Quotes from people with Software Development experience from us
For 2011 Google Summer of Code, we asked Emaad Ahmed Manzoor to talk about his work. In addition to his good work, He's been kind enough to speak honestly about working with us:
It's my first time being mentored for an open source project, and it's been a huge learning experience. It's nothing like developing personal tools for yourself; it's not just about the code and the results on your screen, because your work is going to impact a big circle of people, of which you are not the centre any more. [...] It's been fun too; MVHub's an eccentric project (looking at the CSL Board mailing list, fake-blog, and of course, at Dan), plus it's technology being used to help people who really need it. It gives you that nice, bubbly feeling knowing the ultimate end result of your work might be someone homeless finding a nice place to spend that night, as compared to a bunch of people finding (another) neat way to communicate or something. What I find really cool is that everything's just in-your-face; if something sucks, it's not covered in euphemisms. It's a lot easier working that way.
For a Women Working Wonders grant in June 2010 (which we didn't get) We asked recent volunteers if we could quote them:
NK said: I worked with a supportive group under ___ who was a great and patient mentor, specially for a beginner like me. Working there for a few months gave me enough confidence to continue with software engineering as a career path and join a formal computer science program. PR said: Yes,of course my experience is a good one. CSL is a good place to start after a break. Women with children, who would like to start a career can find options here MBV said: For first time in very long time, I feel a sense of purpose. SC said: I would not have discovered an interest in Human Computer factors without work at CSL. MD said: I tried for about 2 months after graduation to get a job in software engineering, but most companies would not hire me as I had no other work experience other than my 3 month summer internship. I landed a voluntary job at CSL. It was very exciting for me. They provided reference books (costing about >$40 each) to read and get familiar with technologies they use. I was even invited to attend customer meetings. It was an exciting environment, where everyone was helpful and cheerful, even though most all worked voluntarily due to lack of funds. For people in my case who are unemployed and really skillful and don't want to waste their time(and knowledge), CSL is a perfect place to be in. You get to work as a Software Engineer, get to have fun, get appreciation for the work you have done, get to meet real life customers of your work, and overall get to learn new things, which you can put on your resume. The website we develop and handle helps local charities. That is excellent feeling to help people. SC said: I really liked the experience in CSL, mostly because I got lots of advice and help from the supervisor who showed me how to program in a more efficient way. I also enjoy a lot work with other volunteer together so that we can have a better discussion and motivation. CSL definitely helped me to improve my programing and communication skills.