Free/Libre Open Source Software
These days, to get a job as a programmer, it is very helpful to have experience contributing to free/libre open source software (FLOSS, a.k.a. FOSS) projects. Below is a list of pages explaining why this is the case and advising programmers on how to obtain FLOSS/FOSS experience.
- Open Source Projects for Beginners by James Gallagher, Career Karma, June 6, 2020.
- How Contributing to Open Source Projects Can Improve Your Engineering Resume by Tatum Hunter, builtin, January 6, 2020, updated August 20, 2020. Your GitHub profile says more about you than you think.
- How to advance your career by contributing to open source projects by Josh Wulf, OpenSource.com, 22 May 2019. True story: A recruiter quits his job, contributes to open source, gets a job as a software engineer.
- How contributing to open source can help you land your first job by Ariel Camus, GitLab, April 6, 2018. Six compelling reasons why, warm fuzzy feelings aside, contributing to open source is good for your career.
- How Open Source Projects Can Help Launch Your Tech Career by Will Erstad, Rasmussen College, 09/05/2017.
- Jump start your career with open source skills by VM (Vicky) Brasseur, OpenSource.com, 28 Aug 2017. College programs don't always teach the real-world skills you need in today's workplace. Here's how to boost your knowledge through internships and open source opportunities.
- Open source skills are a boost for career prospects, report finds by Jane Elizabeth, JaxEnter, August 24, 2017. The Linux Foundation's 2017 Open Source Jobs Report confirms that the hiring market for developers with open source skills is hot, hot, hot.
- Hiring Managers Advise Job Seekers to Contribute to Open-source Projects by Fred O'Connor, IDG News Service, via CIO Magazine, Feb 11, 2014. Joining an open-source community isn't required to land a development job, but it could help.
- When open source opens doors, Google Careers. Jen followed her curiosity to a career in software engineering.
- Open Source Coding Can Give Your Career an Edge by John P. Mello Jr., Monster (no date).
There are also some ways to earn money (though, usually, not a lot of money) by working on open-source projects:
- Twitter thread by Vitto: "I've met people making a living just by contributing to projects on GitHub. Let me tell you how."
- Public bug bounty program list
More about open-source software generally:
- The importance of open-source in computer science and software development by Alice Ivey, Feb 09, 2023.
One of ATNYCA's eventual aims is to facilitate the creation of small teams of programmers and aspiring programmers who work on open-source projects (volunteer or paid) together, either as part of larger already-existing projects or as the originators of their own projects helpful to one or more members of ATNYCA.
Such teams could be an important stepping stone toward the creation or expansion of new autistic-friendly programming consulting firms, as well as a good resume item for those of us seeking jobs at traditional software companies.
Featured pages:
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Various autistic peer-led groups including support groups, career-oriented groups, and hobby-oriented social groups, led or facilitated by members of the Autistic Peer Leadership Group. Our newest group is the Autistic Women's Support & Social Group. All groups currently meet via text-based chat. Some groups will hopefully meet in-person after the COVID crisis is finally over with.
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A list of Online forums and social media for autistic people.
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Where to get an ASD evaluation as an adult: This page will be expanded and updated sometime after the COVID crisis is over with.