Who is hiring in Bay Area?

The good things about our profession are, we always have to keep our eyes open, acquire new skills and recognize the future that has already happened. Bay area is considered the place of technological innovation and happening, so it will not be unreasonable to predict the trend based on whats happening here right now. I have been closely following the IT job (Internet, Software, QA, Support) market in bay area since new year and I can see a trend emerging as below:

• Python and Ruby programming languages have established themselves as languages of choice along with PHP and Java in RIA (Rich Internet Applications) world. Startup companies like StrongMail (Email Marketing solution provider), RepairPal (online repair estimate and reviews), Voo (Social network for creativity and fun) are all hiring Ruby/Ruby On Rails developers. 
• Start-ups as expected are using Open Source software stack to minimize their initial IT investment, however they all require experienced System Admins. So there are plenty of jobs for Linux/Unix system administrators who like to work in dynamic start-up environment. Zynga (a game network company), Cotendo (website acceleration solution), Authentic8 (online security) are all hiring System administrators.
• Popularity of Facebook and other social networks have made the concept of "Social commerce" a reality and a lot of companies building the social commerce business are looking for software engineers with Facebook apps development experience. iPhone and android apps developers are in great demand too. 

Tips for job seekers:

1. If you are looking for software engineering position in an Internet startup company, building/polishing your PHP/Python/Ruby skills can be very rewarding. Take a look at the Internet Job section of Craigslist and see if your current skills "set" matches the required set, if not try to fill the gap by acquiring skills online. The best thing about these emerging open source software is that you can find plenty of tutorials and practical examples and learn yourself without going through any expensive training courses.
2. If you are looking for System Administration jobs, you may want to look for Systems/Network sections of Craigslist and get an idea of the current job market for your expertise. If you have at least 2 years of Linux system admin experience, you should be trying to get LPI (Linux Vendor neutral ) Certification. IBM Developer works provides a free full set of educational material and courses for LPI certifications. 

Good Luck and have a great day !!