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Open Source as Programming Exp. for College Students?
texatut asks: "With the computer industry in a slump, many college CS students nearing graduation are looking at pretty meek prospects. While 'formally' educated, few actually have concrete experience dealing with development of software. Many would like to have something concrete to put down on their resume or application to graduate school. However, starting their own project is a hard and time-consuming task. Obviously, the Open Source community is a perfect place for us to get our hands dirty. My question is, are there any resources that can help people with varying levels of experience connect with development teams in a way that would benefit both the project and the students?"
from the getting-experience-before-getting-that-all-importa nt-1st-job dept.
Open Source as programming experience? Excuse me, but Open Source development is not just a playground to warm up on before moving on to a "real job" writing proprietary software. If you desire to program for a living you can and should make a career out of doing Open Source development. It is absolutely mind boggling how much Slashdot editors have taken a stance against this ever since VA went proprietary. Well don't listen to the fools. There are plenty of legitimate and highly stable ways to make money writing free software. The most convenient way is consulting. In one form or fashion, offer clients a complete 'turn-key' solution: customized software, support, training, etc. Find some buddies who are also into Open Source and form a consulting group. Start small if everyone lacks experience, but you should really try to find someone who knows the ropes to serve as a mentor.
Don't believe the FUD, my friends. There is absolutely NO need for ANY proprietary software in this world. Those who argue otherwise do so only because they have a vested interest in proprietary venues and are afraid that the snowballing Open Source revolution is going to obsolete their enterprise. Well guess what? It's going to anyways. Choose your sides.
Here, I shall edit your advice to remove the stupidity:
Be aware that a good free software engineer has more than just technical skills. You need to be able to work without pressure, to a soft deadline and in a team. Just being a great hacker is enough. Great hackers by definition have social skills. These skills will be demonstrated naturally in addition to your coding abilities. One of the advantages of an open source project is that many of them are run with a degree of close teamwork and tight deadlines that put commercial software development to shame.
That's right folks. Boycott jobs at proprietary software companies. You don't need them to earn a respectable living.
Income from Open Source means Consulting and Services.