External Contribution vs Internal Contribution

Developers should engage in external contributions to build a public portfolio, gain experience with diverse codebases, and network with other professionals meets developers should engage in internal contributions to foster a culture of continuous improvement, reduce technical debt, and accelerate team onboarding. Here's our take.

External Contribution

Nice Pick

Developers should engage in external contributions to build a public portfolio, gain experience with diverse codebases, and network with other professionals

Pros

• It is particularly valuable for career advancement, as it provides tangible evidence of expertise, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork
• Related to: git, github

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Internal Contribution

Developers should engage in internal contributions to foster a culture of continuous improvement, reduce technical debt, and accelerate team onboarding

Pros

• This is particularly valuable in large organizations or fast-paced startups where shared resources and standardized practices can significantly impact efficiency
• Related to: code-review, documentation

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use External Contribution if: You want it is particularly valuable for career advancement, as it provides tangible evidence of expertise, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Internal Contribution if: You prioritize this is particularly valuable in large organizations or fast-paced startups where shared resources and standardized practices can significantly impact efficiency over what External Contribution offers.

The Bottom Line

External Contribution wins

Developers should engage in external contributions to build a public portfolio, gain experience with diverse codebases, and network with other professionals