Keisuke Suzuki

How would I like to contribute?

Until recently, I did not know that writing some code is not the only way to contribute to open source. For example, you can contribute by improving or translating their documentation, suggesting a new feature to the project, or even helping to organize some events and more. These are all respectable ways to contribute to open-source projects. Those might not be the fanciest ways, as a beginner, I think I should focus on writing, improving, or translating documentation over the semester. Off course, it would be great if I do that by writing some code.

What would you benefit from contributing?

FOSS Benefits to your Skills:

• Communication
  - Communicating with people who you don't know is essential in FOSS, that must improve your communication skills.
• Best Practices
  - Communities have been developing their practices for what they know more than anyone else in the world. You would avoid unexpected bugs or failures by following their best practices.

FOSS Benefits to Your Career:

• Visibility of your work
  - Contributing to FOSS projects guarantees that your work can be shared with anyone. This can be beneficial because your future employer can verify your skill whereas private works often have some limitations.
• Expand your interest
  - You might unexpectedly find things that interest you. It may be the great step towards your career.

Benefits from Network:

• More Information
  - By joining a community, you would be able to access more information from other member's blogs, email updates or some internal events.
• Personal Network
  - You might get a chance to work with an experienced team that usually does not happen while you are in school.