If you code or test or like to roll up your sleeves and pitch in to help on projects that are both cool and needed, even if you are a beginner, listen up!

Every year Google’s Summer of Code (GSoC) program pays thousands of new contributors to help improve selected projects.  They began this program in 2005, and it’s been a smashing success.  Many of the tools you use every day have been developed or enhanced by GSoC.

A couple years ago, the program got a major upgrade.  Quoting Wikipedia:

Google announced a massive expansion to the Google Summer of Code program in November of 2021. The updated program allowed anyone over 18 to participate, which significantly broadened the scope of the program which used to just focus on students and new grads. Google also rolled out both medium and large projects to give open source organizations flexibility to tackle more complex projects.

So it’s no longer just for CS students!  Any open source beginner is eligible this year.  Remember, even Linus Torvalds was a beginner once.

Your Opportunity with BorgBase

BorgBase is a provider of managed backup storage was always a big open source contributor.  If you open a thread on LowEndTalk asking what backup system people use, a lot of the responses will include BorgBase.  They directly support Borg, Borgmatic, and maintain Vorta, a popular desktop GUI.

This year all those projects have joined forces to participate in GSoC and work on new features and improvements!

Anyone who is an open source beginner or student can apply and suggest a project that suits their skills and availability.  Have you noticed how many times the word beginner has appeared in this article?  It’s open to all and you are encouraged to bring your ideas to the table.

If you didn’t formally contribute to open source before, you will learn valuable technical and community skills, as well as see your work used by tens of thousands of users. This also looks good on a résumé or curriculum vitae (CV).  Or you can just casually drop a mention of it in your next job interview.

While not everyone can be accepted, BorgBase will be providing a free Medium Backup Plan ($80 value) to anyone making substantial contributions that are merged into one of the participating projects.  Cool!

So let’s review.  By participating, you can

• Get paid by Google
• Get a free Medium Backup plan from BorgBase
• Gain invaluable experience contributing on open source projects
• Contribute to the future of BorgBase and improve the project
• Dazzle admissions boards, potential employers, and probably your romantic interests with tales of your contributions

For possible projects, tasks and how to apply see the official ideas page or ask your questions on IRC.

While you’re here, you might enjoy our interview with LowEndTalk’s @m4nu, who started BorgBase and is the proprietor of PikaPods, an excellent dead-simple it-just-works hosting service for apps.

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.