How to get started with open source as a beginner? Question to open-source contributors

I am a newbie to contributing to open-source although I have used open-source projects like VLC and others.

I can tell you my case. I am okay with handling c+ + related topics, especially data structures and algorithms. But when I search for projects related to c++ most of them require learning a framework of c++ which I am willing to learn but seeing such large codebases I often tend to give up

Let's say I found a project which interests me but I know nothing about the code, it's totally new to me, how do I start?(I got a tip that it is better to join the social media of the project you wish to contribute to and reach out to the maintainers and also look out for good first issues)

How long does it take to contribute to a particular project?

Is it like a long journey where you keep learning about the project until you are good enough to contribute or is it like an overnight process?Is c++ a good language to start open-source contributions with or does it even matter which language you choose?