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Technology for the public good
Of all the great causes to help out, why would anyone pick the technology sector? Well, just as technology has revolutionized for-profit markets, it can transform the nonprofit sector for the better. Why should you pick this area to dedicate your time?
Why technology?
Technology...
- Is necessary for organizational effectiveness
It has become increasingly obvious that computing and the Internet have become necessary parts of the global economy. Wired organizations enjoy a huge advantage over non-wired organizations — which are often located in third world countries. Helping organizations and businesses learn to use the Internet can make them more effective and competitive.
- Can help people get jobs
Just as organizations that cannot afford to wire themselves are at a disadvantage, children and adults who cannot afford to purchase a computer or who do not know how to use one are at a competitive disadvantage. Teaching children and adults to use computers and the Internet effectively may be one way to help them become more marketable in the workplace.
- Virtual volunteering makes getting involved easy
Volunteering for technology companies is much like volunteering for any organization: you spend a lot of time with great people working to help great causes. But sometimes it's hard to make it to a volunteering site, or you can only volunteer at night. Virtual volunteering lets anyone with Internet access help just about any cause anywhere in the world!
About the work
Here are some questions and answers about social-impact technology careers:
What kind of work would those with technology skills do in this sector?
Just as it would be impossible to identify any one job trait that could characterize for-profit technology jobs, it is equally impossible to do the same for nonprofits.
As a technology worker in an organization, you might find yourself doing anything from building a website or wiring a public school, to programming software or working on computer mapping technologies.
The work done will vary greatly from position to position.
What if I want to work with one of these organizations, but I have no technology-related skills?
Technology nonprofits aren't solely staffed by geeks. They also employ managers, program directors, fund-raisers, and other non-tech employees just as much as any other nonprofit does.
The biggest prerequisite for working with any nonprofit is a real dedication and interest for the cause.
What hours do people work?
The hours worked by most employees range from 40-60 hours a week, much like any organization.
Finding jobs
For many people, finding a job or a good place to volunteer or intern is the hardest part of the volunteering process. Read the answers to the following questions, and you may find it a lot easier!
Are there any internships available?
A lot of organizations offer internships, although fewer offer paid positions.
If you are willing to work solely for the experience, then you can probably just contact your preferred organization and ask if they have any regular volunteer positions available.
It is often easier to acquire a paid internship once you have already proven your worth as an unpaid volunteer with that particular organization.
How easy is it to find a job if I have only worked with for-profit companies?
If you have already started your job search, you may have noticed a slight suspicion, sometimes bordering on hostility, coming from those in the nonprofit world.
Almost without exception you should try to find volunteer positions — volunteering on weekends while still working for for-profits is a good place to start — before trying to find a paid job.
Nonprofits, more than anything else, look for a true commitment to the nonprofit mission. Until you have proven that commitment, you may find it difficult to find the position you are looking for.
Is it easy to switch to technology nonprofits from working with other nonprofits?
Moving from a traditional nonprofit agency to a technology nonprofit is significantly easier than coming directly from a for-profit, both because you probably already have some of the skills and relevant experience (dealing with funding issues, working with volunteers, etc) and because you have already shown how strongly you believe in nonprofit causes.
You will still need to have the appropriate skills for the job, but the move to a technology nonprofit will likely be easy. If you are interested in learning skills that may be appropriate to the technology field, then click here!
Skills and experience
Check out what skills and experience you will need for a job with a technology organization.
What skills do I need to get a technical job?
The skills required depend on what type of technical job you are applying for. If you are applying for a web design position, you will probably need to know HTML and JavaScript, and possibly Cold Fusion, PHP, ASP, Java, MySQL, or any number of other languages and systems that your particular nonprofit may use.
What skills do I need to get a non-technical job?
A basic working knowledge of computers will be probably be required. If you are not already familiar with word processing, email, and Internet research techniques, you will probably want to brush up on those skills.
As with other nonprofits, the most important "non-technical" skill you can have is a dedication to the cause.
What experience do I need to get a job with one of these organizations?
An average requirement for technical experience is 2-4 years of experience working with the major required skills, and 1-2 years with those skills that your nonprofit does not use as frequently.
This applies to both technical positions and non-technical positions. It is highly recommended that you have a significant amount of volunteer or nonprofit work experience before trying to acquire a paid position.
What skills and experience do I need as a volunteer?
It should be easy to find a volunteering position with minimal skills or experience in the field. This does not mean that you should volunteer for any position that becomes available.
You can best serve your favorite causes by choosing volunteer positions in your areas of interest that use what skills you do have.
Some skills, like proficiency with computers, email, and word-processing are best acquired through frequent use, while others, like HTML, can be learned with a little help from some web-tutorials Follow the links on the resource page to get help learning new skills.
Technology organizations
This page is designed to give you some insights about the issues technology organizations try to address, how they differ from for-profit organizations, and what working for one might be like, as well as listing some of the major organizations in each category. Keep in mind that this isn't a complete list, and that many organizations will merge the lines between several of these categories. Idealist.org can be a great resource for finding additional organizations that work on technology.
This page is designed to give you some insights about the issues technology organizations try to address, how they differ from for-profit organizations, and what working for one might be like, as well as listing some of the major organizations in each category. Keep in mind that this isn't a complete list, and that many organizations will merge the lines between several of these categories. Idealist.org can be a great resource for finding additional organizations that work on technology.
Here are some of the issues that these organizations address: