Career & Growth Through Open Source

Year 1: Learning & Visibility
- 2-4 merged PRs
- Known in 1-2 communities
- Job interest: 0 (too early)

Year 2-3: Real Contributions
- 10-20 merged PRs
- Solving real problems
- Job interest: Growing
- Salary bump: 5-15% negotiation power

Year 3+: Known Contributor
- 50+ merged PRs
- Invited as maintainer
- Job interest: Companies recruiting you
- Salary jump: 20-50% higher offers
- Paths open: Startup founder, Tech lead, PM, DevRel

Real impact:
- Junior dev with no OSS: $60k
- Junior dev with 1 year OSS: $70k (17% bump)
- Junior dev with 2+ years OSS: $80-90k (40% bump)

What they SAY:
"We hire people with strong open source experience"

What they MEAN:
"This person..."

✓ Can write code without hand-holding
✓ Works well in async environments  
✓ Handles criticism on their code
✓ Finishes projects even when hard
✓ Solves problems independently
✓ Ships real features, not tutorials

Translation: You've proven yourself in public.

Contributions → Recognition → Network → Opportunities

Step 1: Make quality contributions (6+ months)
Step 2: Get known in 1-2 communities (become familiar face)
Step 3: Network with maintainers (genuine relationships)
Step 4: Maintainers recommend you (to their companies)
Step 5: Companies contact you (or you apply with referral)
Step 6: Better position + better salary

This path takes 2-3 years. There are no shortcuts.