Possible Duplicate:Why programming open source? I'm having trouble understanding why people dedicate their time to an open source project that's free as in beer instead of focusing on a closed source, paid project.Closed source projects seem to be more commercially viable, so why do programmers open source their code and make it free when there are commercial opportunities for it?
What is the economic rationale for focusing on free, open source projects?
open source;commercial
Even as a purely economic decision (which it isn't, as several others pointed out), the rational function to optimize is your cumulative future value, not your immediate future value. By working on a non-paid project, you may increase:Your competence Your reputationYour devotion to the profession (i.e, to a hiring manager)Your mastery of a potentially profitable domain (e.g., a new language, hardware platform, or domain)Your association with a product for which people will pay support All of which may maximize long-term economic benefits.