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Without Jobs, Will Open Source Suffer?
darthcamaro writes in with an interview with Markus Rex, Novell's top Linux exec and the former CTO of the Linux Foundation. While some open source vendors see the current economy as a boon to open source, the interview concludes with Rex's speculation on the contrary possibility. "The other thing is in both Europe and the US the rise of the unemployment rate is something that is rather unprecedented... The open source community to a certain degree is dependent on the willingness of people to contribute. We see no indication that anything might change there, but who knows? People need something to live off." Have you thought about scaling back open source work as the economy continues to contract?
Heh... was I the only one who misread this as something to do with Steve Jobs? (And subsequently went "Murrrrrh?")
Program Intellivision!
People need something to live off
This is utterly ridiculous. It's not like work on an open source project is comparable to giving away money, or hand-built widgets. Nobody is going to say "gee, I would normally contribute this code to that open source project, but I'm unemployed, so I'll sell it to buy groceries instead."
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
Were I unemployed, I would still contribute to open source projects. The only thing I think would be worse than being jobless and broke would be being bored, jobless, and broke.
Don't take life too seriously; it isn't permanent.
If all those programmers that are unemployed want to keep their skills sharp they better find a project or two to join and keep on coding.
Honestly sitting on the couch for 3 months eating cheetos and playing the Xbox does not make you a useful coder when you finally get another gig. Laid off? go to sourceforge and find something you would like to contribute to, contact the team, and get cracking. Keeps you sharp and you will get spoiled by the no deadline freedom.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
In Europe, unemployment benefits are good enough that we don't need to worry about starving or even losing net access, and with nothing else to do, contributing to open source projects can't be bad for one's programming career! With big enough contributions, you get a reputation, new contacts and something to reference in your CV.
I know I got my current job because I had some code in the Linux kernel. Being able to show your code to prospective employers is good advertising.
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
Even with him around, they barely contributed to the Mach kernel.
Contrary to the dept this came from, this question is not worth asking. Programmers are likely to continue to code whether they are unemployed or not, otherwise their skills would grow rusty. And the capitalization of Jobs made me think of Steve. Kdawson fails again TBCH :P
This post was made in complete sincere seriousity; as such any attempts to derive humour are doomed to instant failure.
Stories like these seem to assume two rather dubious things: (1) that programmers always have a choice between work-for-nothing and work-for-something and (2) that all OSS is produced by volunteers for no money.
The second, we know is partially true, if altruism didn't exist OSS wouldn't work nearly as well; but definitely not wholly true, anybody can rattle off the list of big serious commercial players paying people to build OSS.
The first, though, seems a really weird assumption to make when talking about OMG Depression! conditions. For anybody who primarily works for a living(as opposed to primarily owning or investing) the more or less defining characteristic of bad economic times is low prices or no buyers for your labor. It isn't: "Well, times are hard, so I'm going to start selling the labor I used to give away.", it is "Times are hard, people aren't interested in buying the labor I want to sell."
There will probably be some cases where people who used to work relatively short hours at high wages will now work longer hours at lower wages, thus decreasing their OSS contribution; but I strongly suspect that, for most programmers(and people generally) the whole point of "depression" is that you can't just go and sell the labor you used to give away. If things get really dreadful, fall of the USSR style dreadful, we'll probably see less OSS and more subsistence farming and wood chopping; but garden variety economic slowdown would seem to have the opposite effect.
By driving the cost of software to zero, OSS developers have made it difficult for many people to act creatively due to the high cost of development. While OSS developers may make some money developing an open source software package, they have essentially forever undercut anyone who might have also developed something similar. This isn't to say that closed source products are somehow more encouraging of competition, but simply that OSS stakes out the monopoly position as its first step (by pricing everything else out of the picture) whereas closed source companies must work hard to make every sale.
This, I think, is the reason why OSS is generally of poor quality (generally speaking) compared to closed source competition. Whereas OSS is driven by addressing specific needs, closed source must compete on its merits and advantages. This leads to very utilitarian software for OSS (Ubuntu) and much more colorful and creative software for closed source (Apple's OSX).
