Posted Jul 26, 2007 20:13 UTC (Thu) by PaulMcKenney (subscriber, #9624)
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(1) As you say, lead by example.
(2) When people ask you what they need to do to be successful, tell them that they need to not merely learn about their field, but to also become fluent in the practice of their field. In other words, you need to have mastered the basics to the point where it just flows. Typing, working the editor, producing the code, ...
People who are in a position to hire or otherwise select contributors have other tools at their disposal.
(Full disclosure: I split the difference, going quite a ways beyond the curriculum in computer science, but not so much so in mechanical engineering.)