Infrastructure/GettingSponsored

= Getting Sponsored =

Who we are looking for
We are looking for people of all talents and abilities to work in and with our environment. To most people, we are a very traditional shop in a fast moving world. We use only open source software so obviously we are looking for open source people and admins. We are especially interested in the following types of people:


 * 1) Self starters/motivators.
 * 2) Self learners.
 * 3) People who need very little direction to do something.
 * 4) People with free time regularly.

Why get sponsored?
Getting sponsored is a formality required by the Infrastructure team in order to make changes and gain access to our environment.

Pick a FIG
To start off with we prefer that people pick one, and only one,  FIG  (Fedora Infrastructure Group) while getting started. This is a group in addition to the base sysadmin group. Pick a  FIG  and contact one of its sponsors. These people are responsible for you; make sure you maintain a good working relationship with them, communicate your intentions, and work regularly. There are many areas to get started in Fedora, Infrastructure is just one of them.

Submit an application
The application process is similar to getting into other Fedora teams. Get your Fedora Account and sign the CLA. Once that is completed send an introduction to the fedora-infrastructure-list and apply for the sysadmin group. Once your sysadmin group request has been approved, apply for one of the other groups on the FIGs page.

Once you have applied, make sure to contact one of the sponsors or admins in that group to let them know you are interested. If they are too busy, contact someone else. Before sponsoring you, they may ask a series of questions and give you a few tasks to do to prove yourself. These can be research projects, proof of concept tasks, or really anything that needs to get done. Once the sponsor is satisfied, sponsorship is approved and access granted.

What to include
When contacting a sponsor for sponsorship, make sure to include the following information:


 * Years experience.
 * Skills (especially those listed below in "What we are looking for").
 * Specific tasks you are interested in working on.
 * Current Location / Time Zone.
 * Why you are interested in working on the team.
 * Resume CV (not required, but a good idea)

Fedora's environment is part academic, this makes it a great place to investigate new solutions and learn about things we currently have in place. We openly invite others to do research, tests, and documentation/case studies on our environment. If you are looking for a learning opportunity and aren't already a seasoned professional, make sure to communicate that.

We cannot hold your hand while you are doing things. Obviously we help wherever we can, but if the answer lies in a config file or on Google, make sure to look there first. Before getting started with Fedora, ask your employer if you can take a few hours a week to participate. You may be surprised to find out you can do this at work, with your employer's permission.

Sysadmins
Obviously in a team like ours we need lots of systems administrators. We need all level of admins from junior to senior. Please see the groups section for a more detailed list of the types of jobs that need to be done. We are on the lookout for the following skills:


 * Web clustering
 * Building and build environments
 * Monitoring
 * Virtualization
 * Source control management
 * Script writers and automators

Developers
We are always looking for developers. Presently our group relies heavily on the following technologies:


 * Python
 * TurboGears
 * MySQL
 * PostgreSQL

Designers
It has become very clear that designers are extremely important in open source. We are always in need of serious dedicated people with the following skills:


 * Art
 * CSS
 * UI Design
 * Template creators
 * Standards compliance

If this is something you excel at please join the Art Team  or the  Websites  team. They exist outside of Fedora Infrastructure, but we work closely with them. Once on their teams, make sure to join the fedora-infrastructure-list, #fedora-admin on irc.freenode.net, and #fedora-meeting for our weekly meetings.

What to be careful of
The biggest problem many newcomers face is getting involved and then sticking with the team. If you happen to join and cannot stay for the long term, please let someone know. Especially if you have a task assigned to you. Obviously $DAYJOB gets in the way of the fun Fedora stuff at times. That is always an accepted reason for absence, just let someone know so that your tasks don't get forgotten about (or worse, have people think they are getting completed and aren't.)

Grounds for removal
Any group that provides shell access is considered privileged access. With great power comes great responsibility. Anyone who has not logged in during a 60 day span is removed from all groups granting them this access. No exceptions.