Comment by bpchaps | Hacker News Reader

Comment by bpchaps | Hacker News Reader

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Heh. You'd be surprised, so long as you're willing to apply your skills outside of employment and with the knowledge that you might not get paid for it. There are SO MANY fields of applied programming that are currently completely starved for resources.

Think of it in terms of open source projects, where the projects that you might be interested have only a few people working on them - but in the context of issues that affect folk completely outside of tech who don't have disposable income like those you'd see on HN or similar.

I seriously recommend that you check out a local "open data civics" group, or something similar in your area. You'll find that they're generally filled with junior programmers - but what they need are senior level programmers who can take charge of problems that junior programmers otherwise can't take charge of. Be that person.

FWIW, personally everything that I learn is entirely aimed towards helping the general public (at a distance), at the expense of my own salary. The work has been very rewarding. That said, it would be great if others would take the plunge that I have.

This is very interesting train of thought and I've been trying for the past two years to find these type of opportunities within my wider network of acquaintances. Still, not much luck. Would you have some ideas / insights / further concrete examples on what could one do? I am very motivated to help and give back to those around because there is not much else I can do except for this.

Feel free to email me at the address in my desc. Thanks-a-lot!

I was moved to action by this comment as well. I found a local chapter of Code for America that seems pretty active. Maybe your city as something similar?

You can't be serious. Why would I want to come home and continue applying the same skillset I apply at work all day?

Is there something about software development that makes people feel the need to practice it every waking minute of their lives?

I mean, sometimes I do it when there's an itch I really need scratched, but most of the time I'd rather do something else. Basically anything else. Is it so wrong to want to socialize a bit or put on one of the pile of TV shows and anime I'd like to check out?

Doing that sort of volunteer work is great, but I just can't, I need to turn it off at some point.

Woah there, calm down. I never said that you shouldn't or can't socialize or put on a pile of TV shows, etc. That'd be ridiculous and unhealthy. Hell, before writing this post, I was playing XCOM 2 :). I'm merely suggesting that techies like us have a much better financial situation than a vast majority of the public, so we have financial flexibility to spare.

Some things you could do:

  -Go to a local weekly meetup. Four hours a week.
  -Move your career towards non-profits. It's now your profession.
  -Teach programming to small classes. Eight hours a week.
  -Find a local advocacy group and make small contributions. Couple hours a week.

If you can't do that sort of volunteer work, then that's on you. No need to be so sour and uncharitable to those of us who try.

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