I applied to and was interviewed for a non-profit in the area that serves to connect volunteers with non-profits that need their help. Maybe they just really didn't like me in the interview (I didn't get that impression at all) but even offering my senior software developer skills for free to any non-profit, I have not heard back with anyone wanting my help and it's been months.
Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
51–60 of 106 posts
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#52Nature and animal conservation is a political issue. The best use of your skills would be to aid in the lobbying efforts for tighter regulations and more money for developing countries. You might save a tiger, but in the year it took you to save him, Brazil cut down 8 million hectares of the rain forest for palm oil.
Lobbyists require data. Existing wildlife laws require enforcement. Political support requires mobilization. All of the above can be helped by smart, enthusiastic developers. If more people help out, we can save the tiger and the forest.
All of this requires political support. You can't collect the data if you are not allowed to or if your results are silenced. Enforcement requires political will, otherwise the criminals never get prosecuted or flee to their home countries.
Until we get "the establishment" to care about this, doing any work in this field is simply for vanity or to make you feel good.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the more your job benefits your community and the planet the less you will get paid, and vice versa. It's even worse for social services. In a free market economy, this is an entirely false statement. People pay for the things they value. They more they value it, the more they pay. Compare the amount of hours spent playing video games to the amount of hours spent touring museums. It's not close. People value video…
The video games vs museums comparison is kinda terrible though, don't you think? I physically _can't_ just go to a museum after work like I can play a video game or watch a documentary. There's a huge number of literally free museums in my city, but I still have to cook for my family.
I don't mean to pick on video games just for being video games. The place I worked at was actually pretty great when I started: we made these great educational games but then got bought out by another business that changed our focus in a negative way.
Like literature and other media, games can absolutely be a tool for good, for exploring all kinds of history and issues and raising awareness. They're also great for maintaining sanity in difficult times.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#54It's most certainly better for your soul, but get ready to take a pay cut. After a short career in game development and a much longer career in museum/library/archives, my take is that our societies values are out of whack: the more your job benefits your community and the planet the less you will get paid, and vice versa. It's even worse for social services. You'll also take a hit in your reputation among other deve…
> You'll also take a hit in your reputation among other developers, most of whom seem to have gone into it for money
Exactly the environment and people I would like to get away from. I care little for what they think, but yes, I understand how some could see this as "career suicide".
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#55There is this development company that’s doing good work (the “improve people’s live in developing country kind of development”): https://catalpa.io/work-with-us/ They are based in East Timor and were founded by an Aussie and an American (U.S.) and they allow remote work.
That looks very interesting, thank you. And they need a backend dev!
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#56Not exactly conservation, but there's plenty of computational work (and funding!) in plant biology.
I do web development and data engineering for plant phenomics automation in a plant bio lab. Crop optimization (e.g., for abiotic stress resistance, reduced fertilizer requirements, atmospheric carbon sequestration, yield) basically requires digital surveillance infrastructure on the same scale we've (regrettably) developed for humans, except for plants. Nobody really understands how phenotypes develop as a function of genetic, physiological, and environmental factors; but we need to if we want to maintain the viability of agriculture in the face of climate change etc.
You won't get paid like you would in a more traditional software development position, but it's enough to live on. Let me know if you'd like more information.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#57When I was working in that field any 'software development' I did was alongside everything else I did. Most of that was online database and website work and some scripts to make analyzing data easier. I still spent far more time doing field work, writing reports and hustling for grant money though.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#58Hey, we are working on this www.bexbox.cc Drop me an email at nhh@downforce.com. We don't have a framework for hiring at the moment but might do very soon.
I've sent you an email :)
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#59I'm about to start at Optimal (in London). It's not exactly conservation, but I like to think it's not far from it. Some details on the Who's Hiring post [1]. Best of luck otherwise.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any software jobs in nature/animal conservation?
#60It's most certainly better for your soul, but get ready to take a pay cut. After a short career in game development and a much longer career in museum/library/archives, my take is that our societies values are out of whack: the more your job benefits your community and the planet the less you will get paid, and vice versa. It's even worse for social services. You'll also take a hit in your reputation among other deve…
> the more your job benefits your community and the planet the less you will get paid, and vice versa
It's not _completely_ crazy - if both jobs paid the same, most people would take one that benefits society.
The magnitude of the difference is crazy though.