This is one of those places when distinguishing between the kernel and userland is not only useful but necessary. I just don't believe that "Ninety-three percent of hiring managers say they will hire a Linux pro in the next six months". Ninety-three percent of companies do NOT need kernel hackers, they want UNIX pros.
EDIT: By UNIX pro, I personally mean people who are familiar with the typical nix stack, e.g. GNU/Linux, BSD, Darwin. This would encompass sysadmins, programmers, etc.
EDIT: By UNIX pro, I personally mean people who are familiar with the typical nix stack, e.g. GNU/Linux, BSD, Darwin. This would encompass sysadmins, programmers, etc.