Financial services? A typical financial services company in London this fine day (no names mentioned):
Still has classic ASP deployed, VB6 COM is the backend, "extreme waterfall" is the process and integration via CSV files (using ' as a quote char of course!) over FTP is the mutt's nuts. Add to that a security policy which involves a large brush, a fucking huge rug and a copy of the production SQL Server 2000 database on every laptop.
The system build is the "secure windows XP build" which is XP SP1 with no patches other than to put the company logo on the background, some bastardised IEAK'd up IE7 build, content filters which understand HTTP like Manwell from Fawlty Towers understands English.
The price of muttering Linux, Python or even Windows greater than XP in the office is to be whipped by lengths of state of the art 10base2 with BNC plugs on the end until you submit that there is only Windows.
Management is entirely powered by crack dust and "champers". And the architect to monkey ratio is at least 10:1. The architects don't even know what the hell an HRESULT is.
A good day is when SourceSafe doesn't try and fuck you.
Fortunately we only have to integrate with them...
I've done contract work in London and had several permanent positions over the last 15 years. That's a BIG chunk of it unfortunately. The rest is "big names", "trendy startups" and high finance. There is literally nothing else.
The best opportunity would be a small established business but they get eaten in London instantly.
Sorry, but that's not 'typical' at all. At least not for investment banks. It's true that Python is used (when used) only for peripheral tasks, but there is a reason for that. Number of Linux vs. Windows shops in the City is about even. Banks employ some really smart developers, in general.
I have similar experiences. 900 mails through many layers of management to find out after flying in for an on-site visit they were running our app on unpatched pre-sp1 ie6 which doesn't even support script tag injection properly.
Still has classic ASP deployed, VB6 COM is the backend, "extreme waterfall" is the process and integration via CSV files (using ' as a quote char of course!) over FTP is the mutt's nuts. Add to that a security policy which involves a large brush, a fucking huge rug and a copy of the production SQL Server 2000 database on every laptop.
The system build is the "secure windows XP build" which is XP SP1 with no patches other than to put the company logo on the background, some bastardised IEAK'd up IE7 build, content filters which understand HTTP like Manwell from Fawlty Towers understands English.
The price of muttering Linux, Python or even Windows greater than XP in the office is to be whipped by lengths of state of the art 10base2 with BNC plugs on the end until you submit that there is only Windows.
Management is entirely powered by crack dust and "champers". And the architect to monkey ratio is at least 10:1. The architects don't even know what the hell an HRESULT is.
A good day is when SourceSafe doesn't try and fuck you.
Fortunately we only have to integrate with them...
Stay away. You have been warned.