One Day, One Job » fellowship programs

Net Impact

Willy Franzen — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:03:22 +0000

I’m consistently impressed by how many new grads say they want a socially conscious career. It’s a good sign that so many young people are willing to commit to making the world a better place; however, I think a lot of them overlook how much of a positive impact you can have working in the business world. Just think about how many positive developments over the course of human history were driven by businesses. Net Impact is a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that aims “to inspire, educate, and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.” It’s a membership organization that has more than 20,000 members across 280 worldwide chapters.

What Will Your Net Impact Be?

At first I wasn’t completely sure what Net Impact does, but as I dug a little deeper and looked at their At a Glance PDF, I started to understand. They have three main focuses: educating students and professionals, connecting changemakers, and supporting real-world impact. This is done mostly through a large annual conference and smaller local chapter events. Approximately 60% of the chapters are focused on students (undergrad and MBA), while the other 40% are targeted towards people in the business world. If you’re convinced of the power of business to make the world a better place but still want to work at a non-profit, then check out Careers at Net Impact. Right now they are looking for a Temporary Website & CMS Contractor and a Conference Marketing Fellow. They also have Fellowships in Chapters Programs and Design, but those positions look more like internships.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Net Impact?

Citizen Schools

Willy Franzen — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:31:53 +0000

Middle school is a big turning point in the lives of students. They generally enter still looking and acting like children, but by the time they leave they’re well on their way to adulthood. Middle school is also the point at which academics become much more rigorous–you have real tests, real grades, and real responsibility. That’s why Citizen Schools was founded in 1995 to re-imagine “the learning day to bring more time, more talented adults, and more relevant learning experiences to middle-school students in low-income neighborhoods.” They’re headquartered in Boston, MA, and they’re getting citizens off the sidelines and into schools in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Texas.

Be a Good Citizen

Citizen Schools’ focus is on “expanding the learning day.” To get a sense of what they mean by that, you should take a look at Citizen Schools’ Model and Growth Strategy. The story behind Citizen Schools is pretty neat, so I strongly recommend that you watch their Citizen Schools 101 video below (e-mail readers need to click through):

If you want to be part of that story as it continues to get better, then you need to take a look at Citizen Schools’ wide range of Career Opportunities. They offer a variety of paths including Teaching Fellowships (applications open later this month), Teaching Associate positions, Campus Director positions, and a variety of other openings. Browse through everything and see what makes the most sense for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Citizen Schools?

New America Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:01:46 +0000

There’s no question that America’s future is filled with challenges, and we’re going to be the ones who have to rise to them. It’s a huge opportunity, but it’s also a bit daunting. The New America Foundation is a non-profit organization that “emphasizes work that is responsive to the changing conditions and problems of our 21st Century information-age economy — an era shaped by transforming innovation and wealth creation, but also by shortened job tenures, longer life spans, mobile capital, financial imbalances and rising inequality.” They’re based in Washington, DC (and Sacramento, CA), and they’re working to ensure that every American generation is able to live better than the one that came before it.

Are You Part of a New America?

The New America Foundation has ideals that pretty much everyone can get behind, but how do they actually go about achieving their goals? They have a wide range of Programs and Initiatives that cover a number of areas including College Savings, National Security, Open Technology, Economic Growth, and lots more. These programs “combine ongoing research and publications with working groups, conferences and public events” to “bring innovative, cutting-edge policy solutions to the fore of the national debate.” The New America Foundation’s approach is broad, but if you think that you could help them build a better America, then take a look at their Jobs page. They have a number of positions available that look suitable for new or recent grads including A/V Multimedia Producer, Innovation Policy Research Associate, Program Associate – Global Assets Project, Research Associate – Global Assets Project, Schmidt Family Foundation Fellow, Events Associate, Field Analyst – Open Technology Initiative, and Research Associate. There are lots of options, so hopefully one of them will be a good fit for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your vision for a New America?

Common Cause

Willy Franzen — Sat, 14 May 2011 14:17:30 +0000

It always helps to have someone hold you accountable, whether it’s to keep you from cheating on a paper or cheating on a diet (those are links to this week’s relevant posts on iParadigms and Weight Watchers, respectively). But it’s not only individuals that need to be held accountable. What about our government? That’s what Democracy and a system of elections is all about, but we all know that it doesn’t quite work as planned. I think most would agree that our government is constantly doing things against our interests. Common Cause is a Washington, DC based non-profit (lobbying organization) that is “a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.” Defining “the public interest” can get a little hairy depending on your point of view, but there’s no doubt that our government can do a better job of serving it (whatever it is).