In fact, there is probably a middle ground that many hardware manufacturers are already taking. By pairing the utility of OSS with the style of closed source, they are able to build very interesting devices that not only look good, but also function well. And at the same time, by focusing on developing products with merit and advantages, these hardware makers are keeping competition alive and engineers employed. So maybe the middle ground is to write closed source software and steal from the unemployed OSS guys.
FOSS sounds like a great way to keep my skills relevant and honed. It will also help fill in those blank time periods which employers hate. I see you haven't been employed for the last six months. Oh well, I've been searching for a job and working for (this particular) project. Check out some of my work if you'd like, here is the URL...
I would think that sacked software engineers would actually be more likely to start contributing to OSS ...
[I can't RTFA because of content filtering where I'm at right now. So I'm guessing about its contents.]
Every time I've been between jobs, I didn't sit around drinking 40s, eating doritos, and watching tv -- I worked on my own projects (websites and software) and some open source software. But when I spend all day working then come home and deal with dinner, running errands, other life stuf... that doesn't leave much time for working on open source software.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Why would Ubuntu close shop? It's funded by a millionaire and since it started has been running at a loss anyway. What difference does it make if they run at a loss a little longer?
In fact that question doesn't even matter because they're finally breaking even.
Speaking as a developer who uses lots of FOSS, I think as long as there are jobs there will be a demand for open-source software. I would be worried if I worked for IBM or BEA or any of the other vendors who sell expensive stuff. My company believes in open source and when we propose to use that sort of technology, our business customers don't bat an eye.
I think open source will benefit. There will be a certain number of people who are laid off that it will be extremely difficult to find a similar job. I'm thinking of people in industries and service sector jobs that were contracting before the downturn and have become much worse (the printing industry is one in particular I'm very familiar with).
These individuals will need to "reinvent" themselves to an extent. Getting involved in an open source project will give them some experience in a new field. In addition, others may consider this being a good time to start a business (I know many people who have the desire to start their own businesses but have been reluctant due to the imaginary security blanket of a corporate job). If these people want to be successful in this economy with a new venture, they will need to be very smart with their expenses which does generally equate to utilizing open source.
Earlier I thought the article was about the economy, now I thought this article was about Steve Jobs.
*Sigh*
- Dan
Get a MacArthur Genius Grant, and get paid to speak. Then you can do whatever you want in the rest of the time. After all, he's making a living without getting paid for writing code. It's good enough for him, it should be good enough for you.
"Except that contributions to open source projects are both good resume-fodder and a good way to get noticed by potential employers."
And how many contributors have actually gotten jobs in this recession and subsequent layoffs? Remember we're really just getting started with this downturn. The story's basically asking what if it continues on much longer? Not saying, "well in the past..."
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
I don't think those companies contribute to Linux as charity in the first place. More likely, they wanted to have some input in a system with growing market share. Red Hat is actually making a profit according to its latest quarterly report, so I don't expect them to close shop soon ;-)
Ubuntu might be an exception, as its founder Mark Shuttleworth has said he is doing it partly to return something to the community.
C - the footgun of programming languages
If I'm looking at fairly equally qualified candidates and one of them spent their off time contributing to an open source project, I would tend to see that as a very big point in their favor. To me that says they really enjoy what they do and have concerns that go beyond the bottom line. And that they care enough about their skills to keep them sharp while they were off.
Community service always looks good, even if that community is virtual. And that can make those of you coming out of college stand out from your peers. An open source project can give you very marketable experience.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
Engineer A who was laid off and did nothing for 3 months except take his unemployment check..
OR
Engineer B who was laid off and did some work on an open source project where he/she learned some new things and kept their skills sharp?
I think the exact opposite would occur, No jobs equals more people who now have the time to jump in.
Yes one of the Apple founders has some health problems we get it already. This has nothing to do with open source. RTFA already people.
There are some nuances in play, though, that I think are actually beneficial here. My employer has a heightened interest in OSS because of its zero cost of entry and is more willing to spend money on just support contracts. This has in effect been beneficial to OSS as a whole because economic situations are encouraging firms to go that route. This would have the net effect of not only benefiting OSS, but creating jobs in that sector of IT spending.
