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Comment by kendallpark | Hacker News Reader

On the contrary, I use volunteer work as a time to take a break from tech. In the past I've volunteered as elementary school classroom help, tutored students of various ages, and coached line for a local high school football team.

Yes, as tech workers, we have the ability to use our valuable skills pro bono. But I think it can also be beneficial to step out of the tech bubble and integrate with the rest of non-tech society on non-tech terms. Most of my volunteer work has been with students--when the topic comes up, I get to tell them all about why they should consider pursuing programming as a career.

Most of my volunteer work has been obtained just by walking up to the people involved and asking if they need a volunteer. I don't think you need to look for a formal volunteer program.

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I also agree. One-on-one mentoring is fulfilling in a different way than project oriented volunteering. I recommend doing a longer term commitment as well. Most are 2-4 hours a week, ideally for at least a year. I was at a large near-IPO startup, and it was super supportive of me hopping out for 3 hours every Wednesday for a year to volunteer at underresourced schools. I brought my classes in to meet people at my company and many kids became more interested in design & programming careers as a result.

I worked with build.org in NYC - it's entrepreneurship oriented programs. The students are wonderful. BUILD is large and has a strong presence in SF, DC & Boston as well.

In SF, I worked with Reach & Rise through the YMCA, which is similar to the Boys & Girls Club Big Brother/Big Sister program. I'd highly recommend that as well.

I agree! I think my volunteer experiences doing non-technical work have made me a better communicator and more well-rounded developer. It’s also let me find a community and friendships outside of work (those all-too-rare post-30 new friends). I would hypothesize that volunteering in a capacity orthogonal to your work would have stronger mental health benefits than just doing your job but without being paid.

I volunteer at a crisis center in a number of roles. My sysadmin job gives me the security and freedom to engage with people outside of that realm in my spare time. It has been refreshing and meaningful to focus on something _other than_ tech in that capacity.

There's so much going on in the world that doesn't revolve around computers that has a need for people.

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