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Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#21

Post by francamps »

dfansteel wrote: post #14

I've worked for non-profits before and have loved the experience. A couple of things stand out for me: 1) Remote Work & Flex Schedule - Quality of life is a major concern. Working in startups 100 hour weeks have happened. It's kind of a rush actually. But everyone needs to take some time off that. Allowing people the opportunity to work from wherever they want, whenever they want makes all the difference. A common mi…

Thanks a lot, these are really great suggestions to look into. I think 1 (the flex schedule part at least) and 3 are already there, but I hadn't thought about highlighting them as properties of the job that people might be interested in. And we need to consider remote work more seriously.

I've been planning to encourage 2 more in the tech side of things, considering it is already happening in relation to the social impact of our work, which we do share and communicate. I think sharing more of what we do technically would be great.

Thanks a lot, great advice.

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#22

Post by francamps »

reallymental wrote: post #5

As a (relatively young) software engineer who freelances as well, I personally like what you have to offer. Needless to say YMMV but keeping that aside, if the wage you're offering is liveable for London (around £28,000-32,000 before taxes) and your work hours are reasonable enough for the person to freelance (outside work hours for any surplus £'s)... he/she who shares your passion would leap at your opportunity. Th…

Thank you! We are paying a liveable wage for London and are pretty flexible on many fronts, and the satisfaction and passion for the work we do covers the rest of it (at least for me).

I am confident there are people who find the combination reasonable and think similarly, so hopefully we'll be able work that out.

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#23

Post by francamps »

Osmium wrote: post #3
phaus wrote: post #2

Not a software engineer, but my perspective might be useful. My current job contributes positively to society, but I would love to have a job like this. Long ago, I joined the military because I naively thought we could help put a stop to human rights abuses around the world (too young and stupid at the time to realize we were only going to make things worse). So, this would be something of a dream job for me. I woul…

> My current job contributes positively to society, but I would love to have a job like this. Seconded. You [the OP] don't give numbers in your post, but I would jump at a job like this. Having lived in London for several years, whatever wage you're offering would have to be at least liveable , but I (personally) would happily accept significantly less than a big tech company knowing that the work was important and i…

Thanks a lot for your advice, this is great. Former academics / PhDs are good pool of people with wonderful skills (I didn't finish my own PhD, but I know the environment). Some PhDs might hopefully also be more attuned to the social problems like the ones we are looking into, so we will definitely be considering that.

The challenge we could have is more on looking for usability and frontend expertise, considering the type of tools we want to build, and these are not necessarily in the programming skillset you grow during a PhD (generally more about data analysis / engineering, but of course it depends on the line of work).

Anyways, thanks for the suggesting though.

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#24

Post by ffggvv »

francamps wrote: post #21
dfansteel wrote: post #14

I've worked for non-profits before and have loved the experience. A couple of things stand out for me: 1) Remote Work & Flex Schedule - Quality of life is a major concern. Working in startups 100 hour weeks have happened. It's kind of a rush actually. But everyone needs to take some time off that. Allowing people the opportunity to work from wherever they want, whenever they want makes all the difference. A common mi…

Thanks a lot, these are really great suggestions to look into. I think 1 (the flex schedule part at least) and 3 are already there, but I hadn't thought about highlighting them as properties of the job that people might be interested in. And we need to consider remote work more seriously. I've been planning to encourage 2 more in the tech side of things, considering it is already happening in relation to the social i…

What's the name of the non-profit? So maybe people from here could apply.

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#25

Post by ajamesm »

jasonkester wrote: post #18
karmajunkie wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't read a sentence about not wanting to pay a market rate. I read that they were not able to pay a market rate, and yet there is still a need for the work. If that doesn't speak to you, I don't blame you, but its disingenuous to make out like its merely a choice as to whether they have the funds available.

A non-profit has a budget for hiring, just as a scrappy startup has a budget for hiring, just as Facebook has a budget for hiring. The first two may try to spin a story about how they need to spread that budget farther because of $narrative, but really all they're doing is trying to pay you less money for your work. Notice how they're not "not able" to pay market rate for things like power, rent, office furniture, an…

I worked at a non-profit that paid pennies on the dollar for their office space, specifically because the building's owner believed in their mission. If they had to pay the full price they probably wouldn't operate.

Do you not know what philanthropy is? Some people conceive of morality outside raw market forces.

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#26

Post by AlwaysRock »

I'm interested in working for a non profit in the future and I expect to take a pay cut. I justify it by thinking of the good the org will be doing and other benefits likes more PTO, remote work, flexible schedule.

My ideal is working for a non profit in a developing country and being able to live there. Even a modest salary would go a lot further.

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#27

Post by partisan »

dfansteel wrote: post #14

I've worked for non-profits before and have loved the experience. A couple of things stand out for me: 1) Remote Work & Flex Schedule - Quality of life is a major concern. Working in startups 100 hour weeks have happened. It's kind of a rush actually. But everyone needs to take some time off that. Allowing people the opportunity to work from wherever they want, whenever they want makes all the difference. A common mi…

I've considered such a role in the past and for all of these reasons. Good recap.

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#28

Post by cguess »

As a software engineer who has done a lot of non-profit work, try and engage your engineers with the community of other "do gooders" out there. Take them to the conferences and include them in the meetings that talk about the policy of the organization, future plans and the like. If they're working for you, it's probably because they care about the cause too.

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#29

Post by [deleted] »

jasonkester wrote: post #18
karmajunkie wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't read a sentence about not wanting to pay a market rate. I read that they were not able to pay a market rate, and yet there is still a need for the work. If that doesn't speak to you, I don't blame you, but its disingenuous to make out like its merely a choice as to whether they have the funds available.

A non-profit has a budget for hiring, just as a scrappy startup has a budget for hiring, just as Facebook has a budget for hiring. The first two may try to spin a story about how they need to spread that budget farther because of $narrative, but really all they're doing is trying to pay you less money for your work. Notice how they're not "not able" to pay market rate for things like power, rent, office furniture, an…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?

#30

Post by JamesBarney »

I would suggest offering part-time work. Any time someone on hacker news posts about working a 24-32hr week there are always plenty of people begging the poster to tell them how they did it.

Also all the things all developer wants in a job like flexibility, autonomy etc...

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