Day in the Life of a Software Engineer at FAANG Wondering What The Hell We're Supposed To Be Doing About All Of This
So, you're living the dream. You did what everyone told you to do - you went to college, got a CS degree, got a few internships, and managed to get a job in Big Tech. Congratulations (sincerely as this is a huge accomplishment)! However, as you end your Leetcode premium subscription and take off your blue light filtered glasses for a moment to rub your tired eyes, you catch a glimpse of your phone's Apple News notification. It turns out that while you have been grinding away for a better future, the future itself seems to be deteriorating in front of our very eyes.
I get it, it's hard to think about when your priority has been economic stability. Software engineering presents a huge opportunity for class mobility, and tech workers are often immigrants or second gen immigrants, so every inch away from scarcity/poverty feel so much more important.
I want to be clear - this post isn't asking you to quit the job you fought so hard for, or become a hardcore full time activist. But, I want people who are having these thoughts to have resources and guidance that I wish I had when I was feeling these back in 2020. In our SF/NYC/Seattle(/increasingly rare remote work bubble), it's easy to think "this doesn't affect me", or "there isn't anything I can do about it", but these things can weigh on you especially when the news cycle is grim and the global future seems uncertain.
So, what the hell are we supposed to do?
It may seem inconsequential, but donations, especially recurring ones, help smaller nonprofits go a long way. Plus, FAANG and well funded startups often have very generous employee match programs, although these are often limited to 501c3 orgs (so no left leaning nonprofits basically). If you're looking for nonprofits doing work on the ground to really make a big difference, here's a few I recommend:
Run For Something - I'm a little biased but they recruit and support progressives to run for office at the down ballot level, who often go on to run for congress and more!
Working Families Party - A grassroots party also working to elect the next generation of leaders focusing on progressive values, notably who nominated Zohran Mamdani and have a nationwide presence
End Citizens United - An organization dedicated to limiting corporate influence in politics, which IMO is what got us into this mess in the first place
I felt like when I was starting in the FAANG bubble, it was a time when DEI was celebrated in big tech, and employee resource groups for numerous communities got all sorts of funding, and we celebrated in the office Diwali to Lunar New Year and everything in between. However, when the pendulum swung the other way and it became less popular to emphasize diversity, it felt like no one wanted to even talk about the changes that were happening, both internally and in the outside world.
But, I want to emphasize that you aren't alone! And you likely are friends with other tech workers who feel this way too! So, socialize and chat about it. People have retreated to speaking to each other frankly only in very online spaces - we need to do work to rebuild community at the local and in person level.
Join a book club, join a board game club, go rock climbing and go out to dinner afterwards, go to a protest if you're brave enough - as long as you're chatting with others, you can build community, support kind acts, and perhaps find others who are having the same thoughts as you.
Again, this isn't asking you to quit your job! But, if you're not working 996, you might have some spare time to do volunteer work. All sorts of nonprofits and campaigns are desperate for volunteers to do anything from remote data entry to helping canvass or table events. Which could help with talking to people IRL!
If you're looking to use your specific set of skills, I definitely recommend Tech For Campaigns - they get projects from specific campaigns and match your skillset to it, and make it clear what the time expectation is. I've worked with them for a project and it's really well organized!
However, if you're looking to be employed in the progressive tech space, it's woefully understaffed but desperately needed as well. You'll need to be ready for a paycut, as most nonprofits and progressive orgs don't give equity (they are notoriously not profitable), but they are definitely hiring!
Most nonprofits are looking for data engineering work and web development, and many have in house data teams that are mostly self taught folks coming from the digital side of campaigns! However when they're looking to scale, they definitely are looking for experienced engineers just like you!
If you're looking to switch jobs, I'd recommend checking the following job boards and applying to jobs as soon as they pop up for optimizing your chances:
All Hands - Curated job board of progressive civic orgs, and where I found my jobs in the space! The organizers have connections to most major orgs, so they often post them on the board in near real time.
Tech Jobs For Good - Not civic specific (but you can filter for it!), but another good collection of tech jobs that conceivably help society
Following everyone you see on LinkedIn relevant to civic tech - You should follow the employers you see on the above job boards! They'll often post jobs as links, but not as actual LinkedIn posts (as the latter is quite expensive)
I will occasionally get LinkedIn messages from strangers who ask how I broke into the space, and that they want to have their careers make a difference instead of just working at a bank or whatever. I do my best to always answer these messages and take coffee chats with them because I really believe that it's important to nurture that motivation and ambition.
In the tech bubble, it's extremely common for starry eyed interns to dream about being the next Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, or Elon Musk (pre 2020 of course). One of my goals, and the goal of this blog specifically, is to get someone to dream about being the next tech founder of a nonprofit or startup that helps end world hunger, class inequality, and/or Citizens United. I would love to have had a coffee chat with the future CTO of the DNC (or whatever the mainstream party that represents progressives in the future is).
It could be you! We just have to brave enough to start. Start your recurring donation, start your book club, start curating your feeds - start dreaming big in a different direction! Brag about it to your friends, make it known, be that person - you never know who you might inspire.
