Panel: Developer Happiness through Getting Involved

by Polly Schandorf, Sarah Me, Sean Marcia, and Terian Koscik

The panel discussion titled "Developer Happiness through Getting Involved" at RailsConf 2017 focused on enhancing developer happiness by actively engaging in community service and contribution. The panelists, including Polly Schandorf, Terian Koscik, Sean Marcia, and Sara Me, shared their experiences of how involvement in community and nonprofit work not only benefits others but also provides personal fulfillment and helps prevent burnout in one’s career.

Key Points:
- Community Engagement: The importance of giving back to the community is emphasized as a way to enhance personal happiness. Polly Schandorf highlighted her positive experiences at Ruby For Good, a retreat for creating projects that support nonprofits.
- Diverse Involvement: Each panelist shared unique paths they have taken in volunteerism, such as organizing events, leading workshops, and founding initiatives like RailsBridge, which aims to empower underrepresented groups in tech.
- Starting Points: Sara Me suggested beginners can start with simple projects or workshops without needing to be experts. Finding what interests them through meetups and networking can provide direction.
- Navigating Challenges: Terian discussed dealing with the burnout and recognizing when to pivot focus from one type of community work to another as personal interests and energies shift over time.
- Remote Opportunities: Sean mentioned that even if local events are not available, many organizations offer remote opportunities to contribute, particularly through platforms like GitHub.
- Benefits of Involvement: The panel emphasized the professional benefits of volunteering, including enhancing your resume and building valuable connections. The experience teaches various skills that are beneficial in tech roles.
- Communication and Balance: Maintaining open lines of communication with project teams regarding availability and concerns about commitment was stressed as key to a successful volunteering experience.
- Gratitude in Community: Panelists suggested finding ways to appreciate volunteers, whether through simple thank-you gestures or tokens of appreciation, helps foster a positive environment.

Conclusions: The discussion concluded with the idea that engaging with community initiatives can significantly improve personal satisfaction and career fulfillment. It encourages developers to recognize their potentials and contributions to the greater good, fostering a sense of joy and purpose in their professional lives. The main takeaway is the mutual benefits of volunteering—while helping others, individuals also enrich their own lives and careers.

00:00:11.960 Hi, thank you so much for coming! We've got a really great panel of people who have some wonderful information to share with you.

00:00:18.330 We all know that, since we're here today to talk about developer happiness, the best way to make developers happy is... kittens! Right? Very, very cute kittens.

00:00:30.480 So, we have to include some kittens. But beyond that, we can get involved in our community. Giving up your time to do great things for somebody else is a really awesome way to keep you happy and help keep you from burning out in your job.

00:00:39.239 I'm lucky to have these wonderful panelists here to give us some information about how to get started. So, I'm Polly Schandorf. During my last week of boot camp, I attended an event called Ruby For Good. It's a three-day retreat where we work on projects for nonprofits during the day, and then we have dinner together. In the evenings, we play games, meet people, build community, and find mentors. That's where I found my mentor.

00:00:57.539 It's just an amazing place to be. I've met some of these people through Ruby For Good, and I was really excited about that experience. I've gone several times this year, and I'm actually going to run a project there. It's something I feel really passionate about, and I wanted to share that with all of you.

00:01:13.049 So, I'm going to have the panelists introduce themselves.

00:01:26.490 Hello! I'm Terian Koscik, and I met Polly at Ruby For Good along with Shawn and some other people. I work for GitHub, and other ways I get involved include being an organizer for Jingle Girls in Portland. Additionally, I write intro and intermediate programming workshops; one is coming up later today.

00:01:54.180 Hey, I'm Shawn! I organized Ruby For Good, but this is just a For Good panel. I work for the government, trying to make things better despite the new person in charge.

00:02:30.680 Hi, I'm Sara! I have no connection to Ruby For Good at all; I've never been. It's been on my list of things to do for years, but I've never actually attended it. It's during the last week of school for my kids, which is always a challenge for attendance. That being said, I am the chief consultant at Deaf Mind.

