That’s what made it easier for me. I would be that drive-by user in discord or searching for “Good First Issue” without even being remotely interested in the project. Now I try to focus on using it first. It was mostly an ego thing I had to move past
Car forums don’t help either when most answers are “use the search function”. Which I understand, but some things have changed and/or people have learned better since the early 2000’s when those questions were originally asked :)
College senior project - 3dof robotic arm on a vertical gantry system attached to a hydroponic garden. We used 2 arduino’s to control the lighting and gantry. Then one pi onboard the robot for imaging and another for a web user interface.
In my area there are local business organizations (chamber of commerces, etc.) that help students connect with employers. Smaller shops appreciate a motivated young person hand-delivering a resume. I got my first job that way!
Your first point is interesting. I’ve been meaning to explore some of these options lately (llama.cpp). I’m a bit too smooth brained to build a good business offering around that.
I've worked for the past 3 years as a self-employed software developer, building data-focused full-stack web applications for businesses and non-profits. Recently I have been building an Airtable portal for data entry and analytics with the largest coffee farm in the United States (using Typescript and NextJS). Previously I developed C++ software for General Dynamics Mission Systems.