On: Ask HN: Becoming a hirable programmer

Contributing to your favorite open source projects is a favorite. I recommend checking out Google's Summer of Code, sounds about perfect for you.

i whole heartedly agree, participate in one or more OSS projects. then, as your hiring manager, i can see your code, your interactions with people (bugfixes, code reviews, etc), and your interests. plus you'll learn a whole lot, meet people, contribute to the world, and find out about good opportunities.