Conversations in Open Source: Insights from Informal chats with Open Source contributors.

Introduction

Open source embodies collaboration, innovation, and accessibility within the technological realm. Seeking personal insights behind the collaborative efforts, I engaged in conversations with individuals integral to the open source community, revealing the diversity, challenges, and impacts of their work.

Conversations Summary

Venturing beyond my comfort zone, I connected with seasoned open source contributors, each offering unique perspectives and experiences. Their roles varied from project maintainers to mentors, working on everything from essential libraries to innovative technologies.

• Das: Shared valuable insights on securing roles in open source, including resources for applications and tips for academic writing and conference speaking. The best part with Das was that she also reviewed my resume and shared many ways i could make it outstanding and shared templates to use for this.We had a really great chat.
• Samuel: A seasoned C/C++ programmer working mainly on open-source user-space driver development.He was kind enough to share his 20 years long journey on how he started working with open source and how he loves working with low level Hardware.He also commended Outreachy as a great opportunity and my contributions with GNOME in QA testing.He encouraged me to apply for roles in the company he’s working with,and highlighted “Even if they say NO now, next time they will say YES”. Samuel also encouraged me to find my passion and this will guide me to learn faster,create my personal brand and encouraged me to submit some conference talks.
• Dustin: Shared his 20 year journey and we mostly talked about Programming and software engineering in general . Highlighted the significance of networking and adaptability to learn quickly in open source.He shared a story how he “printed out code on one of his first jobs and learnt a skill of figuring out early what you don’t need to understand when faced with a big code base”. This is one skill I needed at the start instead of drowning in documentation trying to understand the project and where to start.
• Stefan: Discussed his transition from a GSOC participant to a mentor,shared opensource job links , commended Outreachy as a big plus. He highlighted not to set yourself up by mental blocking that you can’t do anything, because you can.He encouraged to submit talks at conferences, network and publishing my work.

These interactions showcased the wide-ranging backgrounds and motivations within the open source community and have deepened my respect for the open source community and its contributors. I have some homework to do with my resume and the links to opportunities that were shared with me.Open source welcomes contributors at all levels, offering a platform for innovation and collective achievement.

Feel free to be an Outreachy intern on the upcoming cohorts to start your journey.

Best of luck.