Either you’re curious about what an open source community exactly is or you’re wondering how anything in the world can be better than a job in FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google, and Microsoft). This article will blow your mind, so let’s learn about open source and how to get better opportunities through it.

What is Open Source?

Open Source software is a model designed to be publicly accessible. It lets one share content and software such that everyone can build upon it collaboratively. Simply put, in open-source software, anyone can see, modify, and distribute the code according to what they find fit.

It is developed in a decentralized way and hence relies on peer reviews. This makes it much cheaper and flexible and is not dependent on a single author or company.

The FAANG company hype

One cannot neglect the perks of working with a FAANG company, as they do offer some advantages such as, 

1. Investment: FAANG companies have the resources and funding to invest heavily in research and development, which can lead to faster innovation and better technology.
2. Support: FAANG companies typically provide extensive support for their products, which can be especially valuable for businesses that rely on proprietary software.
3. Reliability: FAANG companies have a reputation for delivering high-quality, reliable products and services.

Yet there’s more that you are missing out on if you haven’t experienced working in an open source community.

How is Open Source better than FAANG?

Open-source and FAANG companies have different approaches and business models to software development resulting in their respective benefits and drawbacks. Here are some ways in which open-source is considered better than FAANG companies:

1. Accessibility: Open-source software is freely available to anyone who wants to use it. This makes it more accessible to individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations that may not have the resources to afford software offered by huge companies.
2. Collaboration: Open-source projects rely on the contributions of a large, global community of developers. This leads to faster innovation and a wider range of perspectives, making open-source software more robust and diverse. Plus it is always great to learn in a collaborative environment.
3. Customisability: With open-source software, users have access to the source code and can modify it as per their desired needs and results. This level of customisation is not possible with software from FAANG companies.
4. Independence: Open-source software is not tied to a single company or vendor, meaning that users are not locked into a particular platform or ecosystem. Hence providing greater flexibility for users.

How to get started with open-source? (if you haven’t already)

Getting started with open source can be a great way to learn new skills by not only contributing to the developers’ community but also collaborating with other contributors to get better exposure. 

Here are some steps to help you get started:

Familiarising with the open-source community

Start by exploring existing open-source projects and communities on platforms such as GitHub and Reddit, to get a sense of what is available and trending and what people are working on. With GitHub’s user-friendly GUI for beginners, it is pretty easy to search for currently hosted projects and issues to which you can contribute.

Choose a project

Decide on a project that interests you and aligns with your skills and goals. There are many open-source projects to choose from, ranging from software development to data science to documentation. 

Learn the basics

You must learn the tools and technologies used by the open-source project you have chosen. This may include the programming languages used in that project, version control systems, and development environments used. Trust me, it is not as tough as it sounds.

Get involved

Start contributing to the project by either fixing bugs, adding features, or writing documentation. Search for issues with tags labeled “good first issue” or “beginner-friendly” to start with something manageable. It might seem intimidating at first, but your contribution can be as easy as correcting a line of code in someone’s codebase or adding a comment to increase readability.

Seek feedback

Open source community is about learning through collaboration. Hence, engage with the project’s community by asking questions, participating in discussions, and seeking feedback on your contributions.

Keep learning and growing

Becoming a recognized member of the community is a gradual process. Thus, you need to continuously improve your skills and knowledge by working on different projects and collaborating with others in the community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the choice between open-source and FAANG companies depends on the specific needs and priorities of each individual or organization. But working with open-source can be a rewarding experience in its way that can help you grow both professionally and personally. It may seem challenging, but with persistence and a willingness to learn, you can become a valuable member of the open-source community.