To be honest I'm part time open source contributor from Pakistan with 1K+ Contributions in 2019 on github but i earned 0$ from open source and joined two organizations also.
Can you help me to answer these questions? So i want to ask these questions .
1) How full time open source contributor earn?
2) How to earn from open source?
3) How much you earn from open source?
4) How much a full time open source contributor earn?
Top comments (5)
I think it can be hard to earn directly from straight open source contributions without relationships, reputation, and finding the right opportunities.
For example, most employees and contractors at DEV are full time open source contributors. We have hired from our pool of contributors but but it is about relationship building and demonstration of communication skills as much as it is about a 1:1 exchange.
In the long run you can make great money in direct open source contribution, but it's a journey which requires a lot of relationship building at the moment. This is what separates you from seeming like a "commodity".
Hey Ben, thanks for the great advice. What are your recommendations for relationship building in open source when contributors live thousands of kilometers away from each other? I know there are many digital communication tools and such, but there are no real standardized protocols right now and it can feel overwhelming.
Wow Thanks for your reply .
So sponsors is only way to earn from open source right ?
No not really, I'd say opportunities are the only way to earn from open source.
There's no real "uniform" environment right now. There are full time jobs, consultation opportunities, entrepreneurial opportunities, etc.
If you become an expert in a project that has a lot of commercial appeal there could be opportunities. Elastic and MongoDB are heavily commercialized open source projects. Developing expertise in some of these kinds of realms can lead to opportunities.
One example of someone who took a windy path through open source to ultimately see a lot of success is @mxstbr .
Max gained notoriety through open source and it opened a lot of doors, and all in open source. It takes a lot of hard work, luck, and skill development beyond just the code, but the opportunity is there if you can stay committed.
Thank you so much for this π―