it also requires Graphics knowledge
and high performance C++.

------
JeffJenkins
The startup I work for is hiring python UI devs. We're based in NYC. Feel free
to email me if you're interested or want more information. We're using django
with mako templates and (largely) MongoDB as the backing store.

------
njharman
Python (Django) is big in information industry aka what people still call
newspapers.

Python is also big in science so if you wanted to get paid little and deal
with beauirocrcy look to gov/acadamia.

------
gurtwo
I work at a major (the biggest?) telecom equipment provider. For a couple of
years, I've been doing ad-hoc Python scripts (say, 3000+ lines) to interact
with network nodes, based on customer requests. So yes, there is room for
professional, non-web related Python. I try to push the language for more
developments, but it's hard to convince managers. I prefer the tools I make to
the standard, corporate fat applications we sell for millions. If anyone is
hiring on those skills, I'll be glad to hear offers.

~~~
jfager
3000+ lines is what you're calling an ad-hoc Python script? Or your sum total
output of Python is 3000+ lines?

~~~
gurtwo
3000 lines per Python package.

"Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means 'for this purpose'. It generally
signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-
generalizable, and which cannot be adapted to other purposes." --
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hoc>

No mention to the size of the solution, big or small. The point here is the
specificity.

------
abyssknight
Lockheed Martin is hiring Python people, last time I checked.

If you're targeting a skill set for your next jump, that seems a bit silly.
What is it that you want to _do_? :)

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gabeiscoding
I doubt this is representative, but we are a C++/Qt4 ISV and I'm looking for a
Python/Django intern for the summer to help with some internal web sites and
possibly setting up a customer portal (read $12-$15 an hour, no benefits)

In other words, Python is an on-the-side language for us that I would look for
say a CS undergrad student to fill the need, where as for our C++ devs I have
a much higher bar of required experience/education.

------
frankwiles
Here are several places to check:

www.djangogigs.com

<http://python.org/community/jobs/>

[http://www.resumebucket.com/jobs/?x=0&y=0&keywords=p...](http://www.resumebucket.com/jobs/?x=0&y=0&keywords=python&zip=city%2C+state+or+zip+code+%28optional%29&within=25)

------
sunny_s
I have been using python for network related stuff.

From this thread, it looks like python is being used mostly as python/django
or for in house stuff only. Also where I come from, I hardly see a python job
add without mentioning django. Is it correct to assume that there are very few
industry jobs out there for python programmers who are not into web
programming?

------
pxlpshr
We're based out of Austin, we use python / django extensively. I would say
that we're really efficient at this junction and just don't need to hire
another person (yet), but we also can't afford it since we're just starting.
Nevertheless, speed and elegance does seem to be a benefit on the surface... 1
python dev = 2-3 et al.

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dkarl
There's no such thing as a "Python job." Anyone who can't pick up Python in a
week isn't worth hiring, and conversely, being productive in Python isn't
proof of technical ability. Unlike with C++, Lisp, or even Java, if I was
hiring for a Python shop, I wouldn't stress Python as an important
qualification for the position.

~~~
falsestprophet
That is silly. Of course hacking in any language is possible after one week of
experience. But, someone who has many years of experience with any set of
tools will likely have a serious productivity advantage over someone with no
experience.

------
enki
we're definitely hiring experienced programmers who enjoy python. drop me an
email at paul@dropbox.com. (san francisco)

------
ganley
We're hiring Python programmers. Or rather, we're hiring strong programmers,
and we use Python. <http://www.woti.com/> ... DC area, no telecommuting, must
be a clearable US citizen.

------
wehriam
We're hiring - <http://jobs.hiidef.com/> \- full time, distributed team. We're
a consumer web incubator. Feel free to contact me directly at
johnwehr@hiidef.com.

------
euroclydon
Here is one:

<http://www.transloc.com/site/content/careers>

This is a Raleigh, NC company that was started by a friend of mine.

------
evitelabs
We are hiring. If you are in LA/SoCal or willing to relocate apply at
<http://bit.ly/evitedev> or email jobs@evite.com.

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mbrubeck
There's always Google.

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lanstein
At Splunk (SOMA in SF). My email is in my profile.

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djb_hackernews
have you checked out indeed.com and the python job board? The python job board
gets updated surprisingly frequently.

