Accelerate Your Web3 Career with open-source contribution

A presentation on how a web3 developer can accelerate thier career and contributing to open source

Transcript

1. Accelerate Your Web3 Career The Open Source Contribution Playbook ETH Enugu - August 2025
2. Ajayi Adekunle Michael @0xAdek Software Engineer, Technical Writer, Open source Contributor
3. What You'll Learn Why you should care about open source Steps to find the right projects for you Confidence to make your first contribution Step-by-step practical guide
4. Resumes Are Fading — Proof of Work Matters Traditional resumes ≠ real skill GitHub profile & PRs = 🔥 Open-source is the new portfolio
5. Why Open Source Rocks No gatekeeping Transparent & community-driven Give back while leveling up Web3 is built on this foundation
6. What You Gain From Contributing Real-world problem solving Git & GitHub mastery Grow your network & credibility Sometimes... you get hired!
7. What You Need to Get Started Basic skills Curiosity & willingness to learn Basic Git & GitHub knowledge That's it — no expert status needed!
8. Where Do You Even Start? Projects that excite you Tools/libraries you already use Projects you've used as a user Something that fascinates you
9. You Don't Need to Know the Whole Codebase Fix typos & docs Improve contributing guides Fix UI glitches Even maintainers don't know everything 😄
10. Ways to Find What to Work On Go through existing open issues See what's already been identified as needed Check "good first issue" tags Maintainers mark these specifically for newcomers Be a user — what can be improved? Your user perspective is valuable Docs, tests, formatting — all valuable Code isn't the only way to contribute
11. How a Typical Contribution Works i Find or create an issue ii Ask to be assigned iii Fork & clone the repo iv Create a new branch v Make and commit your changes vi Push to your fork vii Open a Pull Request (PR) viii Respond to feedback ix Celebrate when it’s merged 🎉 ⇆ Repeat the process
12. Contributor Best Practices Read the Contributing Guide Understand the project's rules, code style, and expectations before you start. Start with an Issue Even if not strictly required, discussing your idea or finding an existing issue helps align efforts and avoids duplicate work. Keep Pull Requests Small Break down larger features or fixes into smaller, logical chunks. This makes review easier and faster. Avoid Unnecessary Reformatting Focus on the functional changes your PR introduces. Extensive reformatting can obscure the actual code changes. Communicate Often & Early Keep maintainers informed of your progress, especially if you get stuck or foresee delays in your contribution.
13. Let’s Contribute to Fauceth Live Workshop 🔗 github.com/ajayiMike/fauceth
14. Want to Start Your Own Open Source Project? Understand Licensing Learn about MIT, GPL, Apache, and choose the best fit for your project. Use Community Tools Leverage GitHub Discussions or Issues for transparent communication. Keep a Clear Guide A well-defined CONTRIBUTING.md helps onboard new contributors. Be Open to Learning Building a community project is a continuous learning experience. For comprehensive resources, reference opensource.guide, choosealicense.com.
15. You Belong in Open Source You Don't Need to Be a Genius Open source thrives on diverse perspectives and varied skill levels. Your willingness to learn and contribute is what truly matters, not a pre-existing "genius" label. Contribution Is How You Learn The best way to deepen your understanding and acquire new skills is by actively engaging with real-world projects. Every pull request is a learning opportunity. Web3 Needs More Builders The decentralized future relies on active creators, not just passive users. Your contributions help shape the tools and infrastructure for the next iteration of the web. Start Small, Stay Consistent Begin with minor fixes or documentation updates. Consistency in small contributions builds momentum, confidence, and a strong reputation over time.
16. Got Any Question?
17. Keep in Touch AjayiMike @0xAdek @SirAdek Presentation slides!