What to Know About Open Source Contribution

A practical FAQ for beginners who are not trying to cosplay as Linux maintainers

Is open source a get-rich-quick scheme?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: still no, just with context.

Open source is not a shortcut to wealth. It is closer to:

• A reputation builder
• A learning accelerator
• A network multiplier

People who make money from open source usually do so indirectly:

• Better job opportunities
• Paid internships and fellowships
• Consulting, speaking, or sponsorships later on

If you contribute expecting immediate financial returns, you will likely quit early.

If you contribute to learn, grow, and be seen doing real work, it pays off long-term.

Will I have to learn new tools?

Yes. Almost certainly.

You will likely encounter:

• Git workflows you have never used
• Linters, formatters, CI pipelines
• Issue templates and contribution guidelines
• Tools specific to that project’s ecosystem

This is normal.

Maintainers do not expect you to know everything. They expect you to:

• Read documentation
• Ask clear questions
• Try before asking
• Learn from feedback

If you only ever work inside tools you already know, you are underusing open source.

What will I actually be doing once I get selected?

This depends on the program or project, but most contributions look like this at first:

• Fixing small bugs
• Improving documentation
• Writing tests
• Refactoring unclear code
• Reviewing pull requests
• Helping other contributors in issues or discussions

Your early work proves one thing:

“I can follow instructions, communicate clearly, and not break things.”

That is extremely valuable.

How do I avoid staying idle after being selected?

This is a very real problem.

Selection does not automatically create momentum. You have to do that yourself.

Practical ways to stay active:

• Keep a personal contribution log
• Pick a weekly goal, even a small one
• Check issues labeled good first issue or help wanted
• Ask maintainers what needs attention right now
• Review other people’s pull requests if allowed

Being visible does not mean being noisy. It means being consistent.

Does my skill level matter a lot?

Yes, but not in the way you think.

Maintainers often prefer:

• A beginner who shows up consistently
  over
• A highly skilled person who disappears

Your skill level determines:

• How fast you can contribute
• What kind of tasks you start with

It does not determine:

• Whether you belong
• Whether you can grow
• Whether your contribution matters

Open source is one of the few places where learning while contributing is expected.

I see people contributing to Node.js core or PyTorch. I have only built todo apps. Can I ever do that?

Yes. But not immediately.

And that is okay.

Here is the part people skip when telling their stories:

• They read code for months
• They fixed boring bugs
• They improved documentation
• They asked dumb questions
• They broke things and learned

You do not jump from todo apps to core engines overnight.

The path usually looks like:

1. Contribute to smaller libraries
2. Understand how large codebases are structured
3. Learn how maintainers think
4. Build confidence reviewing and fixing code
5. Gradually move closer to core systems

Todo apps are not useless. They taught you:

• How systems fit together
• How bugs appear
• How users interact with software

That knowledge transfers.

Final mindset shift

You are not there to impress strangers. You are there to collaborate with humans.

If you show up with:

• Humility
• Consistency
• Willingness to learn

You are already qualified to start.

Everything else comes with time.