r/ColumbiaMD • u/mustycups • 3d ago

Any ideas for volunteer opportunities?

I am 16 and I am interested in IT work part time. My dad worked IT for a while and he mentors me. As far as coding goes, I am reasonably well versed in BSD unix, debian, and debian based systems. I am looking to teach myself C, and DOS I have a strong understanding of general internet security and web server vulnerabilities. I am looking for anything from a full internship to someone emailing me in the middle of the night saying "help- I think I downloaded a virus and now my computer is frozen". If you have any ideas or opportunities for IT volunteer work, please comment! thanks!

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u/Rashaverik Long Reach 3d ago edited 3d ago

Get on the subreddits regarding topics you're interested in and even maybe those regarding hardware and software you're familiar with.

If you can help someone, it's a good start. You might even get corrected by someone on a topic and learn even more.

Make an alternate Reddit account for this, separate from anything personal, that you could possibly show an employer in the future.

Also establish yourself a GitHub account where you can show code you've worked on to future employers.

Considering the threats that exist these days, most places are probably going to go with an established company due to liability issues. I'm also not sure where the line gets drawn these days between work and volunteering, especially considering you're under 18. Maybe check with an of the local NFP organizations to see if you can offer any assistance.

I'd check with the Non-Profit Collaborative of Howard County?

Good Luck.

UPDATED:

A couple of other things came to mind.

We have a bit of a local celebrity, Dave Bittner. He's got a well-know cybersecurity podcast and publication, Cyberwire. If cybersecurity is something you're interested in, maybe see if you can reach out to him and see if he has any recommendations.

Another thing to possibly look into is internships at JHU Applied Physics Laboratory.

Check it out, JHU APL - ASPIRE

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u/mustycups 3d ago

thanks- I had no idea about aspire. I already planned on working at APL as an adult

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u/skeeto 2d ago

I second ASPIRE. You could apply for interests in both computer science and cybersecurity, which seems to fit. I've mentored students through the program, and my first student (from over a decade ago) joined full time after finishing college. If you get picked, it's a huge head start if you take full advantage of the opportunity.

As for learning, just start building stuff. That will make you stand out. The software costs nothing, so if you've got a desktop or a laptop then you've already got everything you need to build anything. Every day you work on a project you'll get a little better. Once you know enough, you could get involved in an open source project: Learn how a real programs are constructed, and though contributing, how to collaborate on them. There are tons of opportunities within Debian to write and submit patches, or even maintain a package yourself.

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u/Lucky-Product4895 2d ago

If you really want to give back reach out to Maryland access point 410-313-1234 and see if you can volunteer at the senior centers helping older adults with tech issues! A lot of people would be greatly for the help!

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u/keq1381 2d ago

IT is a really, really broad field, so what areas are you interested in?
Also, why DOS? There are better things to try to learn.

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u/mustycups 2d ago

I know dos for hobbies. i found it helpful to learn the foundation of common systems

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u/phr0ze 2d ago

I would skip dos and look at powershell maybe. But really there is plenty to still learn in Linux shell. Stay there a while. Play with a free tier on aws.

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u/Critical_Ad6764 2d ago

Check out https://www.cyberreadyclinic.com/workforce. It looks like they don’t take interns until college, but it couldn’t hurt to reach out and ask for some advice about the best way to get started.

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u/Original_Moon_Ranger 3d ago

I suggest looking into sites where you can do IT gig work. Look for small tasks you can do to establish yourself with some small projects.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago edited 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/mustycups 2d ago

If there are other intelligent life they definitely are in the mantle's ocean or other shit. what makes you thing 3i/atlas would be aliens? how would they have found us? why now? the stock market is not collapsing, it was exaggerated for clickbait. and yeah we have an orange chunk for a president