Got a pink slip? Write more open-source software
Rather than twiddling your thumbs through the economic downturn, ZDNet's Joe Brockmeier has even better advice: write more open-source software. There are a variety of good reasons to do so, including using code contributions as a way to position your talents to would-be employers, but one stands out:
Studies have shown that open-source developers make more money than those that simply know how to CTRL-ALT-DEL their way out of Windows problems.
How much more? Up to 40 percent more. But the benefits don't stop there. Employers also benefit, as Jon Williams, CTO of NBC Universal's iVillage once told me, because the most talented programmers want to write open-source software. Open source therefore becomes a great retention tool when employees nervously look for greener pastures.
These are anxious times, but good things will come from the recession. Let's hope that one of those "good things" is more open-source software written by...you.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
