If you’ve never been to a Contributor Day at a WordCamp, you might be a little nervous to make your first appearance at WordCamp US. The name on its own, Contributor Day, can sound like it’s an exclusive club for only those people who have given a lot of time or provide a high level of expertise. I went to my first Contributor Day with very little experience and few expectations for what would happen that day.

What I remember is that it felt like everyone in the room must know everything there was to know about WordPress; otherwise why would they have gone to a Contributor Day?

Here are some pointers for handling the excitement of attending your first Contributor Day:

1. Open Source takes all sorts – WordPress is an open source project. It’s built, from top to bottom, by the people who offer their time. You don’t have to have a grand plan in order to help. All you need to know is what your skills are and find the team that needs your skills.
2. Everyone is an expert at something – Don’t measure yourself by the skills of the person next to you. Not only does our community need people with lots of different skills, but even experts started out not knowing anything.
3. You’ve just finished up two days of WordPress inspiration – Why not round it out by practicing with people who are just as excited about all of this as you are?
4. Find a buddy – Buddies are easy to find in the WordPress community. If you didn’t bring a friend with you, introduce yourself to a new friend at the table!
5. Vote with your feet – We have a lot of ways to give back to the WordPress project. With as many teams as we have, it can be hard to know which one will fit you best. If the team you started with doesn’t fit the skills you know you have, wander on to the next one. But don’t discount the awesomeness of learning something new!

As with all WordCamps: Have questions? Just ask! There are helpful volunteers and attendees all around at WordCamp US. If the person you ask doesn’t have the answer, then chances are that they can point you in the right direction.

Contributor Day is included in the price of your WordCamp US ticket. It’s a chance to meet face-to-face with people you work with online or welcome interested new contributors to teams.