00:02:57.359 My nonprofit work tends to take the form of organizing this conference and RubyConf. I am part of the organizing team for that, and I founded an organization called RailsBridge in 2009. RailsBridge was one of the first groups to start workshops aiming to get women and underrepresented folks into the Rails community. Since then, many other groups have taken that model and have done interesting things, like Rails Girls and Django Girls.

00:03:43.139 Recently, we formed an umbrella organization because if you're a developer, you don't want to figure out how to be a nonprofit organization; you just want to do a workshop. Now we have groups like Go Bridge and Scala Bridge, as we try to help other communities adopt that model as well.

00:04:08.340 Now we're going to have some discussion. I have everyone's names up there so we can remember. So, Sara, can we start with you? Can you give us some advice on how to figure out how to get started?

00:04:50.230 That's an interesting question. For me, I wanted to create the workshop that I wished existed a couple of years earlier. I was coming back into the workforce after my daughter was born. Having been a Java developer, I had a couple of years gap in my resume, and suddenly, no one would interview me. I thought it would be great if there were a workshop for my mom friends in similar situations so that they could update their skills and come back into the workforce. That's where RailsBridge came from.

00:05:37.960 I think it's really easy to get involved; you don't need to be an expert! Even if you're in a boot camp, you have the skills right now! Many of the projects we're doing for nonprofits are simple CRUD apps, replacing processes that were being done on pen and paper. Getting involved can be a great experience.

00:06:06.240 When I came out of college, I wanted to help get more women and underrepresented folks into tech. I simply went to a lot of meetups and asked people who needed help. Initially, that was a bit much, but through those meetups, I found what I enjoyed and the things I did not. It's important to find what sparks your interest!

00:06:57.410 So, Terian, have you ever faced obstacles when trying to get involved with something you were excited about? What did you do?

00:07:39.500 The first groups I got involved with were focused on getting young girls interested in tech. I cared deeply about that, but after doing it for a couple of years, I realized I did not have the energy level for it. I changed my focus to work with adults who already have some knowledge.

00:08:04.720 I started by working with an organization that ran a summer camp for high school girls, which was rewarding but also challenging. They wanted me to write a curriculum for their class. I found high school girls to be a unique challenge, and I felt overwhelmed trying to learn how to teach technical topics while also figuring out how to connect with the students. Eventually, I realized I needed to step back and let someone else take over.

00:08:46.550 So, Shawn, we've heard a lot about Ruby For Good and how awesome it is; but it's sold out for this year. What are some ideas for other things people can get involved in?

00:09:19.780 You can get involved remotely! We have a mailing list that helps nonprofits. There are many ways to contribute. We also have a GitHub page where you can look for issues tagged as 'help wanted' or 'good first commit.' By diving in, you can create some meaningful interactions.

00:09:50.429 There's also a Python offshoot that will be holding an event for good in Portland this July. It's called Code for Good. It's a fantastic opportunity to participate!

00:10:19.930 As you're getting started, it can be difficult to gauge what level of commitment is required. Sara, do you have any tips for figuring that out upfront?

00:10:50.730 One helpful aspect I've found in many groups is that they have things like 'good first commit' opportunities. These indicate they've thought about which tasks are simple enough for newcomers. At RailsBridge, we've tried to maintain a revolving door approach. If you're a student this time, we want you to return next time as a teaching assistant (TA). You don't have to teach; just being there with your perspective can be incredibly valuable.

00:11:53.820 It's essential to avoid any pressure around commitment. Sometimes you might go through cycles where you’re very involved or where you’ve got family commitments, and that’s okay. Communication is key—be honest about your availability.

00:12:19.890 I think being open with other organizers is really helpful as well; they appreciate knowing when someone is feeling overwhelmed. It's a community effort, and sometimes just being vulnerable can help find a balance.

