Abstract

The common mantra is “Community Works”, but does it? How does burning vacation days to speak at a conference “work”? How does staying up until the wee hours of the morning working on a project, just to turn around and go work your day job “work”? Exactly how does community pay the bills each month? Let me show you how it works.

Let’s jog through my career as a programmer. Along the way, we will take a look at how community has not only affected my career in a positive manner; it has been a jet pack strapped to my career. I’m just a programmer, not even a great one. If community can help my career, it can help anyone’s.