Your mentee has news, and you can hear it before they say it. A charity that works with young carers is hiring its first full time developer. The salary is about a third lower than what they earn now. They have read the job description four times, they cannot stop thinking about it, and they want to know if they would be mad to apply.
They would not be mad. Wanting your work to mean something is one of the better reasons people change jobs, and plenty of developers find the move deeply satisfying. Your role is not to talk them out of it or into it. It is to help them make the decision with their eyes open.
Start with the money, because it is the part people least like to look at when they are excited. Ask them to write down what they spend in a normal month, then what they would earn after tax in the new role. Rent, debts, savings, anyone who depends on them. If the numbers work with a little belt tightening, that is good to know. If they only work by giving up the pension contributions or the emergency fund, that is good to know too. Pension and benefit rules differ a lot between countries and employers, so it is worth checking exactly what the charity offers rather than assuming.
Then help them separate the cause from the job. Loving what an organisation does is not the same as enjoying working there every day. Encourage them to ask the charity some practical questions. Who would they report to? Is there anyone technical to learn from, or would they be the only one? How is the work funded, and for how long? Small charities often depend on grants that last a year or two, and a role can disappear when the money does.
Being the first developer anywhere is a big job. They may be setting up the systems, choosing the tools, explaining technical decisions to trustees, and fixing the printer. Some people thrive on that. Others miss having colleagues who can review their code. Ask your mentee which of those they are likely to be.
Suggest they talk to someone who has done it. A developer at a similar organisation, found through a meetup or a friend of a friend, will tell them what a normal week looks like far more honestly than any advert.
It is also worth asking whether there are other ways to get what they are looking for. Some people volunteer their skills a few hours a month. Some look for a role at a company whose product does good work and still pays market rates. Neither is better than the charity job. They are just worth knowing about before deciding.
And if they decide to go, be glad for them. A career is long. A few years spent on work they believe in, chosen carefully, is rarely a few years wasted.
– Asael Shinder
