If you have side projects that you want to keep ownership of, your options are limited. California Labor Code 2870 and similar laws in some other states protec

If you have side projects that you want to keep ownership of, your options are limited. California Labor Code 2870 and similar laws in some other states protect you under certain circumstances. However, you basically cannot go work for one of the bigs, for two reasons. First, these laws only protect you if the project doesn't relate to the business, and the bigs operate in so many different spheres that basically any software project can be argued as relating to their business. Second, it doesn't matter what the law is if a huge company decides to sue you — they will throw lawyers at you until you are bankrupt. What you can do to minimize your risk is work for a small company which does not overlap with the space that your side projects are in. They still might go after you anyway at some point (companies can get bought and new owners may have more resources and more inclination to sue), but for open source the odds that it happens are very small.