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Ask HN: Will my Bitcoin open source contributions count against me?

5 points by btcjobseeker ↗ HN
I'm a hobbyist developer who is looking to change careers and start working as a full-time software developer. I learned to program about 2-3 years ago and have been increasingly active in open source contributions, and even maintaining my own (somewhat) popular open source project. I've been learning all the important stuff I missed in college by not majoring in CS: algorithms, data structures, etc. I've got a pretty nice Github for someone who's only been into this a few years. I love programming and want to do it full-time.

The (potential) problem is, I went through a stage when I was pretty amazed by Bitcoin technology (and I'm still pretty amazed by it). And I even got some modest code contributions into the core Bitcoin client.

Now, I'm not a Bitcoin fanatic or invester. In fact, I've been pretty disappointed by the number of scammers and stock-pumper types the project has attracted. And none of my other open source projects are Bitcoin related, nor are my blog posts, which cover a variety of other technical topics. And I've got Github contributions to some other big, popular open source projects.

But seeing the negative reaction that some popular HNers have to Bitcoin, I'm really worried that my Bitcoin contributions will be seen as a negative by potential employers and even potentially rule me out as a job candidate, particularly in my small city, which is very far from being SV.

Problem is, I can't just delete the Bitcoin contributions from my Github account without deleting the account, and then I lose all my other (positive, and hopefully impressive) code to show employers.

This shouldn't be such a negative, since it's not easy to get code into the Bitcoin core project (there is, after all, a large economy that depends upon it). But so many people on both sides are totally irrational about the matter, so I'm very worried about this.

Is this a problem?

14 comments

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GFK_of_xmaspast
I bet if you don't list it on your resume most interviewers won't even notice it.
btcjobseeker
I'm not sure about that. It's toward the top of my "Github Contributions", and by necessity I have to show them my Github. I've never worked as a developer before beyond a few small contract jobs, so I have to show them code somewhere.

In any case, this is falling off the new page, so I probably won't be able to hear from a meaningful sample of the hiring population. So I'll just have to risk it, and revisit it if I don't get any calls.

debacle
No. It will be a huge positive.
btcjobseeker
Thanks for your comment. I hope you're right. It's so hard for me to tell based on the people who comment on Bitcoin matters in online communities like HN and Reddit, who tend to be either very pro- or very anti-Bitcoin.
im_dario
Create a separate account or an organization under your account, transfer ownership to it.

Anyway, a technically savvy interviewer would still be able to find your commits but your personal profile will be cleaner.

Edit: I don't think your contributions will be negative but it is your GitHub, your rules.

btcjobseeker
Thanks for your comment. I can't transfer ownership to the repo, because it's the Bitcoin core project and I don't own it (and I'm not even a core committer, so I basically can't do anything). But it shows up on my profile as "Projects contributed to". And since it's such a popular project, it's high in the list of projects contributed to.

I have considered a similar plan, really just an alternate take on your suggestion, which is creating a new profile and transferring ownership of my own (semi) popular projects to it. The problem is, I then give up my 2+ year old Github account for a brand new one. And then I also give up proof of other external projects I've contributed to, including some big name open source projects.

Github really should let users have control over what repos are shown in their profile. I mean, fine if employers want to use Github as a resume, but at least we should have control over which ones of our projects Github displays, then.

But the most important is that you don't think those contributions will be seen as a negative, good (anecdotal) data point. I'm beginning to think that I may be worried for no good reason.

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

sondring
I think a majority of places will see your contribution as a positive thing. A few will not, but you probably don't want to work for those places anyway. I think the more conservative the company is, the more likely they will be to look down on your bitcoin contribution. I'm thinking small mom-n-pop shops outside of the valley, maybe also big financial institutions. Pretty much any startup in the valley would see the contribution as positive.
joshschreuder
I wouldn't worry too much about it. I think basically anything that demonstrates open source contribution is a positive in the hiring process, besides maybe contributing to one of those dubious movie downloader apps or similar.

There may be some rare exceptions but as others have said, you probably don't want to work at a place that will criticise your extracurricular activities.

proveanegative
I wonder if contributing to a BitTorrent client counts as better or worse.
patmcc
I wouldn't worry about it - if someone you interviewed with was staunchly anti-bitcoin, you could certainly claim you did it as you found it an interesting technical problem rather than being a "true believer".

But I suspect most people who are skeptical of bitcoin as a viable currency still think it's kind of neat technically, and would be impressed at you writing some (presumably good) code for it.

srdev
It probably won't be a problem. Don't be an evangelist, and be even-keeled about how you talk about your projects. Discuss what made them interesting and the technical challenges you had with them. There's not a lot of hate for Bitcoin the technology, just the die-hard advocates that it attracts (i.e. the kind that throws penny shavings at people via changetip and talks about how the blockchain will bring about a utopian anarcho-capitalist society, end-the-fed-ron-paul-2016)

As long as you keep it technical and keep the non-technical stuff to yourself, it will be beneficial (and you should really do that for any topic in a technical interview). As an ancedote, I certainly wouldn't have any problems hiring someone with Bitcoin work, and my post history shows that I'm pretty skeptical of Bitcoin.

bbcbasic
Or apply for a job with Bitcoin startup - it won't count against you then!
shillster
It will when you go around making self-conscious posts about it.

Be proud of the code you write. Be even prouder it has users and if someone decides they don't like you based on their own short-sighted judgements, remember the world of technology is exploding and you will find gainful employment elsewhere. Also, you can use this mindset to maximize your income in negotiations and be quick to leave for better opportunities if you find your current job lacking.

In an interview situation, your tech skills and intelligence will shine through, even if making small talk, even if you express strong ideology surrounding your interests (passion sells so that would be a plus in my book even if I didn't agree with your views, your technical capability will demand respect). I guarantee you there are shadier people than yourself out there fishing for higher profile jobs. You control the means of production in a new economic era and as such you get to make a choice for the people you work for or with so why not take advantage of that. In addition, there's a good chance that this field will expand and your early involvement will become an additional credential.

jordsmi
I don't see how contributing to Bitcoin could be a bad thing whatsoever...

This is just all in your head