Ask HN: Code for America | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Code for America

26 pointschedda23 comments

Would you do it? Do you think it's worth the 11 months and 35k USD stipend?

http://codeforamerica.org/

If you want to be poor, you can always work at market rate and donate the difference to some charity that actually matters.

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?)

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.

> 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?

First of all, not many $200000 jobs are available to people who are willing to make $35000.

And second, you totally neglect the non-monetary motivations and contributions of people who work for non-profits. Why do you think anyone but not this particular person can have the same contribution to the project for $160000? I'm sure Tim O'Reilly can and earns much more from his other ventures. That doesn't mean that just by donating amount equal to his salary at Gov 2.0 project anyone can make the same impact, don't you think?

And what if the person that's going to do it is a fresh millionaire who just sold his start-up? Would you still discourage him/her?

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.

Donations are pre-tax.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Clickable: http://codeforamerica.org/

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.

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.

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

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!

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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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