Open Source Policy a Key Consideration for Job Seekers

With the remarkable growth and adoption of free and open source software (FOSS) in recent years, many organizations have had to adjust their approach to open source software and establish guidelines around its use and development. 

And, according to the recent 2024 Open Source Professionals Job Survey Report from Open Source JobHub (OSJH) and Linux Professional Institute (LPI), guidelines around the use of open source software are important to employees and job seekers as well. In fact, an impressive 89% of respondents considered an employer's open source policy when making job choices.

Overall, 37% of respondents considered an open source policy "somewhat important," 38% considered it “very important," and 14% considered it "essential." 

The following graphic shows the breakdown of responses by job role, with 89% of all respondents, 88% of admins, 89% of developers, and 91% of non-tech respondents considering an open source policy at least somewhat important.

Open Source Policy

“These findings highlight the commitment of professionals to open source in their careers. In practical terms, the results suggest that companies should welcome open source software and state clear policies about both using and contributing to it,” the survey report states.

Open source policies can also take various forms, such as establishing an open source program office (OSPO) or creating a formal open source strategy. Such policies play an important part in helping organizations clarify their open source priorities and direct future contributions and development. 

The role of an OSPO, for example, is “to align the efforts of all relevant parts of an organization — engineering, sales, marketing, content creation — toward making open source methodologies and outputs successful,” explains Brian Proffitt, Senior Manager, Community Outreach within Red Hat's Open Source Program Office.

An open source strategy document can also be a key resource to help guide employees when consuming open source code and contributing to open source projects. 

Learn More

The free 2024 Open Source Professionals Job Survey Report offers further insight for both job seekers and hiring managers. Download the complete report to learn more.