In October 2023, with quite a bit of experience in web development and familiarity with programming concepts in general, I was in search of avenues where I could put this experience to good use. But where could a beginner programmer get the opportunity to work with experienced developers? And that too, in a real-world project with a user-base in millions...
Few people would hire a beginner! We all know the paradox of companies intent on hiring experienced people for entry-level roles. That's where it gets tricky because we can't really have an experience without being hired. Well... maybe we can :)
What is open source software?
Open source software is source code made available to the public, allowing anyone to view, modify, and distribute the software. It is free and the people who work to improve it are most often not paid. The source code of open source software provides a good opportunity for a beginner to understand, work on, and modify a project to improve its usability.
Why contribute to open source?
Open source contribution has many benefits. It is especially beneficial for a beginner; working on open source projects hones ones skills as a developer and provides a good foundation for a future career in the software industry. Here are some of the major benefits that open source contribution provides:
- Experience of working on large projects
Open source projects often have large and complex codebases. Working on such a project requires one to understand the ins and outs of the codebase, how things are put together and how they work to result in a fully functioning software.
- Read code written by others
The source code of an open source software can be read and modified by anyone, this allows hundreds of people to make code contributions ranging from fixing bugs, adding a new feature to just updating the documentation. To do any of this, we need to read and understand the code written by others and make implement our own changes. This allows the contributor to learn good programming practices like writing readable and well documented code, using version control like Git and Github correctly, etc.
- Ability to work in a team
An open source project is a joint endeavour and requires collaboration. Any code that is written in the project must be readable and understandable by every other contributor, and this team effort results in an efficient and correctly functioning software. Often, when enhancing the software by adding a new feature or updating legacy code, people need to reach a consensus on what features need to be implemented, how they should be implemented and what platforms/libraries should be used. This requires discussion with contributors and the users, and hones ones ability to work in a team which is an invaluable skill to have in software development.
- Opportunity to work with experienced developers
Since many projects are quite old and have been there for a long time, they have many people with tens of years of experience who are maintainers and have been writing and fixing the codebase since years. This is a good opportunity for a beginner to learn the best programming practices from people with more experience. This helps them in becoming employable and gaining the "experience" that companies demand from prospective employees.
- Using programming skills to benefit end users
Large projects often have millions of dedicated users that use the software on a daily basis. Just like VLC Media Player or Chromium, these softwares are quite popular and have a loyal fanbase. If anyone contributes to make the software better, it improves the user experience for millions of people. This contribution might be a small optimization that makes the software load faster, or a new feature that users have been requesting - in any case, it ends up improving the experience for its day to day users and makes a meaningful impact on the community.
- A chance to network with others
Contributing to open source is a fun and pleasant experience. It allows us to meet people from different backgrounds with different levels of experience. Contributors are often geographically distributed but have the same goal - to ensure the success of the project by benefiting its end users. This common goal allows us to connect and interact with people from diverse backgrounds and different opinions. This ends up being an enriching and learning journey, it broadens our perspectives, and makes us a better developer.
Interested in contributing to open source? This article provides a step by step guide on how you can get started with open source contribution. In case of any doubts, please feel free to contact me on my email : sudhanshu.98t@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn !
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