As someone who is actively reading a lot of resumes, I feel the need to share this piece of advice: contribute to open source and put it on your resume. Why? Contributing shows things that degrees, bootcamps, and even work experience can’t.

1. You can write code. Sure the other things on your resume imply this but having code you’ve written available on your GitHub account for employers to see proves it.

2. You can read code. This is a much harder skill and extremely important to employers- it means training you will be much easier.

3. You can collaborate with others. Not only will your code be available for employers to see but so will your interactions with others in the form of issues.

4. You can use Git. This probably isn’t important to every employer but it’s definitely important to some.

5. You’re passionate. Let’s face it, no one contributes to open source who isn’t interested in the topic.

There are a lot of things you can do to show these things to potential employers, but I find open source contribution to be the strongest among them. It also has the added benefit of being the right thing to do for our community. So get out there and contribute! Speaking from experience it can be a bit rocky to start, but it’s well worth it. You can start by checking out listings on this site!