We're all hypocrites. We all have hidden parts, it's the contrast between them that make us more a hypocrite than others
Like with everything else, there is an optimum level of employment that supports open pro bono open source activity. Note that producing open source can itself be a paid job - especially as a freelancer with the right clients. If Stallman had his way, *all* paid programming work would be on GPL software. Two years ago, it looked like my company might go under, and I was doing a lot more pro bono on the side. Now there is tons of work, and it is hard to squeeze in even a simple Fedora packaging project. On the other hand, I wouldn't be contributing much as a homeless person either.
I don't know... Considering that it's oftentimes CHEAPER to do those "paid projects" than to go buy something from a proprietary vendor (Or even, in many cases, one of the commercial FOSS vendors...), you might find MORE "paid projects" happening.
It's not about "the community" in most cases with these projects, it's oftentimes more about suitability to task, overall cost, or both.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
The lack of money in the system is driving major corporations to use OSS in order to cut costs. As this trend continues and the tech economy continues to shift more and more towards OSS, many programmers will find that OSS programming becomes their full time job. When OSS is your full time job, maintaining your project becomes mission critical. We can only expect better OSS from the current economic trends.
Linus was a student with no corporate sponsorship when he started on the kernel. Hobbyists and uber-coders are driven to do it, and they will.
Here in Europe, it is quite usual to receive some financial help while unemployed - a "by product" of various taxes and/or insurances we have to pay.
So, if the developer get unemployed, he can spend that time with such financial support doing what? Yes, making his resume look better by participating on some FOSS development. Or simply enjoying the participation like some kind of vacation.
That of course for all those few days any good developer will stay unemployed. :)
hany
Happens all the time, just browse a bunch of SF.net projects' homepages. Development always has a cost, regardless of the retail price of the product. This also applies to FOSS.
Picking an Open source project to contribute to is on my short list of things to do when/if laid off.
I also plan to work on for profit code (or code I hope will make a profit), but contributing to OSS is something I plan to do with the new found 50 hours a week of free time, should that happen.
Think Deeply.
People being paid to do OSS work is less likely ... people doing OSS work anyway either in their free time or if unemployed in their copious free time will continue as normal
Having said that companies that reply on OSS software still need it fixed and improved and so they are likely to still throw resources at it, even if they cut back in the same way as they are elsewhere
Puteulanus fenestra mortis
Certainly some people will cut back on their projects to devote more time to paid work. Others will probably increase their involvement, in an attempt to build or enhance a portfolio of work that could help get or secure a job. In the end, it'll probably be a wash: not much net increase or decrease.
After giving it some thought, I have decided that "Sentence case" is superior to "Title Case" from the viewpoint of precision. By capitalizing words in headings and titles of publications (of which there are many different ways to do it!), information is lost as to whether a particular word was a proper noun or not.
Furthermore, there are words (capitonyms) that completely change meaning and possibly pronunciation depending on the capitalization. For instance, "polish your shoes" vs. "eat a Polish sausage", or "measure the mass" vs. "go to Mass".
Using title case is a lossy operation.
Dr Superlove 300ml. I use my powers for awesome
"...and projects such as ubuntu and red hat are either going to need to justify themselves economically -or close shop"
Would this be the same Red Hat that companies pay $1000 per copy for so that they can run $60K/cpu Enterprise software?
Redhat doesn't have to "justify" itself to anyone.
It's enterprise software the same as what comes from IBM or Sun.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
If you look back at the history open source, as short as it is, it was the .com bust that really pushed open source development over the edge and in to have a self sustaining momentum as thousands of out of work or under employed IT people sat at home working on projects for free. Those launched the next generation of open source, and I bet it will launch the next great generation of open source and this time I believe we will get a big piece of new open source economy as companies cut back on expensive closed source systems.
What money is out there will go to open source projects, developers, IT staff, and so on. By the time this recession is over, anyone that does not have their hands dirty in open source likly will not be able to find a job, and companies that are not seriously using it might not be around.
Might I site for example the performance of Red Hat, IBM, and other companies with strong open source relationships on the stock market, and other companies with their fingers in the open source pie. This is going to be just the tip of the ice berg. A million little open source companies will emerge, doing everything from building open source software to simply companies that are built on daily work using nothing but open source software.
