Working With Rails

There appears to be many more ASP.NET jobs “out there” (http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends?q=ruby+on+rails%2C+asp.net&l=); however, the percentage of growth for RoR is 120K times greater than ASP.NET according to indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends?q=ruby+on+rails%2C+asp.net&l=&relative=1). I am sure you can argue the statistics a bit, but I believe RoR is more promising than even .NET. Both I believe will have their place and be useful, however, I am personally making plans to switch primary programming languages (from C# to Ruby) and web Framework (ASP.NET to Rails). After being a Microsoft guy for over 20 years, I believe Microsoft is a Shrinking Violet for many reasons I will not go in to here. After being with Microsoft (C/C+/ASP.NET/C#) for over 20 years (last 5+ years ASP.NET/C#), I and currently adding RoR to my portfolio and as my primary language/framework of choice. Why? Because my research and intuition tell me that RoR is about to cause even more of a firestorm in the years to come and I want to be on board. Will I completely abandon .NET? No; not now and perhaps never. My Microsoft skills in .NET pay the bills and then some, but in the main I do not see Microsoft leading the charge as the web becomes more of a platform than the desktop. If I were you, I’d use both to whatever advantage they give you be it monetary, enjoyment, or otherwise. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck.

This is a naive question because usually the two programming styles, and its coders, don’t mix.

.NET: corporate, closed-source, large projects, long turnaround times. Usually in an office setting, with employees in formal attire, and top-down management style. Usually managed by waterfall method, heavy speccing up front.

Rails: independent, innovatie, open source, smaller projects, usually done in two months per project. Usually from home, by a freelancer, in jeans, and self-managed. Most always using an agile approach, where the final design becomes clearer when the project is already underway.

I have found the payment in both areas to be comparable, IF you are good at your job.

In the .net world it’s easier to hide cluelessness, since many lead developers and managers are clueless themselves.

So if you are clueless or have no desire to become good at your work, go for .net. If you want to build kick-ass projects and make customers happy, go for Rails.

Characterizing all .NET developers as corporate stooges and all Rails developer as coding superheroes is far more naive than the original question.

Raja, you’ll be able to make decent money doing either, assuming (as mentioned in an earlier response) that you can do it well. Personally, I would recommend you learn both; knowing the costs and benefits of the different languages and framework will make you a better developer.

Adam, I probably should have used sarcasm tags.

The very question strikes me as odd though. I have never have to choose between .NET or RoR. And from conversations with my peers I get the idea that few people have. From my point of view, the choice between open and closed source is made very, very early on and if anything, people only convert from closed to open platforms, not the other way around.

Honestly, raja asks a valid question, even if it’s very focused on the money and not the joy of coding, it deserves a fair answer. But I find that for me, making lots of money is secondary to the fun of coding. Even if .NET would generate a magnitude more money, I still would not switch.

I guess what I am saying is that if money is your primary motivation, open source might not necessarily be your first career choice unless you are willing to become truly good at your job. But if you were already, you would probably not contemplate two such different languages, would you?

Raja, I’m still too new to the Ruby community to speak with any authority about salary comparisons, but I’ve been in the .NET space since before it was called .NET and am in the process of leaving it. If your desire is to chase the money, you’ll probably fit in fine in the .NET community. I’m migrating to Ruby because I’ve learned there are much more important things in life. In my opinion, these platforms and the people who use them prioritize things differently. Take .NET and its community for a spin and see what you think. I wish you all the luck in your decision.

Hi Raja.

I came from .Net background and now doing rails for now almost 3 years. For your question my answer has two sections

1) Developer satisfaction

Personally I really like developing rails over .net. You have a huge flexibility with an open language like ruby. But .net on the other hand i didnt find interesting with development. In ruby you can write your own plugins etc.. and a great community who are willing to support you always

2) Jobs and salaries

Its true that currently there are more openings to .net over rails (at least here in sri lanka). But I think things will be changed over next 2-3 years.

Finally. Its always better to learn another language. Because then you can compare and evaluate each frameworks. Best of luck

cheers,
sameera

you see, what raja asked was just on the monetary front. yeh its true that at this point .net has more openings than ruby but at the same time, RoR is relatively new compared to .net, but its exponential growth rate and acceptance is overwhelming and it is poised to become the most sought after language in coming years. Having said that, i’m into RoR since 3 years and i belong to a expert team of rails developers. Have a look at my website Orangegigs, which is developed in rails within few days.
OrangeGIGs is a FREE job posting site, developed on Ruby on Rails (RoR) by Silicon Valley based Andolasoft Inc. The objective of this web application is to invite companies across the globe to post Ruby on Rails jobs based on their requirements and developers to apply for the job. This site acts as a catalyst between the Employers and Developers. The site is absolutely FREE and extremely simple to post & find jobs. You just need couple of minutes to post your jobs. For more information please visit: orangegigs dot com.

Thanks to all Seniors. My mind also Bugging about this matter. Now i’m Really happy to Hear. I’m also New to Rails. Just 2 Months exp. I was Looking for a job in .Net but finally i entered into Rails. Fine Guys…Thanks again