[mikeabraham]

Google famously passed on the guy who invented Homebrew, so at least you're in good company. As others have said, the interview process selects for (wait for it) ... people who are good at the interview process. It's kind of like the SAT and college. If you want to get in, you get good at the SAT, regardless of its relevance.

Instead, maybe seek out the companies that go bonkers for your OS project and can't wait to turn you loose inside their company. They're out there and I suspect it would be more enjoyable to work for them. Good luck and don't despair!

[tobiu]

I actually hope that some of the ideas get picked up. Might be naive.

Getting visibility / traction for a new OS project is intense these days, especially in case it is "disruptive". Might be too far ahead.

"They're out there and I suspect it would be more enjoyable to work for them". Probably, but hard to find. Most job requests are like "Would you like to help us with Angular, React or Vue?".

[mikeabraham]

My apologies for not realizing that point you were making. I agree that it might be difficult to find a company that wants you to build their product using your OS project. I meant that there are probably companies out there that would evaluate your abilities on the strength of your OS project and then hire you to build whatever it was they needed.

If you want to make your side project your day job, that's a different story, but maybe it would be possible to build a startup on it. Easy to say, I know. The internet is full of well-meaning but effectively useless advice like mine. :)