I'm curious. What makes contribution to this docs so special that adding it to the resume has been mentioned a few times in this thread?
I mean, is it not just another repo you have contributed to in your github profile?
It may just be another repo at the end of the day. Point is, contributions to open source are sometimes considered when selecting job candidates, so it remains an incentive for folks that may be strong enough for it to nudge them to do work for Amazon. I.e. even though it's technically free labor, I potentially benefit in some way thus I'm content. The problem is potential edge in future job searches is a far more ephemeral form of compensation for your time, is not concretely measurable, and is not actually provided by the company the labor was completed for. In the end the company ends up with a tangible product which they can use to compete in a market and the open source contributor ends up with, at best, a potential benefit should she ever need to apply to some job that will actually pay her for her work in the future.
i'd have to think it's a prestige matter. sending some patches to project X vs AWS ... one will be seen by more folks, used by more folks, probably has to be vetted by someone with known authority, etc.
why does going to one university vs another carry more weight with some people?