Ask HN: Is OSS contribution worth it?

So this is purely subjective and I have no basis for claiming this except my own feelings and biases, but...

I would say that if you're talking about contributing to OSS solely for the purpose of enhancing your resume, and the "hope of landing an interview from a FAANG/MAANG-level corp", then you should not do it. I'd encourage people to get involved with contributing to OSS only if it serves an end such as fulfilling one's ideological commitment to FOSS, or furthering a project that one has a personal and direct connection to (eg, something you use yourself), or just because you generally want to make the world a better place and believe that contributing to OSS does that.

If you follow this approach, and treat the "resume building" aspect purely as an incidental sidebar, then the worst case is that you do something that you find worthy in and of itself and don't wind up getting that FAANG job. Best case, you both do something worthy AND you get the job.

But if you go into this with an expectation that it's about building your resume and getting a job with a FAANG, if that doesn't happen, you may be left with resentment and bitterness and a feeling that you wasted your time, and come away with a negative bias towards OSS in general. That downside seems like something worth avoiding, IMO.

An OSS project can get you a job if it proves you are uniquely suitable for the job. It might not be at a place like FAANG but some random company that wants some special knowledge or skill.

That is, it has to be a cool open-source project, or at least something that somebody could think is cool. Something unique or different that stands out. Or maybe it is an entry level job and having a github proves you know how to use version control.

Cool. I will add this: I don't work for a FAANG, but I do work for a "Fortune 50" sized mega-corp, and I've been doing this stuff well more than 20 years now. And based on my experience, I would say that there certainly are some companies where OSS contributions would be weighted pretty strongly in terms of making you a more desirable candidate (depending on the project, the scope of your contributions, etc). But OTOH, OSS is probably not a panacea, unless you're looking to join a company whose main product itself is OSS (eg, Red Hat, Alfresco, Mongo, etc). To me, that's one more argument for "Do OSS, but only if you see doing so as its own reward." It might help you get a job, but there's no guarantee.

Contribute to projects when there is a change you would like to see made, and you have the skills to do so.

Edit: and to be clear, when I say it's a change that you want to see made, I mean in software that you actually use.

For example, I often write software that targets Scheme standards like R7RS, of which there are many compilers and interpreters for. I test my software by running it through many compilers. If my software doesn't work on one compiler, I check to see if it is an error in my understanding of the standard, or in the implementation itself. If it is with the implementation, I see if it is a simple enough change to make myself. If it is, I send a patch. If it isn't, I send the maintainer a notice (ie a GitHub issue or an email) with details on the error.

That is to say I don't go searching for things to contribute to. I contribute to things when I run into the boundries of what exists, and when I would like to push those boundries further.