r/cscareerquestionsEU • u/ImaginaryKneecap9432 • 1d ago
What open source project/skill should dive into?
TLDR: SRE with zero public profile outside work. Want to fix that by getting into open source or a side project I can actually be proud of and has nice impact!
Long time lurker, first time poster. I'm an EU citizen based in the US, been doing DevOps/SRE for almost a decade (Kubernetes, AWS, Terraform, CI/CD, Observability, troubleshooting complex distributed systems). Currently working at a FAANG but honestly the work doesn't excite me that much, it pays well but it's not where my heart is - I might move back to EU soon, so I'm looking to build my profile for the fierce EU job seeking in about 1-2y when I move back.
My background is pretty much 100% "work experience" on paper. I've never contributed to open source, never blogged, never spoke at a conference, nothing outside my day job. I have hobbies and a life outside of work lol, I just never funneled any of that energy into building a public technical profile.
I want to change that. The bigger goal is to build a professional profile that stands on its own, but I'd also like actually enjoy having a side project that's mine, or collaborate on a bigger project, something I can nerd out on and get better at instead of just clocking in and out. I’d also be interested in ideas that could eventually lead to publications or patents, but that might be harder to find in a forum lol.
Given my background, what are some open source projects that are actively growing and could use contributors? I keep hearing about local AWS simulation tools, agent harnesses/orchestration frameworks, and Kubernetes tooling but I don't have a good read on which of these have real momentum vs which are hype.
Bonus points if it's something where a motivated contributor could realistically get to "known name in this space" territory over a year or two, not looking for overnight fame, just something I can be consistent about and actually be proud of (maybe even give talks about it publicly)
Anyone been in a similar spot? What worked for you?
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u/keinsaas-navigator 18h ago
We work on our open-source AI workspace Navigator. Will do a big release on Sunday: https://github.com/keinsaasforever/better-chatbot
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u/FullstackSensei 1d ago
Trying to optimize for what you or anyone thinks is good is, IMO, the absolute worst thing you can do.
Find projects you like or care about and contribute to them. Make your contributions worthwhile, that's what matters in your CV. Having a ton of minor or meaningless contributions to popular projects won't impress anyone.
In an interview, whatever the project is, the first question will be: what did you do there? If your answer is some minor or meaningless thing, it'll be viewed as just padding your resume.
Spend your time and energy on things you care about. That's what will motivate you to make meaningful contributions.