DEV Community

Cover image for Not So Hacktoberfest...!
Utsav Tayde
Utsav Tayde

Posted on

3 5 4 4 5

Not So Hacktoberfest...!

This is a submission for the 2024 Hacktoberfest Writing challenge: Contributor Experience

Hello Dev Community,

I hope you're all doing well. As I write this, October has just wrapped up. Many of you have likely participated in and learned a lot from Hacktoberfest. In this article, I want to share my Hacktoberfest 2024 experience with you. A quick heads-up: I didn’t complete a single PR this time. So if you’re expecting a dramatic success story, this might not be it. Instead, I’ll be reflecting on my broader journey into Open Source. For anyone new to this space, I hope my story offers some useful insights into GitHub, navigating open source, and finding projects to contribute to.

Until about four months ago, despite being a software professional, I was largely unaware of the open-source world. I was in a routine 9-5 job, working with the same three or four technologies each day, rarely getting the opportunity to explore or learn something new. When I decided to switch jobs, I updated my resume and ventured into various job markets. That’s when I realized the extent to which my professional growth had been limited.

To address this, I made it a priority to up-skill myself in new areas. Joining developer communities was one of the most impactful steps I took over the past few months. Apart from dev.to, I recently started using the Chrome extension daily.dev, as well as engaging with developer communities on Twitter and LinkedIn. These communities have helped me stay current with trending open-source projects and introduced me to numerous other valuable resources.

I came across an article that guided me on how to find repositories with open, beginner-friendly issues. Following its advice, I found my first project, leetcode-curriculum, where I’m now an active contributor with four successful PRs. More recently, I discovered an interesting project called DevCanvas, and I’m looking forward to contributing to it as well.

One tip I’d like to share for those with limited time for open-source involvement: focus on more generic issues, like those related to DSA or algorithms. Contributing to specific projects often requires understanding the project’s technical aspects and tech stack, which can be time-consuming to learn. So starting with general topics can be a practical entry point.

I hope this article offers some value. If you’re a computer science or software engineering student interested in exploring production-level software and infrastructure, dive into open-source—it will significantly enhance both your resume and skills as a developer.

If you'd like to connect or follow along with my open-source journey, feel free to check out my GitHub for my latest contributions, or reach out on Twitter and LinkedIn. I’d love to connect with fellow developers and open-source enthusiasts!

See you in the open-source community, and all the very best!

Heroku

Simplify your DevOps and maximize your time.

Since 2007, Heroku has been the go-to platform for developers as it monitors uptime, performance, and infrastructure concerns, allowing you to focus on writing code.

Learn More

Top comments (0)

Billboard image

The Next Generation Developer Platform

Coherence is the first Platform-as-a-Service you can control. Unlike "black-box" platforms that are opinionated about the infra you can deploy, Coherence is powered by CNC, the open-source IaC framework, which offers limitless customization.

Learn more

👋 Kindness is contagious

Please leave a ❤️ or a friendly comment on this post if you found it helpful!

Okay