Will being an Apache committer in a well known project like Spark help your career? Is it worth pursuing?
It absolutely helps establish your mastery in say spark and open opportunities in any company that leverages big Data tech ( which is everyone. 🙂) I am aware of few good opportunities private message me if you are committer or know of someone looking for new opportunities
How much knowledge and effort is needed to become a committer in a popular project like Spark?
Depends on which component (core, streaming, ml, graph)..
The easiest one?
It is just a value add on your resume for FANG . Many famous software committers and even creators have been rejected at Google for not matching right background and work culture. For many other companies, it is a great initiator. I have a very limited Github checkins but I have been approached by multiple HRs saying we are impressed by your work. And even CXOs get orgasm on hearing about my year old github exploits.
Not really unless you are specifically looking for roles that aligns with your committee status.