How can I find a programming job with purpose?
December 22, 2014 5:39 PM Subscribe
I've been working as a software engineer for 10+ years an I really love programming, but the jobs I've had so far haven't filled me with a sense of purpose. How can I find a job where the work I'm doing has a positive effect on the world?
I recognize that different people will have very different opinions about what a positive effect on the world is, but I'm trying to meet three basic requirements:
I recognize that different people will have very different opinions about what a positive effect on the world is, but I'm trying to meet three basic requirements:
- Technically interesting work
- Fair compensation
- Making the world a better place
Well, you could start a company that solves a socially valuable problem. You could get a technology job at The Gates Foundation or another philanthropic institution that solves large, important problems.
One of the well-known problems in the tech industry is that "the hottest tech startups are solving all the problems of being 20 years old, with cash on hand". So it would be pretty groundbreaking to start a company that solves the problems of those who aren't those people.
posted by deanc at 5:52 PM on December 22, 2014
One of the well-known problems in the tech industry is that "the hottest tech startups are solving all the problems of being 20 years old, with cash on hand". So it would be pretty groundbreaking to start a company that solves the problems of those who aren't those people.
posted by deanc at 5:52 PM on December 22, 2014
B Corporations! The concept here is for-profit businesses that are trying to profit off something that also benefits the world. One example is Etsy which helps people start small businesses. Even more broadly than looking at who is actually registered as a B Corp, I would say think about what 'making the world a better place' means to you in more concrete terms (what do you want more of in the world?) and start from there.
posted by capricorn at 5:52 PM on December 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by capricorn at 5:52 PM on December 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
A search term that might help you is "humanitarian software".
posted by procrastination at 5:55 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by procrastination at 5:55 PM on December 22, 2014
You might want to look at the Data Science for Social Good Fellowship. The program itself probably isn't what you're looking for, but they do work in exactly this area so some of their partner and mentor organizations would be worth researching.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 6:02 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by une_heure_pleine at 6:02 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
I looked into this a while back, as I am in a very similar position. Almost exactly, actually. I didn't turn up a lot, which is a real shame, as I believe technology and software engineering can be a powerful force for good.
Eventually I came to the conclusion that the most effective thing to do would be having a job that is neutral in terms of doing good, but that pays a lot, then donating as much as possible. It's likely that doesn't scratch your particular itch, however - you want to use you skills to help people and solve problems directly.
Another thing I think is well worth programmers doing wherever they work - encourage your company to have a conscience! Raise concerns if you see your company doing something not great. Make sure you don't let shitty behavior slide, if you see it. We can't all necessarily have a job that aims to make the world better - but we can all make the world better, however fractionally, as part of our job.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:01 PM on December 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
Eventually I came to the conclusion that the most effective thing to do would be having a job that is neutral in terms of doing good, but that pays a lot, then donating as much as possible. It's likely that doesn't scratch your particular itch, however - you want to use you skills to help people and solve problems directly.
Another thing I think is well worth programmers doing wherever they work - encourage your company to have a conscience! Raise concerns if you see your company doing something not great. Make sure you don't let shitty behavior slide, if you see it. We can't all necessarily have a job that aims to make the world better - but we can all make the world better, however fractionally, as part of our job.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:01 PM on December 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
Oh, on a more practical note - I think sharing your skills is a great, world-embettering thing. Another approach might be looking for local hacker and maker spaces, and finding people you can help teach and mentor. Not a job, but still ,using your skills and knowledge to help people directly is a satisfying and worthy thing.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:06 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:06 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'll make a Seattle/WA specific suggestion. Keep your day job, spend your excess energy developing apps for your community and your state that take advantage of the open sourced data sets that your state/city/county have released - data.wa.gov, data.seattle.gov and data.kingcounty.gov. If you aren't familiar with the concept of open data portals, take a look at the Sunlight Foundation to get an idea of what is possible, then take a look at the data sets that Washington State, Seattle, and King County have published. Participate in a local hackathon. Recruit your co-workers and acquaintances to participate. Build something cool that solves a specific problem, and make it sustainable.
posted by kovacs at 8:06 PM on December 22, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by kovacs at 8:06 PM on December 22, 2014 [7 favorites]
Consider jobs related to broader fields that effect positive change in the lives of actual humans. Medicine and/or pharmaceuticals, for example. The latter is potentially a mixed bag, but there are definitely small pharmaceutical companies that have fewer potential ethical hangups than, say, Merck or Roche.
posted by axiom at 11:11 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by axiom at 11:11 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Health IT seems the obvious choice. From electronic medical records to enterprise health reporting applications, health IT is by and large 20-30 years behind everything else. It's where you could make a real difference, not only in doing work that affects health outcomes (if not literally help save lives!), but also you'd be helping an industry sector catch up to where it should be.
I'm in UX and recently started government contracting in health IT. The developers I work with make industry standard salaries, if not better, and get to work on gnarly, important problems.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 2:26 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm in UX and recently started government contracting in health IT. The developers I work with make industry standard salaries, if not better, and get to work on gnarly, important problems.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 2:26 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Until we finally convince those in power that a universal basic income is the best way to deal with poverty, local and state governments will need programmers to develop and maintain software for social program administration. A lot of this work is contract work, but there's plenty of it if you don't mind working in a Microsoft shop. I know from experience; it's my day job.
posted by starbreaker at 6:16 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by starbreaker at 6:16 AM on December 23, 2014
My job:
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes, I think so.
