[righthand]

I wanted to work for them since Obama announced it, but they didn’t pay as well as a big funded private corp startup. If I was a bit older and more comfortable with my savings I would have.

I would have loved serving my country and working on software as a way to give back.

[ronbenton]

I talked to some people at USDS during my time in govt. They took a 50% pay cut to serve their country. Wish more people understood a lot of civil servants often do it for the mission.

[righthand]

There is a sad side to my desire, I’ve told people this before in social circles and most people respond with confusion as to why I would want to do that.

[atonse]

The general expectation with USDS and others was that you only stay for 2-3 years. So it’s more like a temporary tour.

At least that’s what was pitched to me a few years ago when I spoke to their counterparts in the US gov. Incredibly smart, no-BS people that wanted to do good work and have high impact.

Still the only job I regret not taking in all my career.