Personally I would love to work with non-profits right now, regardless of pay implications. Recent macro events have really awoken my desire to do good in the course of my work. I'd like to think there are others with a similar outlook right now, but maybe I'm an outlier in this industry...
Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
31–39 of 39 posts
Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
#32I'm ops lead at a non-profit. I took _huge_ pay cut when I moved from the private / government sector to NFP space but I'll tell you what - it was worth every dollar. You can't put a price on happiness, freedom and the value of the visibility of the impact to communities and disadvantaged / at risk people from them work you do. Do a good job with a real impact and work with (not for) an organisation that genuinely st…
Any advice for someone looking to work in the NFP space?
Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
#33Personally I would love to work with non-profits right now, regardless of pay implications. Recent macro events have really awoken my desire to do good in the course of my work. I'd like to think there are others with a similar outlook right now, but maybe I'm an outlier in this industry...
I feel much the same; in part I'm starting to feel like that because what I'd hoped would be a great tool for breaking down barriers and communication just seems to have accelerated our consumption and been coopted for things like ads and propoganda.
Part of the problem I think is some/a lot of people (that might otherwise entertain a more ethical career choice) have mortgages/family and don't have the luxury to take a pay hit to work for a NPO.
Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
#34While it's always nice to know your work benefits the world in general, the market is the market, so you'll need to pay for labor whether your company intends to make a profit or not. So yeah, we're all happy to help. But please strike that sentence about not wanting to pay a market rate.
The 'market' isn't a homogeneous entity that has a single objective. There are enough folks who are motivated by other factors than just the paycheck.
As someone who has worked in non-profits, startups and corporations, the experience of working with non-profits, for me, was great because of the people and the nuanced challenges they work to solve. It was the happiest phase of my life/career so far.
Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
#35OP, I don't think you should go out of your way to convince anyone. Engineers who are keen to try something different will do so, irrespective of your coaxing/positioning.
Just post on the jobs thread once you are ready to hire and I think you should be good.
Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
#36I do front-end development and I'd be interested to chat with you about this. Please contact me via my profile if you're interested.
Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
#37> but we can't pay anywhere near what tech companies pay or offer benefits like they do
Why not? CEOs of non-profits often make competitive wages. Why shouldn't the worker bees?
Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
#38Sponsoring visa's for foreign devs would be a huge incentive, I think. Many people would like to live/work in a foreign country but find it hard/impossible to do so without an employer sponsoring their visa.
Re: Ask HN: What would make you want to work for a non-profit as an engineer?
#39Maybe you need to approach the problem differently: Your problem is not hiring people, your problem is getting your projects done.
How open are your processes? Can I go somewhere on the Internet and access your data? Do you have a public list of your projects on a place like GitHub so I can contribute? Have you considered a bounty for those less attractive tasks?
I think you can attract the best talent, but you don't need it full time, so why hire anyone? Make it easy to contribute, make it socially rewarding and maybe even throw some money at it.
Or maybe I'm just completely wrong - but I hope you can give these ideas at least a quick thought! :)