How OpenSource Contribution Can Change Your Life
Tags: opensource, hacktoberfest, journey, career
Published: 2022-10-09 13:20:10

As we all know Hacktoberfest has already started and people are celebrating OpenSource by contributing to the OpenSource Project with a variety of contributions.

I have been contributing to OpenSource Project for one and a half years, which has helped me immensely in my professional and personal growth. So today I would like to share my OpenSource journey and how it has changed my life with the help of this article.

## How it started

It all started with this YouTube video **Free GitHub Bootcamp tutorial** where I learned about github and OpenSource contribution. This video stimulated me to explore more about OpenSource and how can I contribute to OpenSource projects.

{% embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYtPC9tHYyQ %}

At the same time, I was also learning [Django](https://www.djangoproject.com/) so I started finding a project which is based on Django. After exploring and spending some time on the github I found one project [MumbleAPI](https://github.com/divanov11/mumbleapi) (Backend/API for the [mumble. dev](https://mumble.dev), an OpenSource social media application).

{% embed https://github.com/divanov11/mumbleapi %}

I had a project to contribute, but what to contribute was not clear. with the help of the project readme guide, I was able to set up the project locally. then I started exploring the project and finally found one thing where I can make my first contribution.

They had the API but documentation was missing, so I decided to make a contribution and add documentation for it.

Here is My First Pull Request, My First OpenSource Contribution ✨

{% embed https://github.com/divanov11/mumbleapi/pull/100 %}

I wanted to contribute more, and collaborate with more people. So I joined the EddieHub Community, where I learned the exact meaning of OpenSource and it was really simple **Collaboration 1st, Code 2nd!**.

{% embed https://github.com/EddieHubCommunity %}

I must say **EddieHub Community** is one of the great **OpenSource communities**, it provides you with the environment to grow as an OpenSource contributor and enhance your skills.
Thanks to [Eddie Jaoude](https://github.com/eddiejaoude) for building such a great community.

## How I got my first job with the help of OpenSource Contribution

I would like to talk about this part because it is a common misconception that OpenSource contributions are not taken into consideration when applying for a job.

I began contributing to more OpenSource projects after my first contribution. My OpenSource work gave me a lot of confidence so I wrote OpenSource Contributor along with the names of the projects I contributed to in my resume.

Despite the job experience requirement, I was actively applying for jobs on LinkedIn. In the same way, I applied for [Deuex Solutions Pvt Ltd](https://deuexsolutions.com/) and got a call from HR saying your resume has been shortlisted. If you respond to the mail, we will schedule an interview.

The interview was scheduled and I gave it, it went well, and I was selected. I got to know that my resume got selected because of the OpenSource Contributor part that I had in my resume after two months when I was in the office.

Thanks to [Saloni Shah](https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahsaloni596) and [Sanket Shah](https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahsank3t) for providing me with this opportunity.

This is a sort summary of *How I got my first job with the help of OpenSource Contribution*

## Things I learned from OpenSource Contribution

The first thing I would like to mention is that when you contribute to OpenSource, you learn something new or improve your existing skills.

The following things I learned from the OpenSource Contribution

- How to work with different people
- How to explain things to others
- How to ask for help
- How to help others
- How to learn from other people's work 
- How to gain more experience from the process

The above learnings have helped me a lot in professional as well as personal growth.

## Projects I have contributed to

In the span of one and a half years, I have contributed to many OpenSource Projects here are a few of them.

{% embed https://github.com/Sachin-chaurasiya %}

### OpenMetadata
Open Standard for Metadata. A Single place to Discover, Collaborate and Get your data right.

{% embed https://github.com/open-metadata/OpenMetadata %}

### ReactPlayIO
An Opensource platform for React developers to learn, create and share ReactJS Projects.

{% embed https://github.com/reactplay/react-play %}

### LinkFree
OpenSource alternative to LinkTree

{% embed https://github.com/EddieHubCommunity/LinkFree %}

### OpenMetadata Docs
OpenMetadata docs page source code

{% embed https://github.com/open-metadata/docs %}

### HackRPlay
Hack-R-Play is an initiative from the ReactPlay platform to help you hack, build, learn, and simultaneously contribute to OpenSource through hacktoberfest.

{% embed https://github.com/reactplay/activities %}

### React-awesome-shapes
Insert Awesome Shapes into Your React Site with Ease.

{% embed https://github.com/ashutosh1919/react-awesome-shapes %}

I thank you for reading it to this point. In the next part, I will share other aspects of the project to contribute and the perks of OpenSource Contribution.

## OpenSource Contribution is not only about coding

When I was exploring the OpenSource projects, I had a very common misconception that OpenSource is only about coding. but after contributing to one or two projects I got to know that there are other parts of the project where I can do my contribution.

The following are the other aspects of the project to contribute.

- If you like planning events you can help the project to organize the workshop or meetup
- You can help with the design by creating a style guide to help the project have a consistent design.
- You can write and improve the project documentation and You can write tutorials about the project.
- You can test the project and create an issue if any or You can request a new feature.
- You can help the project community by answering questions or moderating the discussion channels.
- You can review other people's submissions and provide valuable feedback

## Perks of OpenSource Contribution

- When you contribute to OpenSource, you learn something new or improve your existing skills.
- In the OpenSource project, you work with different people, which means you will have to explain how things work and ask other people for help.
- It gives you an opportunity to see how others work and do things, which helps you gain more experience in the process.

## Summary

Learning, teaching, and building experience can all be gained through contributing to OpenSource.

And that’s it for this topic. Thank you for reading.

## Connect with me

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachin-chaurasiya) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/sachindotcom)