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Not to be confused with the United States Digital Service, which was started in the Obama administration. If I understand correctly, this new USDC program is fo

Not to be confused with the United States Digital Service, which was started in the Obama administration. If I understand correctly, this new USDC program is for early career people, while the older USDS program is for experienced people. They are similar in that both of them have a limited time duration (2 years for USDC, up to 4 years for USDS). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Digital_Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Digital_Service

dataflow 5y ago
Do you know why USDS's executive office is vacant?
- Jtsummers 5y ago
  Following a couple links: > When I joined USDS in 2016, I came with an outsider’s perspective, technical skills, and desire to use my talents for good. I thought I would serve for just three to six months. More than four years later, at the end of this month, my service at USDS will end. When technologists join USDS, they sign up for a limited tour of duty. I am no different, and it is my time to step down. I’m so grateful to have been a part of this team. And I am enormously proud of everything our team has accomplished across two Administrations. [emphasis added] From: https://medium.com/the-u-s-digital-service/the-next-chapter-for-usds-2eb6955065f3 https://medium.com/the-u-s-digital-service/the-next-chapter-...
  - dataflow 5y ago
    I guess I was asking "why hasn't it been filled", not "why did the previous person leave".
    - iamnotwhoiam 5y ago
      I don’t know exactly why the Biden admin hasn’t filled it yet, but the Trump admin left an incredible number of top positions unfilled. Many agencies were left in disarray and it doesn’t surprise me that this new and small agency hasn’t received priority yet.
      - iamtedd 5y ago
        As a non-US person, how many positions? Has it been enumerated somewhere?
        severine 5y ago
        Start here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-admin...
        iamnotwhoiam 5y ago
        199 empty, senate confirmed positions (out of 714 total) with 170 of them not even nominated by 2020. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/01/20/trumps-staffing-struggle-unfilled-jobs-100991 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/...
  - m0zg 5y ago
    3-6 months is barely enough time to figure out a reasonably complex codebase. That's ridiculously little time to "serve". Whoever came up with that duration has never run a complex software project.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - pimlottc 5y ago
      It's a trade-off. Being flexible with the minimum time commitment helps make it easier to recruit. For many people, it fits within their company's allowances for sabbaticals/unpaid leave, so folks can try it out without having to worry about finding a new job afterwards. And they can always decide to stay longer if they want.
      - m0zg 5y ago
        Why make a tradeoff that dooms any chance of a person actually productively contributing?
        pimlottc 5y ago
        People can and do make valuable contributions in short time periods at USDS. Most projects do not involve full time coding, but rather improving processes, making technical recommendations, helping write and award contracts effectively, scaling systems, building redundancy, rollout planning, analyzing failures, etc.
        Jtsummers 5y ago
        USDS is better seen as a consulting service than a contracted software development shop. Ownership of the systems remains with the agencies they work with. They help to modernize and refine ideas and systems, they don’t do the long term development work (including long term maintenance) themselves.
        m0zg 5y ago
georgeburdell 5y ago
Just wanted to say thank you as I had this exact question.

dataflow 5y ago

Do you know why USDS's executive office is vacant?

Jtsummers 5y ago
Following a couple links: > When I joined USDS in 2016, I came with an outsider’s perspective, technical skills, and desire to use my talents for good. I thought I would serve for just three to six months. More than four years later, at the end of this month, my service at USDS will end. When technologists join USDS, they sign up for a limited tour of duty. I am no different, and it is my time to step down. I’m so grateful to have been a part of this team. And I am enormously proud of everything our team has accomplished across two Administrations. [emphasis added] From: https://medium.com/the-u-s-digital-service/the-next-chapter-for-usds-2eb6955065f3 https://medium.com/the-u-s-digital-service/the-next-chapter-...
- dataflow 5y ago
  I guess I was asking "why hasn't it been filled", not "why did the previous person leave".
  - iamnotwhoiam 5y ago
    I don’t know exactly why the Biden admin hasn’t filled it yet, but the Trump admin left an incredible number of top positions unfilled. Many agencies were left in disarray and it doesn’t surprise me that this new and small agency hasn’t received priority yet.
    - iamtedd 5y ago
      As a non-US person, how many positions? Has it been enumerated somewhere?
      - severine 5y ago
        Start here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-admin...
      - iamnotwhoiam 5y ago
        199 empty, senate confirmed positions (out of 714 total) with 170 of them not even nominated by 2020. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/01/20/trumps-staffing-struggle-unfilled-jobs-100991 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/...
- m0zg 5y ago
  3-6 months is barely enough time to figure out a reasonably complex codebase. That's ridiculously little time to "serve". Whoever came up with that duration has never run a complex software project.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - pimlottc 5y ago
    It's a trade-off. Being flexible with the minimum time commitment helps make it easier to recruit. For many people, it fits within their company's allowances for sabbaticals/unpaid leave, so folks can try it out without having to worry about finding a new job afterwards. And they can always decide to stay longer if they want.
    - m0zg 5y ago
      Why make a tradeoff that dooms any chance of a person actually productively contributing?
      - pimlottc 5y ago
        People can and do make valuable contributions in short time periods at USDS. Most projects do not involve full time coding, but rather improving processes, making technical recommendations, helping write and award contracts effectively, scaling systems, building redundancy, rollout planning, analyzing failures, etc.
      - Jtsummers 5y ago
        USDS is better seen as a consulting service than a contracted software development shop. Ownership of the systems remains with the agencies they work with. They help to modernize and refine ideas and systems, they don’t do the long term development work (including long term maintenance) themselves.
        m0zg 5y ago

georgeburdell 5y ago

Just wanted to say thank you as I had this exact question.