A Beginner's Guide To Participating in Open-Source Programs
What is an Open-Source Project?
An open-source project is a project the public can access for modification and enhancement to the source code.
Besides improving one's skills, open-source can help you build great network, attract potential employers through consistent contribution, and even land a job.
Open-source contribution can include fixing bugs, organizing community programs, releasing documentation, designing and all you can think about. In open-source, everyone can get involved.
Most beginners believe open-source projects can only be done by developers. Well, anyone with technical skills can be a part of open-source programs.
Benefits of Open-source
Contributing to open-source projects has numerous benefits for the contributor
Improvement in skills
Builds network
Attracts potentials employers
Reduces imposter syndrome
It helps you gain experience
It helps to improve software application
You can obtain real-world knowledge of how the development cycle is structured
Who Can Contribute To Open Source?
So many newbies feel that lack of coding skills is a criterion for selection and so therefore see no need to be part of this program. To make this as clear as possible, beginners don’t necessarily need to code to contribute to open-source, there are certain skills you can contribute to open source projects.
Technical Writers
Technical writers also known as documentation writers are an essential part of open-source software, they document easy-to-read documentation for users to fully understand how to use this software and also for developers and contributors to fully have access to APIs and processes. As a technical writer, you can contribute to open-source by ‘writing documentation ‘, ‘API documentation’, markdown and ‘How to guide’.
Good documentation is the tool that builds efficient communication with the software team. Now, you might wonder what you stand to gain as contributors to open-source projects.
Firstly, Your writing skills will improve because there is unlimited access to feedback and reviews from people you naturally did not have access to.
You can expand your network and work alongside people from different spheres of life.
You also get paid by some of these organizations for the duration of time
Software Developers
They play major roles in open-source programs, they write codes, fix bugs, build world-class applications in this program that intends to solve a problem.
Software Tester
Software testers provide relevant information about the operating system, browser version or any bug issue. As a software tester, you must report any issue you encounter while using the software. This will go a long way in ensuring that the software is up to standard, reliable and of good quality.
Designers
They include Graphics designers and UI/UX designers, they create beautiful interfaces for the projects and also ensure that they improve the UI of the project. They play a major role in ensuring user flows, and user interfaces, are properly executed.
They also create logos, and style guides for the team, help with branding, and add quality images and other design kits to the projects. Here are some of the things you stand to gain as you contribute to open-source projects.
Gain real working experience: Open-source projects provide real-life experience because you are working with a large community of people and with this you learn new skills, and network yourself with the hope that something good can come out of it.
You can also gain a good reputation for yourself by helping users of the products, and give back to the community by offering assistance to these users.
Project Managers
Project managers are a big part of open-source programs, they ensure that everyone assigned a role is doing their job and also ensure that there is communication between teams, manage schedules and project lifecycle coordinate and keep meetings productive.
Tips that can help you get into open-source programs
Start On Time
When trying to apply for open-source programs, it is essential to start planning on time. You have to research the organizations that have been participating consistently and then make a shortlist of the one that interests you and does further studies on their projects. This gives you a higher chance of being picked by the organization.
Learn How To Use Git And GitHub
Knowing how to use version control would make collaboration very easy. This is where all the major changes happen. Learning how these tools work is a plus if you are selected.
Draft Your Proposal
One of the most important criteria for getting picked by any organization is your ability to come up with quality proposals, you should make sure to check if these organizations have proposal guidelines to be followed and ensure you submit them as early as possible because they have many other applications to attend to.
Technical Skills
Now this is most important all them all and here is why. Before you get picked by this organization, they want to know what you have to offer them. Your technical skills would come in handy here because they need people who can contribute to the project's growth.
Programs Organized For Open-Source Projects
Open-source programs are here to stay and they have been carefully put together to ensure you improve your skills and you also get the opportunity to work on interesting projects that will help scale up your career.
As an open-source contributor, various programs have been put into place to ensure that people across the globe can make an impact through open-source projects.
Google Summer of Code (GSoC) :
This is a 12+ week global program organized by Google to promote open-source software among university students, college students and Non-students with over 700+ participating organizations.
Accepted mentees are assigned a mentor by the participating organization and students spend their summer working with them. The Google Summer of Code stipend varies across different countries.
Keep in mind that getting accepted into Google's Summer of Code does not ultimately mean direct access or an internship at Google.
Outreachy :
Outreachy is a three-month internship program organized for those persons underrepresented in certain fields. It is usually paid and remote internships are conducted twice a year. Now, this is where it gets interesting, Outreachy is open to non-technical roles as well like Designer, Project managers, translators, technical writers, and marketing.
Google Season of Docs (GSoD) :
This program is organized for technical writers who want to improve their documentation skills. Although, it is similar to Google Summer of Code but focuses on technical documentation. It is usually for 3-5 months and during the program, chosen technical writers work hand and hand with an organization to improve their open-source documentation. As a participant in this program, you stand to gain numerous opportunities and get paid at the end of the program. Suppose you are interested in participating in the next program. In that case, it is important to start documenting and researching the organization you would like to join in the next cohort.
It is crucial to note that when trying to apply for this program, you need to pick the one that resonates with you.
Linux Foundation Mentorship Program (LFX):
This program is organized by The Linux Foundation for 3 months and aims to pair open-source talent with experienced mentors. It is for students and professionals to improve their skills and also improves their chances to work in very large teams.
MLH Fellowship :
It is formally called Major League Hacking which is a 12-week internship program powered by GitHub. There are two tracks on this program, One is the open- source program where students contribute to open-source projects while the other is the software engineering track where students work under the GitHub organization.
GIRLSCRIPT Summer OF Code :
This is a three-month program organized by the Indian government to bring together developers across the world to contribute to projects. This particular program is not just designed for developers but there is a wide range of technical skills you can apply to be part of this program and participants usually get paid stipends at the end of the program.
Conclusion
All important tips have been well put together to ensure your growth either as a developer, technical writer, designer, project manager, software tester, or software developer. I wish you the best as you embark on this journey to building world class projects in open-source.