

Ask HN: Code for America - chedda

Would you do it? Do you think it's worth the 11 months and 35k USD stipend?<p>http://codeforamerica.org/
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jrockway
If you want to be poor, you can always work at market rate and donate the
difference to some charity that actually matters.

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borism
great simultaneous denigration of people who work for charities and people who
donate to charities!

(surely you can't earn decent salary while working for charity and if you'll
donate to it your quality of life is sure to decline! and sense of mission
doesn't count as anything either! but maybe, just maybe, it's not all about
the money?)

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jrockway
Not what I meant to convey. I said that if you're ok with $35,000 a year, why
not get a job that pays $200,000 a year and donate $160,000? That cash is
going to make a lot more difference than your PHP web app for contesting
parking tickets ever will.

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artmageddon
I somewhat agree, but don't forget that a large portion of that will get
taxed, which would limit the amount that you could donate.

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jrockway
Donations are pre-tax.

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j0
Actually, donations come out of your post-tax income, and then you get a tax
deduction (not a credit) for them, if you itemize your taxes.

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jrockway
Doesn't this work out the same? I know if you just donate $20 and take the
standard deduction it's post-tax, but if you donate $165,000, I'm sure that
your accountant can work something out for you.

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derwiki
Discussion four months ago: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1395816>

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Nervetattoo
This is great! And yes, worth it. The ability to network, get more experience
all while aiding in something for the community and getting paid? Nice!

In Norway there was recently a funding round where personal or corporate
initiatives could get funding for "webprenteurship" where you would use open
data from departments etc and create something for the greater good. It was
funded by the government. Thats somewhat similar although not as directed as
this is.

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moxiemk1
Assuming the parallel name to "Teach for America" is intentional, one of the
primary motivators is missing: paying off college loans. Teach for America
pays 100% of interest accrued while in the program, and gives you (admittedly
small) awards to pay back some of your college loans. You also get loan
deferment while you're in the program, just like if you were still in school.

This doesn't change the societal value or possibilities of the "Code for
America" program, but it makes it impossible for those of us who are going to
graduate soon with huge loan debt to participate.

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jgv
I've been thinking about applying for this since I first saw it but the timing
just hasn't been right. I wonder if anyone in the first round is on HN. If so,
I'd love to hear about your experiences during the application process. I
definitely have my eye on Code for America.

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chedda
Clickable: <http://codeforamerica.org/>

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dbingham
Yes. I've often wished there was something like this! Not just at the city
level, but county, state, and national. I would do this in a heart beat -- is,
if I weren't rather busy already. I may still apply, from half-way across the
world.

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woan
I would consider doing it though I have done the startup and big company
thing, so the experience may not have as big an impact career wise as for
others. Aside from networking and the actual work, it certainly demonstrates
good citizenship, character, and passion.

If I were the organization, I would try to offer some group housing (maybe
they do and I missed it). I certainly agree if the program gets bigger
colocating project teams with the customers/cities is definitely the way to go
in order to create empathy and broader contextual understanding of opportunity
and impact.

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wardrox
As a Brit without a US Visa, probably not. But it's a fantastic idea.

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mathgladiator
Compared to a GTA/GRA salary, 35K for 11 months is really good.

Compared to being in a start-up based on Ramen, 35K is great!

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jcromartie
How about something more like Peace Corps for programmers and hackers? Not
just for government projects, but for humanitarian coding (if such a thing
exists).

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webmaven
You mean like Geek Corps?: <http://www.geekcorps.org/>

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niels_olson
for a first job, or a couple years out of school, or trying to bypass school?
This would be awesome. Having gone to grad school married with kids, I assure
you, you can make this happen.

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clistctrl
I think the lowest i could work for is 40k. The program sounds really noble,
and it appeals to me, but going from 80k to 35k is hard.

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seltzered
True, It'd be hard to be motivated on 35k/year to lead a project. But I'd
consider it IF I'd be getting great training/materials in cutting-edge skills
(ruby, html5, etc.) to make up for the low pay, AND got exposed to a good
network of folks outside of just the government.

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dsspence
Be careful about calling any part of web design cutting-edge. It may change
quickly what is in fashion on the web, don't mistake that for being
technically challenging.