My small company is one of them. I save over $250,000 a year in software, licenses, support, and going in to a recession I can afford to run my old hardware right through the other side of the recession. I have a very positive balance sheet, because I don't use closed source software. I make all my IT purchase decisions around support for open source.
Anything customized I need, I can typically throw a couple hundred dollar reward at a particular project and get whatever. hell, half the time the developers never even ask to collect the reward. They are just happy to see there is serious demand for some say x, y, or z type extension or function to whatever software and take up the challenge.
Living in Chile
I'm retired and have been working on some game support app for some time. I would never had done it during the time I was working. There is a lot of "old" programmers around who might be put to contribution. The grey revolution is coming. Only old programmers have the time: the young one don't have any!!
I don't get paid for any open source work I do.
If I find myself without a job, I oftentimes find myself more driven to work on open source things and personal projects, rather than coming home from work and vegging out with wikipedia all night.
I like having the income a job provides, but by the same token, I also like having the energy and drive that a job takes out of me.
Disclaimer: The opinions and actions of the US Gov't are in no way representative of those held by this author or its ci
I see the current economic correction as a challenge, for sure, but (minus stupid government attempts to "fix" it) also a great opportunity. Any business that wishes to survive must become more competitive, and must learn to do more with less. Free Software is one of the tools that will help many of them to do so.
I expect to be laid off soon by the financial services megacorp I work for. The moment that happens, Free / Open Source Software will benefit in two ways. First, I will have vastly more time to contribute toward the software itself. Second, I'll be working with small and medium sized businesses to assess their software needs and find them ways to save money. I expect to find a great deal of unnecessary proprietary software, and therefore to introduce many of these businesses to Free alternatives where it makes business sense (which is not always, but quite often). I also expect to be able to make a decent living installing, configuring, supporting, and training people around these installations.
Nonaggression works!
In fact that question doesn't even matter because they're finally breaking even.
When did Canonical start breaking even ? [Citation needed]
Squirrel!
Certainly those software developers who still have jobs will likely spend less time on open-source projects, they'll be spending more of their time picking up the load as their employers lay other developers off and try to get more work from fewer people. But developers who're out of work will have more time to work on their own projects, even allowing for time spent hunting for work. And open-source projects make for good resume fodder: things to fill out a resume and provide code they can show to prospective employers to demonstrate actual ability. And as the economy gets worse, employers are only going to be more interested in candidates who can show actual working code over candidates with only paper qualifications. And open-source will be in more demand by employers who'll be interested in software that can do the same job as their expensive commercial stuff without the high license fees and support and upgrade headaches.
First: I probably only spend about 100 to 150 hours a year working on open source projects.
That said, open source is a key resource in my business. I live in a remote area in the mountains of Arizona so I mostly work remotely from home. This means that I compete with friends and colleagues in Russia, Vietnam, Brazil, and India whose cost of living is a lot less than in the USA.
One way I compete is by very aggressively using open source projects and building on them for consulting jobs. Customers, especially in this shitty economy (which is going to get much, much, much worse) care a lot about getting things done inexpensively.
The other way that open source makes money for me is that I write a lot (really enjoy writing both free material ad published books) and open source projects are good material, and any form of extra documentation is a good thing.
-Mark
Likely, some of those who have lost their jobs will moan that they don't have time to work on open-source projects; they'll move into their parents' basements, read job postings on Craigslist and send off a few dozen resumes each day, then spend the rest of their time playing World of Warcraft.
These people are losers. They weren't going to work on open-source projects anyway, so a recession and layoff doesn't make a bit of difference to their usefulness to the world. It just gives them more time for World of Warcraft.
For the rest of us, though, a layoff would be an opportunity to learn and to create. Job-hunting does not take eight hours a day - especially in a weakened job market, when few interviews are being granted. Does anyone really expect to go to four interviews a day? If things really tank, you'll be lucky to get one or two interviews a week. Mailing out resumes and reading advertisements doesn't take more than a few hours a day. What is a laid-off programmer going to do with the rest of the day?
The good ones will still be programming. Learn a new language or framework; study for certifications; work on an open-source project. All of these things will make the person more marketable.
(There are exceptions, of course. People with no savings and no family or friends who they can move in with might have to work twelve hours a day slinging hamburgers.)
