> What would be some good options to get paid for open source?
Many might read this as "good options to get paid money in exchange for open-source source code". Then the answer is simple: you can, but only once. The code is freely redistributable without restrictions by anyone, thus no scarcity that one could get paid for exists after the initial sale (if the sale ever existed).
So I think a better reading of the question is "good options to paid as an open-source developer".
One could have a money pot for certain features of the software (which may or may not be done yet), that interested users can contribute in or outright buy, which you would then develop (or publish). E.g. "I will develop UTF-16 support in FooApp for $5000". This is especially interesting for open-source software used by enterprise. The problem* here is someone else might offer to do it for less (including free). A bad incentive here is that if you also control the "canonical" repository or project, you can reject pull requests for features that you intend to sell.
An alternative is donation-ware, either through the project or directly to you as a person. The problem* here is that whoever controls the landing page of the most popular fork decides where the majority of the donations go to.
Why did I highlight problem with an asterisk in both cases? Because they have a common cause: we would like to think that if we're the original author of a piece of open-source software, we are in some way special. The original, authentic, canonical, "real" software. We deserve to get paid for it, and no one else should. And people tend to agree! But as per my opening paragraph - the exclusivity is inherently gone. So economically, we can't be. And I don't think a good 'solution' for this exists, although I admit I haven't thought about it enough.
Many might read this as "good options to get paid money in exchange for open-source source code". Then the answer is simple: you can, but only once. The code is freely redistributable without restrictions by anyone, thus no scarcity that one could get paid for exists after the initial sale (if the sale ever existed).
So I think a better reading of the question is "good options to paid as an open-source developer".
One could have a money pot for certain features of the software (which may or may not be done yet), that interested users can contribute in or outright buy, which you would then develop (or publish). E.g. "I will develop UTF-16 support in FooApp for $5000". This is especially interesting for open-source software used by enterprise. The problem* here is someone else might offer to do it for less (including free). A bad incentive here is that if you also control the "canonical" repository or project, you can reject pull requests for features that you intend to sell.
An alternative is donation-ware, either through the project or directly to you as a person. The problem* here is that whoever controls the landing page of the most popular fork decides where the majority of the donations go to.
Why did I highlight problem with an asterisk in both cases? Because they have a common cause: we would like to think that if we're the original author of a piece of open-source software, we are in some way special. The original, authentic, canonical, "real" software. We deserve to get paid for it, and no one else should. And people tend to agree! But as per my opening paragraph - the exclusivity is inherently gone. So economically, we can't be. And I don't think a good 'solution' for this exists, although I admit I haven't thought about it enough.