Benefits for Mentees

By now, you should have a general idea about the Mentorship program. But, why bother about it at all? Well, if you are a Mentee or a developer who wants to learn and work on open-source software projects, then you have come to the right platform to fulfill your dream. Following are some reasons why you should apply for the mentorship program:

An Amazing Remote Learning Experience

This is a remote opportunity and there is no need to relocate or move to participate. During the Mentorship program, you not only are guided by the experts to hone your skills, but also get an opportunity to acquire some new ones, such as coding, writing, testing, project management, and many more. It's a great opportunity for you to grow in the world of open-source technologies. As mentees, you gain substantial exposure to real-world software development by working closely with active developers in the community. Following are excerpts of what our mentees say about the program:

“The Linux Kernel Mentorship is Life Changing. Throughout my internship, I have learned that the kernel community is very helpful, kind, and willing to help new developers. Working on open-source projects was a very liberating experience for me. There are no barriers in open source space. Anyone can work on open-source code irrespective of their nationality, creed, or company affiliations, which I find very beautiful and liberating. I believe it is a very intellectually stimulating experience for anyone.”

– Kelsey Skunberg, Linux Kernel Mentorship Program Mentee

“Before this internship I mainly worked on theoretical blockchain and cryptography research at Purdue University, and this internship gave me a perfect balance between development and research.”

– Jason You, mentee for Hyperledger Caliper visualization

"Initially open source development was new territory for me, and it was a bit intimidating at first (technical skills aside). But then I got to present my project at the next Hyperledger event. That was my first close-up experience with the Hyperledger community, and it opened up a world of possibilities. I met the maintainers of many projects, we exchanged ideas, and they answered many of my questions. And suddenly the open source Hyperledger ecosystem wasn’t intimidating anymore."

– Attila Klenik, Hyperledger Summer Intern Program alum and current mentor.

Get paid while learning

Mentees are eligible to receive a stipend, which is paid in two installments, provided that regular interval evaluations show you're making satisfactory progress. The final installment will be paid upon successful mentorship completion.

Note: We have a small number of mentorship programs that are unpaid and explicitly mentioned in the Program Description. In this case, you will not receive stipends and the acceptance letter like other regular Mentorship Programs.

Get Hired

After you successfully complete the mentorship program, get connected to potential employers who are focused on your project and are offering interview opportunities. Your mentor may also refer you to a company.

Note: Any interactions you have with a company are strictly between you and the company, and are not part of or connected to the Mentorship program, nor do such interactions involve the Linux Foundation.

Hone your developer skills

As a mentee, you can apply to specific projects to learn new technologies.

Involve in the Community and build network

As a mentee, you get introduced to open source development infrastructure, tooling, and culture. You get the opportunity to build a network with the open-source communities. Not only do you get quite a cooperative community that stays one step ahead to help you during the entire program, you also develop close working relationships with open source professionals and industry business leaders to expand your professional network.

Take Pride

Think of the moment when your first PR (pull request) gets committed upstream in some application that will be used by the other developers across the globe. What a pride-taking moment! Isn’t it?

“The Linux Kernel Mentorship program was a life changing experience. Working on open source projects was a very liberating experience for me. There are no barriers in open source space. Anyone can work on open source code irrespective of their nationality, creed or company affiliations, which I find very beautiful and liberating. I believe it is a very intellectually stimulating experience for anyone.”

– Bharath Vedartham, Linux Kernel Mentee

“I had the honor of participating in the Linux Kernel Mentorship Program. Throughout the mentorship, I grew very fond of working on open source projects, learned to work with the open source communities, and my confidence as a developer has grown tremendously. The application process gave me the foundation needed to contribute to the Linux kernel by teaching me how to build patches, debug, complete boot tests, and start working with open source communities. I was able to grow these new skills throughout the mentorship program while working on my selected project.”

– Kelsey Skunberg, Linux Kernel Mentorship Program Mentee

“Open source development was new territory for me, and it was a bit intimidating at first. But then I got to present my project work on the next Hyperledger event. That was my first close-up experience with the Hyperledger community, and it opened up a world of possibilities. I met the maintainers of many projects, we exchanged ideas, and they answered many of my questions.It is safe to say that this whole experience put me on the track to get more involved with specific projects, and later becoming a maintainer of Hyperledger Caliper. And, as the next step on the road, I had the pleasure to mentor a Caliper-related internship project this year.”

– Attila Klenik, Hyperledger Summer Intern Program alum and current mentor\

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