When the job market improves, what will you say to a hiring manager at an interview about the missing year on your resume? "I learned Ruby and Haskell, and contributed Feature X to Project Y" or "I sent out lots of resumes and no one was hiring. But I got my Arch-Druid to level 80!"?
Last recession we took on someone who had been "unemployed" for six months, but had lots of testimonials and thanks for work on OSS projects. Given the choice between someone who did that, someone who spent the time sending hundreds of CVs, and someone who watched tv for six months I would always go for the person who kept working. He had useful skills too, and we incorporated some OSS into our systems.
I read it on Slashdot.
February 2009 - Present: Unemployed
vs
February 2009 - Present: Full-time contributor to [insert your itch here]
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
Right after the dot bomb bust, many of the open source project I was following gained a lot of momentum. All those techies out of work, what're they going to do, sit around and not use their computer?
Oh, jobs, no Jobs.
I read Slashdot for the headlines, because the headlines, unlike the articles, are usually original and never duplicated
Well, this might work for young unmarried developers with little work experience, but try to convince your wife that you are doing everything you can to get a job while programming open source projects for free.
people who are actively involved in open source projects are ones who can show many strong portfolio items whichever job they apply. they would probably get preference because of solid examples of prior work, and in some cases, name recognition. i dont think they will be out of job for too long. lower wages maybe, but dont think so.
AND in any case, there is elance etc, where they can do freelancing easily, with the help of same strong resume.
Read radical news here
With all this recession talking everyone is thinking about saving money.
Going open source on ALL levels will greatly reduce the costs now and in the future. And I'm quite positive it will also improve the reliability.
Now everyone is scared enough to try something new to save money.
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
Open source software will not suffer as a result of economic downturn because many of the applications out there are also hobbies and labours of love. In fact, in these economic times, quite the reverse. I would expect open source to thrive and flourish because businesses will be looking for less expensive, more attractive alternatives. Plus, open source development is a way of keeping programming skills fresh and gives the out of work software engineer a chance to hone their skills and practice writing better code. Sometimes, necessity is the mother of all invention, and in this economy, it is necessary to provide a more competitive product than the Microsofts of the world.
With the economy in the shitter it's unlikely that the job search will consume all that much time until things turn around. Assuming expenses can be cut to the point where unemployment can cover everything, sending out the requisite couple of resumes a week would leave plenty of free time for coding.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I'm a software developer. I've had a few periods where I was unemployed. I think that is when I wrote the most open source software. I had time. What else does a software guy do when he has plenty of spare time?
What's so hard about telling her that you're working on adding some additional experience to your CV? As long as you are actually doing that (and not posting to slashdot), I would expect most wives to understand, at least mine would.
Your plentiful free time, which was used previously to work, can now be used to find a new job.
You can continue your contributions as usual after that.
In other words, for unemployed people their new job is to find a new job.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
If the only thing you can do is flipping burgers I find very unlikely you will find a job in IT, or that you held one that gave you the skills to contribute to any serious FOSS project anyway.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
"In times of abundance, companies can justify spending on open source positions for a variety of reasons.."
You make it sound like FOSS is a flight of fancy done as some kind of charity.
Companies that rely on FOSS just can't decide all of the sudden to stop buying, providing services or contributing to FOSS because it is actually what brings business home.
So you may want to clarify which dire situations you have in mind in which companies will change such an important strategic decision....
"you cannot afford to let your involvement with an OSS project or community affect your job in this economy"
If you job has not being affected before, why should it be affected now all of the sudden?
Is the economic situation like voodoo, or what exactly is your point?
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
As somebody from a "third world country" living in Europe I do lots of IT work and contribute to some FOSS projects, the minority you refer to has not many programmers, so the rest of us will keep programing and promoting FOSS, but thank you for your kind concern anyway, it seems to be misplaced.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Sometimes I really wonder if they understand at all how FOSS works.
With friends like these .... gee....
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
There's a talented homeless guy in Boston who plays music on tin cans as opposed to the guys who just have a mug and a sign. I don't like seeing software developers turning into charity cases looking for handouts. 'Putting yourself out there' like that is a sign of desperation.
Your anecdotal developer is a virtual beggar now, and its not a good sign for the field.
