A petite crust of my development journey

I've always wanted to explore the tech field but was a bit confused should I start AI/ML or web dev or maybe app development? A couple of months ago, I was browsing YouTube when I came across a video about open source, back then I didn't know how to code, I mean I knew some basics of python which I learned during school.

From here my journey of open source started, I learned about what is Open source, how it works...... and the numerous benefits of contributing to open source projects like working with a collaborative mindset, learning best practices from senior engineers, etc. I got to know that an Open source project is developed with a particular tech stack/programming language and you need to have a decent grip on the same to contribute to that project. After some research, I found some great projects like Sktime (A unified framework for machine learning with time series) and Wagtail (A Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience).

As I had a basic familiarity with python so I went with web development and started learning Django. In the beginning, I thought I made a mistake by choosing Django as most of the stuff was going right over my head but eventually, by continuous efforts and practice I found my way around and started understanding the concepts. After I had my basic concepts cleared I made some basic projects like a to-do list and an employee management system.

Then right away went to contribute to projects and luckily I found some issues tagged as good first issues which are good for beginners. I first tackled them it was not easy as it was my first time contributing but the whole community was extremely helpful in every way possible. If you are working on an issue and stuck somewhere there are people in the community to help like maintainers all you need is patience and a sense of asking good questions.

Conclusion

It might look like a smooth and short journey but was full of ups, downs, and most importantly enjoyment. Open source is one of the best if not the best way to brush up on your skills and if you want to give back to the community. All I can say is try open source you won't regret it.

Feel free to share your experience and thoughts.