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--- | ||
layout: blog | ||
title: "From Zero to Kubernets Subproject Lead" | ||
date: 2023-03-29 | ||
slug: from-zero-to-k8s-subproject-lead | ||
author: "Ala Dewberry (VMware)" | ||
--- | ||
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Getting started in any open-source community can be daunting, especially if it’s a big one like | ||
Kubernetes. I wrote this post to share my experience and encourage others to join up. All | ||
it takes is some curiosity and a willingness to show up! | ||
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Here’s how my journey unfolded at a high level: | ||
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1. What am I interested in? Is there a SIG (Special Interest Group) or a WG (Working Group) that is | ||
dedicated to that topic, or something similar? | ||
2. Sign up for their mailing list and start hopping on meetings. | ||
3. When (never if!) there are opportunities to help out and it aligns with your skills and desired | ||
growth areas, raise your hand. | ||
4. Ask for lots of help and don’t be shy about not knowing everything (or anything!) | ||
5. Keep plugging along, even if progress isn’t as fast as you would like it to be. | ||
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## Starting up | ||
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First things first. What are you interested in learning more about? There are so many wonderful SIGs | ||
and working groups in the Kubernetes community: there’s something for everyone. And continuing to | ||
show up and participate will be so much easier if you think what you are doing is | ||
interesting. Likewise, continued participation is what keeps the community thriving, so that | ||
interest will drive you to have more of an impact. | ||
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Also: it’s ok to show up knowing nothing! I remember showing up knowing | ||
very little about Kubernetes or how the community itself worked. And while I know more about how the | ||
community functions today, I am still learning all the time about it and the project. Fortunately, | ||
the community is full of friendly people who want to help you learn. Learning as you go is expected | ||
and celebrated. When you raise your hand to do something, even if you know nothing, people will | ||
cheer and help you along the way. | ||
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This method was my exact story. It was my first or second meeting with [SIG | ||
Security](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master/sig-security), and [Pushkar | ||
Joglekar](https://github.com/PushkarJ) mentioned that he needed a lead for a subproject he was | ||
creating after having done a security assessment of [Cluster API](https://cluster-api.sigs.k8s.io/). | ||
Everyone was so friendly in the meeting | ||
that I thought, "Hey, why not try it out?" And since then, I have received so much support and | ||
encouragement from my co-leads who are delighted to have me, _especially_ because I am a beginner; | ||
new participation is what keeps the community healthy. | ||
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## Always learning | ||
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My participation has also been a great learning experience on several fronts. First, I have been | ||
exposed to techniques for how to build community consensus. It’s simple stuff: show up at other SIG | ||
or working group meetings, share your ideas or where you are looking for help, find people who are | ||
interested and have the knowledge to help, build an action plan together, do it, and share as you | ||
execute. But the other thing that I’m learning is that building this consensus and executing it in a | ||
transparent, inviting way simply takes time. | ||
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I also have to be patient with myself and remember that I am learning as I go. The [Kubernetes git | ||
repo](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes) can be daunting to navigate. Knowing the next best | ||
step isn’t always obvious. But this is where my third learning curve, how to engage the community | ||
to get what I need, comes into play. It turns out that asking questions in the [Kubernetes Slack | ||
workspace](https://slack.k8s.io/) and bringing my topics to the SIG Security meetings when I need | ||
help is an amazing way to get what I need! Again, simple stuff, but until you do it, it’s not always | ||
obvious. | ||
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## Why you - a beginner - are important to the project | ||
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In many ways, beginners are the most important part of the community. To put a finer point on it: | ||
asking for, receiving, and then giving help is a very relevant part of how the community grows and | ||
flourishes. When we take on and then pass on knowledge, we ensure that the community grows enough to | ||
keep supporting the needs of the people who rely on the project, whatever it is. You have | ||
superpowers as a beginner! | ||
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I hope people who read this post have their curiosity peaked about getting involved in the | ||
community. It may seem scary. My experience has been such that, about halfway through your first | ||
step, you realize there are loads of people here who want to help you learn and are excited for you | ||
expressing interest and trying to participate, and the fear melts away. Sure, I’m still uncertain | ||
about a few things, but I know the community has my back and will support my growth. | ||
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Come on in, that water’s fine! |