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Possible to make career in free software? (lemmy.sdf.org)

submitted 6 months ago by phpinjected@lemmy.sdf.org to c/programming@programming.dev

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I'm a computer engineering undergrad in my finals and I really don't care about applying for jobs, there's so much competition and I hate just about every one of my classmates. I don't want to spend hours making shitty bloated proprietary software but 99% of jobs seem to be like that. Is it possible to actually make a career in free software, should I just ditch out of tech and pick something else

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[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 0 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Tarn Adams seemed to do well with Dwarf Fortress. It was (I think still is even, at least the last version before the Steam release) free until his brother got sick and he worked with some people to create and sell the Steam version to help make money for medical care.

[–] kabi@lemm.ee 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

free =/= free

OP means libre software, as opposed to "shitty bloated proprietary software"

I think the DF creator said he would open source it when he is finished or no longer able to work on it (i.e.: dead), but we'll see how that goes.

[–] RonSijm@programming.dev 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The month before Dwarf Fortress was released on Steam (and Itch.io), the brothers Zach and Tarn Adams made $15,635 in revenue, mostly from donations for their 16-year freeware project. The month after the game's commercial debut, they made $7,230,123

So about $16k on a 16-year project = $1k a year. He seems to be doing well after the paid release. So not really a success of "free software"

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I don't know how you read that and thought that 16k was in total over 16 years and not just in the month before the Steam release.

He was averaging about 10k/month, and the details of his monthly donations are posted on his blog.