It isn't quite Health IT, though. My company is in a specific medical device field and I write the software that runs in their worldwide production plants and distribution centers.
posted by jillithd at 6:26 AM on December 23, 2014
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes, I think so.
It isn't quite Health IT, though. My company is in a specific medical device field and I write the software that runs in their worldwide production plants and distribution centers.
posted by jillithd at 6:26 AM on December 23, 2014
Academic research. Below market pay, most of the time, but no slouch.
posted by supercres at 6:34 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by supercres at 6:34 AM on December 23, 2014
Following up on kovacs' excellent suggestions, check out your local Code for America brigade.
Your employer (present and/or future) may have a corporate social responsibility department that you can connect with.
posted by evoque at 6:51 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Your employer (present and/or future) may have a corporate social responsibility department that you can connect with.
posted by evoque at 6:51 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
How about working for companies that make library system software? Especially in the case of public libraries, that's software that is involved in effecting positive change in the lives of actual humans.
posted by clavicle at 8:04 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by clavicle at 8:04 AM on December 23, 2014
Seconding capricorn. Seek out companies in job listings that identify as B Corporations.
Alternatively you definitely can work at a non-profit, but not usually with "fair compensation". They just don't have the money of for-profit organizations.
Also, I won't name names, but I worked for a non-profit organization once that was more focused on money than any other place — profit or non-profit — I've ever worked at.
Another good idea is to look at companies that make their code available open-source on Github.
Finally, there is this mindset in the US (maybe other places) that your job is an extension of you. It doesn't have to be. You can put in your 9-5, clock out, and then just be an awesome person in your community.
I have a close friend in the IT field. He worked for easily one of the most hated companies here on the East coast. But in the work that *he* did, he did the absolute best he could, and involved himself in local programming user groups, led conferences, was involved with his church (you can insert your social organization of choice here) and was genuinely a caring and enthusiastic person towards others. Easily one of the nicest people I've known. I've run into meaner and more bitter people working for non-profits.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:06 AM on December 23, 2014
Alternatively you definitely can work at a non-profit, but not usually with "fair compensation". They just don't have the money of for-profit organizations.
Also, I won't name names, but I worked for a non-profit organization once that was more focused on money than any other place — profit or non-profit — I've ever worked at.
Another good idea is to look at companies that make their code available open-source on Github.
Finally, there is this mindset in the US (maybe other places) that your job is an extension of you. It doesn't have to be. You can put in your 9-5, clock out, and then just be an awesome person in your community.
I have a close friend in the IT field. He worked for easily one of the most hated companies here on the East coast. But in the work that *he* did, he did the absolute best he could, and involved himself in local programming user groups, led conferences, was involved with his church (you can insert your social organization of choice here) and was genuinely a caring and enthusiastic person towards others. Easily one of the nicest people I've known. I've run into meaner and more bitter people working for non-profits.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:06 AM on December 23, 2014
How about something safety related? My friend is an engineer at Underwriters Laboratories and gets to check the safety of products and still earns a fair salary. Another friend of mine is a programmer of road safety products and does very well for himself.
posted by parakeetdog at 8:11 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by parakeetdog at 8:11 AM on December 23, 2014
What about working at the intersection of instructional design and accessibility? There's a lot of courseware out there that doesn't work well (or doesn't work at all) with screen-reader software used by people who are blind or visually impaired. Sometimes, this can be solved by writing new scripts for the screen-reader, but sometimes the courseware itself isn't designed with compatibility/accessibility in mind.
posted by Flipping_Hades_Terwilliger at 10:05 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Flipping_Hades_Terwilliger at 10:05 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
N-thing health IT. There are a ton of companies right now in the space, and jobs pay market rates. You can start your search by poking around Seattle's Health 2.0 meetup or browse lists of companies from incubators like Rock Health. There's an employee wellness program, Limeade, which happens to be based in Seattle.
If you want to work pro-bono, you might browse the projects looking for help through the Taproot Foundation.
posted by tinymegalo at 12:53 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
If you want to work pro-bono, you might browse the projects looking for help through the Taproot Foundation.
posted by tinymegalo at 12:53 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hard to give many pointers without knowing your idea of "technically interesting" and "better place." Just for a few ideas (not saying you should work for/on these in particular):
posted by waninggibbon at 2:12 PM on December 23, 2014
- Point 97 and EcoTrust in Portland
- Some of the outfits located at OpenGovHub in Washington, DC
- An open source health records platform, like OpenMRS
posted by waninggibbon at 2:12 PM on December 23, 2014
There are technology non-profits that pay competitive wages for engineering and tech jobs. For example, Mozilla (disclosure: my employer). Some others that come to mind is Khan Academy and Watsi. It's not a large sector and it's concentrated in the Bay Area, but it's a good way to make an impact. I'm in Seattle like you (I work remotely), and would be happy to talk more about this if you want to MeMail me.
posted by mbrubeck at 8:51 PM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mbrubeck at 8:51 PM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'm sure you know that pretty much every major Silicon Valley CEO thinks they're actually changing the world [insert Silicon Valley TV show meme here].
posted by radioamy at 5:43 PM on December 22, 2014 [4 favorites]