Indeed--my wife did `understand':
After a month of being unemployed, I had to start hacking on Open Source projects--part of it was that being productive like that helped to pick my morale back up off the floor, but the other (and bigger, more pragmatic) reason was that hacking on Open Source projects kept my skillset from rotting.
She did question me a couple of times, but I just told her that.
In the end, I got top-notch job--which I wouldn't have been able to get if I'd shown up to the interview and been unable to answer engineering-questions due to having not done any engineering for 3+ months. Being able to show my prospective employer which projects were using my code (and show the code) was a definite plus, too--I'm certain that it helped me win-out over the other candidates.
-rozzin.
If U don't expect to be employed in the future, you need to make your own work. In 1980, 1991, & 2001, we expected future jobs. Not any more. There's still programming, but it's more focused on making money.
You understand you are a nerd when your friends ask you whether you are looking for jobs and you say you want his autograph on the label of your first 1980s Macintosh floppy diskette.
When we all got laid-off from the Gnash project, work on it came to a screeching crawl. When we raised money, we took hardworking volunteers and asked them to work harder--for money! That they did. Now, every one of us has had to find another job and, with that taking up most of our focus, there is less time to contribute to a FLOSS project. Most people are still contributing, but it's certainly not at the same rate.
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/20/1627243
That's because Novel got wrong model, trying to make money on open source. They might be going as a company really soon. But it's completely not true for the rest. Opensource started by students, ie then you don't have money and not willing to pay any. Just imagine: you don't have money. You parents don't have money. $10 can help you to live for week. But you like computers a lot. You would still play with it, "share" commercial software with your friends, write your own or modify other opensource projects. Don't forget that most popular kubuntu came from Africa. How many more examples do you need?
"Graveyards are full of indispensable men."
Thanks very much for the insight.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
Well, this might work for young unmarried developers with little work experience, but try to convince your wife that you are doing everything you can to get a job while programming open source projects for free.
What's so hard about telling her that you're working on adding some additional experience to your CV? As long as you are actually doing that (and not posting to slashdot), I would expect most wives to understand, at least mine would.
Indeed--my wife did `understand': After a month of being unemployed, I had to start hacking on Open Source projects--part of it was that being productive like that helped to pick my morale back up off the floor, but the other (and bigger, more pragmatic) reason was that hacking on Open Source projects kept my skillset from rotting. She did question me a couple of times, but I just told her that. In the end, I got top-notch job--which I wouldn't have been able to get if I'd shown up to the interview and been unable to answer engineering-questions due to having not done any engineering for 3+ months. Being able to show my prospective employer which projects were using my code (and show the code) was a definite plus, too--I'm certain that it helped me win-out over the other candidates.
Very informative post, hope you get modded up for that.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
If the economy gets bad enough, even the most talented IT people won't be able to find IT jobs. But McDonalds and WalMart are doing better in this climate. Not to mention, I would hope an IT person would at least be the manager at McDonalds, not flipping burgers, but whatever.
Many companies aren't interested in any experience you weren't paid for - they're looking for professional experience.
Besides, once you have more than 10 years experience a few months more is just in the noise.
If I read this correctly, Mr. Rex seems to be saying that the problems due to the economy are unique to open source (true, others don't depend on contributions, but they do depend on sales, which are similarly impacted). If that is what he meant, he is the one who has a problem.
Many companies aren't interested in any experience you weren't paid for - they're looking for professional experience.
Besides, once you have more than 10 years experience a few months more is just in the noise.
Two responses:
1. from the above poster:
"In the end, I got top-notch job--which I wouldn't have been able to get if I'd shown up to the interview and been unable to answer engineering-questions due to having not done any engineering for 3+ months. Being able to show my prospective employer which projects were using my code (and show the code) was a definite plus, too--I'm certain that it helped me win-out over the other candidates."
Skillsets are perishable. A shark smothers when it stops swimming. You don't want to be stale for a tough interview.
2. That's why you do something both to a professional standard, and that is impressive. Set a high standard for yourself, pick a difficult problem, and solve it. If it's impressive it's impressive, whether you got paid to do it or not. That's what I'm actually doing now, with boogiepants.
'In knowledge is power, in wisdom humility.'