00:12:55.960 Lean on your community! We have a wonderful community of helpers in the Ruby and Rails domains. If you're an open-source contributor, ask the project maintainer if you can work on something. There are so many people willing to help newcomers!

00:13:48.640 We also encourage recently graduated participants to become teachers in future workshops. They can share their fresh perspectives and experiences. It's often incredibly empowering for them to turn around and help teach others. Everyone has valuable insights.

00:14:31.440 So, Terian, can you tell us how to recognize when it’s time to take a break and why that’s important?

00:16:01.500 I feel that this isn't exclusive to programming but relates to life in general. If something is making you unhappy, you should probably stop doing it. As programmers and people who want to help, it can be hard to step back and see when it's not good for us anymore. Open source projects will survive without you for a bit, and it's okay to take a step back.

00:16:51.000 Disconnecting is key—find something else to do, whether it’s reading, spending time on hobbies, or just taking a break from tech.

00:17:44.890 Sometimes the pressure from work drains energy from our lives, but volunteer work often replenishes that energy. You need to assess whether your involvement is enhancing your energy or becoming draining.

00:18:29.870 We all face challenges; it’s essential to recognize if the tasks are taking energy from you instead of providing it. At some point, ask yourself if you're still benefiting from your involvement.

00:19:05.660 Shawn, can you discuss the benefits of getting involved—how it can impact you personally or your career?

00:19:44.230 I'm a big proponent of the benefits of getting involved. It's essentially like open source—the more contributions you make, the more it reflects on your resume. Having tangible projects on GitHub is crucial. Whether you like it or not, that’s how our industry often views credentials.

00:20:34.000 However, we often overvalue code contributions when discussing volunteer work. It’s well known that being involved in community projects can have a profound impact that goes beyond just writing code.

00:21:26.750 We can sometimes struggle to see the broader impact of our work, especially if the focus is on our GitHub contributions. Having tangible outcomes beyond programming tasks can be more valuable.

00:22:33.260 As volunteers, it’s important to communicate if you find yourself overwhelmed or out of place in a project. It's helpful to let project maintainers know when you're feeling off balance.

00:23:11.740 We’re all coming from the open-source world, so it’s better to communicate about our availability or burnout rather than going silent. Most maintainers understand the need for personal balance.

00:23:43.180 We want to make sure there's enough time for questions, so are there any?

00:24:08.230 If someone wants to know where to start in a community with no clear pathways, there are plenty of remote opportunities available. Students can easily dive into online communities, game jams, and local meetups.

00:24:47.600 You might be surprised how many tech enthusiasts could be nearby; organizing meetups can help localize those voices. Even small events can build connections.

00:25:33.330 Volunteering in different capacities can help you discover relatively new connections looking to collaborate. Whether it's coding, organizing events, or even basic research, there's plenty of room for help.

00:26:31.110 For recognizing contributions, be it in hugs, swag, or simple acknowledgment, gratitude can create a rewarding atmosphere of teamwork.

00:27:06.660 In some organizations, we've made unique tokens of appreciation, such as wearing funky tee shirts or little handmade items for volunteers to thank them for their help.

00:27:50.090 Communicating gratitude can also go a long way, especially with volunteers. Just letting them know how much their hard work is appreciated matters immensely.

00:28:34.070 The question regarding managing a meetup and how to differentiate between managing a paid team versus a volunteer project was brought up. Many principles align, such as maintaining engagement and communication.

00:29:39.050 Understanding that volunteers might have fluctuating availability and nurturing that flexibility is important. Similar to tech teams, we want to ensure that documentation is in place for continuity.

00:30:29.450 So, integrating volunteer work with company values can lead to more substantial contributions, as seen with several companies actively promoting volunteering initiatives.

00:31:55.530 Companies like GitHub offer volunteer months, which significantly benefits community projects while allowing employees to contribute to causes they care about.

00:33:06.780 Thank you all so much for coming, and I hope this panel has sparked some ideas. Together, we can make the world a better place!