
Ask HN: Using Powers for Good - qguv
How can graduating university students and other young software engineers put their talents to work to support progressive politics in the United States, without ending up maintaining dying servers in the back of some office?<p>Do junior positions exist that engage politically while still providing the sort of technical engagement and creative freedom found in a smallish software shop?<p>Could it be better to work a satisfying, apolitical position and simply donate to the organizations we care about?
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cjbprime
> Do junior positions exist that engage politically while still providing the
> sort of technical engagement and creative freedom found in a smallish
> software shop?

I think the best place to do this has been at the USDS (United States Digital
Service) or 18F, which operate like startups inside the federal government.
But their funding appears to be threatened by the outcome of the election, so
it's unclear what'll happen there.

You could also consider working on topics like user privacy, crypto,
decentralized systems. I agree it's hard to get hired for -- or even just get
experience with -- distributed systems while you're still a junior programmer.

> Could it be better to work a satisfying, apolitical position and simply
> donate to the organizations we care about?

Yes, see the "earning to give" approach in effective altruism:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earning_to_give](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earning_to_give).
(One worry is that people tend to share priorities with those they're
surrounded by, so taking an apolitical position -- e.g. at a hedge fund --
could change your politics unexpectedly.)

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bdcravens
You really aren't qualified as a technology professional until you've learned
to solve problems. I'm not convinced that a structured curriculum prepares you
for that in the same way that structured budgets or ROI driven development
does. I'd say that someone who eventually wants to be engaged should work in a
typical junior role for 2-5 years, so you'll be able to provide value.

However, if all you want is an unpaid internship, there's probably plenty of
opportunities.

