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Join the U.S. Digital Service

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Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#191

Post by chrdlu »

tdaltonc wrote: post #14

It would be really great to fix the IRS's digital presence. Make TurboTax obsolete. I hate TurboTax.

From my understanding, one of the reasons the IRS is so behind is because the initial code base was written in Assembly. Only a handful of people understand how it works...and they're all getting old (they have also been motivated not to help because the knowledge gave them leverage and job security). These days, a friend's father is helping them out going line by line and translating the Assembly into Java.

From what I hear, there were some bugs/loopholes built into the original system. For the new Java translation, the effects of the bugs have to be programmed in because of legislation and regulation rules. In other words, the new Java code needs to behave exactly the same as the original Assembly code. Not the easiest task...

Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#192

Post by debacle »

ripb wrote: post #181
debacle wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Internet is enabling a government of the people for the first time since our population exploded in the last century. Things are bad right now, but they're getting better. As long as the Internet remains an open and free place, society as a whole will continue to progress and grow at a faster and faster pace.

>The Internet is enabling a government of the people for the first time since our population exploded in the last century. Is that you, Obama? What is this nonsense? >Things are bad right now, but they're getting better. Things - socially, politically and economically - are continuing to get worse for the average person. What world are you living on?

> Is that you, Obama?

Don't be so shrill.

> Things - socially, politically and economically - are continuing to get worse for the average person.

Things are actually improving socially and politically. Scandals are being brought to light and quashed to a point where even untouchable edifices of the US hegemony are feeling the heat. Anti-vaxxers are on the outs. Climate deniers are on the outs. We're seeing the error in imprisoning millions of men because of racism. Factories in China are under scrutiny and almost every nation has an eye on ecology and our impact on the world. Birth rates are slowing, people are calling for more liberal policies across the world.

Economically, the middle class is finally being addressed. Basic income is on the table. There's an understanding that social safety and education are incredibly important.

But there is a lot of entrenched bullshit. And old money is nervous and reactionary. It's going to take a long time, but I believe very strongly that if we have the Internet of today for the next ten to twenty years, the entire world is going to look far more progressive than it ever could have without the Internet.

Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#193

Post by Bahamut »

scarmig wrote: post #183
chucksmash wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe parent was balking at the appropriation of "tour of duty" to describe taking a government job for a couple of years. The phrase carries strong connotations for a certain subset of people and it would be pretty tone deaf of us as a community to repurpose it to mean "writing instructions for computers the government owns."

Unpopular opinion that needs to be said: plenty of people spend their military "tour of duty" writing instructions for computers. Even more are glorified paper pushers or janitors. Only a small subset actually ever see their lives at risk--being a fisherman is more dangerous. The main substantive difference is that in theory you can't quit on a whim. We need to stop promoting an idea of martial valor over all other f…

This is incorrect - a sizable number get sent to the warzone in a time of war, by far the majority. All who do have received some sort of weapon training, as well as scenario prep when encountering the likes of IEDs or combat situations. This is even more true for the Army and Marine Corps. The risk is pervasive just by virtue of operating in a warzone. In addition, everyone still has to stand post except for higher ranking officers and SNCOs.

While there are plenty of people who spend their deployments behind a computer, don't assume it is so black and white.

Source: I am a Marine grunt

Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#194

Post by blahwoop »

catherinedevlin wrote: post #65
jinushaun wrote: post #2

I'd imagine that this is a hard sell given the govts track record. They want to recruit us, but they still don't get it. Why would we want to work for the bad guys? Why would we want to be second class citizens to clueless politicians that dictate directives from above instead of working in an industry that respects us and views us as leaders?

I understand your skepticism - I left Federal contracting years ago in disgust at the way things have been working, or not working. But 18F convinced me that they have the key to change that - completely with regard to their own work, and then with a wider ripple effect. That's something I couldn't pass up; I turned down a dream job in the private sector for 18F. Six months later, I'm more convinced and excited than…

is 18F the USDS or are they separate entities?

Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#195

Post by vonmoltke »

tymekpavel wrote: post #187
nadams wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The salary is MISERABLE compared to what you could get in the private sector. That all depends. Many comp sci students are brainwashed to think that if a salary isn't at least 100k then it's not worth their time. The fact is that it depends on location and cost of living. For example - if you get hired to work for Google in their HQ in CA then you are guaranteed to get at least 100k salary. However, 90% of that wil…

90%? If you're willing to commute from Redwood City (15min CalTrain ride to MV, 35 minute CalTrain tride to SF), you'll be paying $1500-2000/mo for a 1br-2br/1ba. That comes to 24% of salary, and you'd be hard-pressed to spend more than another 6% on food.

"Hard pressed" to spend more than $17/day on food?

Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#196

Post by wpietri »

trhway wrote: post #103
wpietri wrote: post #6

I have met some of the 18F folks here in San Francisco, and I have gradually become convinced that there is a lot of substance to this effort. People, apparently including people at the highest levels, recognize that information technology has made enormous leaps in the private sector, and they are serious about helping government catch up. One of the most interesting bits to me was something said by Todd Park, a for…

>suspicious that Washington's culture could really accept a lot of the Agile and Lean notions that are commonplace in the high-tech world. given my experience with thorough, to the letter, under supervision of no-expenses-spared-top-notch experts implementation of Agile/Lean/Scrum - 2 years non-stop across pretty much the whole company, only very-super-important-critical-projects got exception - the government would…

I share your suspicion of large-company Agile: by and large I think it's at best Mini-Waterfall, and at worst it's the same old bullshit with some new jargon on top.

However, the large amount of bathwater doesn't mean there isn't a baby there. And the places I see doing best at making the necessary culture shift are the ones with a sense of mission. So I have hope.

And honestly, even if this merely means a transition away from pure Waterfall to Mini-Waterfall, I think that will be a step forward. In the commercial world, the rise of the Internet has made 3-year release cycles untenable for most software; people now just scoff. So if we can merely get governments to emulate business in the shift from titanic failures to medium-sized failures, as a citizen I think that's a win. But still, from what I've seen, I'm hoping for more here.

Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#198

Post by aasarava »

piratebroadcast wrote: post #146
raimondious wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's insecure about Drupal?

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29846539

Or, you know, you spent five minutes to apply the free, open source patch when it was released in mid-October and your sites were protected.

Or are you arguing that any software that has ever required a patch is horribly insecure?

Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#199

Post by wpietri »

wallawe wrote: post #56
wpietri wrote: post #6

I have met some of the 18F folks here in San Francisco, and I have gradually become convinced that there is a lot of substance to this effort. People, apparently including people at the highest levels, recognize that information technology has made enormous leaps in the private sector, and they are serious about helping government catch up. One of the most interesting bits to me was something said by Todd Park, a for…

That's just the thing - I don't think 'playing it safe' is the goal in Washington, or at least not the only one. As is, the goal for contractors is to stay on a project as long as possible, earning more money over a longer period of time. Waterfall is a perfect excuse to do just that.

I agree that's an issue, but I was thinking more of the decisions of the people who hire the contractors. The right Agile approach to a project is to structure it as a series of small wins and losses, rather than rolling the bones on one big win/loss. It's my hope that calculus will appeal to career-minded officials, especially since the Agile approach lets you demonstrate value earlier (thus reducing drama), lets you bet more on your wins, and dramatically reduces the chances of large failures.

Re: Join the U.S. Digital Service

#200

Post by oxide »

jsprogrammer wrote: post #58
_cudgel wrote: post #47

Does joining the US Digital Service require a clearance, and if so does occasional marijuana consumption automatically disqualify you?

Supposedly it doesn't even disqualify you from the FBI anymore.

the official stance is don't ask don't tell, so if you're high, apply.
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