Be Accountable for Your Job Search

Common Cause claims to be nonpartisan, but their Wikipedia page mentions that publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsweek, TIME, and USA Today have identified the organization as liberal. In other words, they’re all about government accountability when it comes to a certain set of issues that align with their political goals. There’s nothing wrong with that, but they could probably be a little more intellectually honest when describing themselves. The issues that they focus on include:

Increase participation in the political process,
Advance campaign finance reforms that make people and ideas more important than money,
Make certain that government is open, ethical and accountable,
Remove barriers to voting and ensure that our voting systems are accurate and accessible,
Increase the diversity of voices and ownership in media, to make media more responsive to the needs of citizens in a democracy and to protect the editorial independence of public broadcasting, and to
Make certain that public policy on health care, defense spending, climate change and other issues reflects the needs and priorities of our citizens, not special interests.

Obviously, these are simplifications of their positions on each of these issues, so you should go here to get a more in-depth look at what they’re doing to hold the government more accountable. You’ll probably also want to check out Common Cause’s Action Items. If you like what you see, then it’s time to take a look at their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Policy Advocate (Sacramento/Northern California) and a Policy/Advocacy Fellow (California). Both jobs look like good fits for new or recent grads, so give the job descriptions a good look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Common Cause?

Foundation for Sustainable Development

Willy Franzen — Sun, 01 May 2011 16:22:01 +0000

I’m constantly amazed by the quantity and breadth of non-profit organizations that are working to solve society’s many problems. While we often take a look at the larger organizations because they have more job and internship opportunities, you shouldn’t overlook the smaller non-profits that are deeply embedded in their communities and focused on solving a small set of problems in a specific area. These organizations are especially well equipped to make things happen, even if they can only do it on a small scale; however, they can also be limited by their size and local focus. Foundation for Sustainable Development is a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that “works to enhance the capacity of small non-governmental organizations around the world to address local health, social, environmental, and economic issues.” In other words, they help these smaller organizations by giving them access to some of the resources of larger organizations.

A Sustainable Foundation for Your Career

Foundation for Sustainable Development was founded in 1995, and they focus on four specific areas: Capacity Building, Grantmaking, International Development Training Programs, and Giving Circles. You can learn more about each of these by check out Foundation for Sustainable Development’s What We Do page. Foundation for Sustainable Development has built a really interesting model, and it sounds like their approach is not only focused on developing pragmatic solutions to everyday problems but also on ensuring that these solutions address the “qualitative interior needs of individuals and communities.” Put simply, they realize that understanding cultural issues is absolutely essential to accomplishing the typical goals of an international development organization. If you’re excited about what Foundation for Sustainable Development is doing, then you should check out their Jobs and Fellowships. Right now they’re looking for Local Program Coordinators in Salta, Argentina and Cochabamba, Bolivia, and they’re looking for a Fellow in Salta, Argentina. The job descriptions get really in depth, so be sure to read them carefully before you apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Foundation for Sustainable Development?

Education Pioneers

Willy Franzen — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:20:26 +0000

It’s no secret that the field of education has trouble attracting top talent. The jobs are demanding, and they’re not known to pay particularly well, but I’m not sure that tells the whole story. We live in a culture that glorifies consultants and bankers and not teachers and school administrators. This may never change completely, but there are a lot of people working to encourage new college grads to get into education. One of them is Education Pioneers, an Oakland, CA based non-profit organization that is working to build “the pipeline of talent to address the urban education crisis.” Their immediate goal is to recruit “exceptional talent” and place them in positions at organizations that are working tirelessly to improve the level of K-12 education. Their longer term goal is to develop a cadre of alumni who will assume leadership positions in schools and educational organizations.

Are You a Pioneer?

Education Pioneers does their work through a large number of partner organizations. Many are organizations that we’ve featured (like KIPP, MATCH Charter Public School, and The New Teacher Project), but most are organizations that you’ve probably never heard of before. The common link is that they’re all focused on improving the state of education in America, and they need more talent to help them do it. Education Pioneers helps to provide talent, while also connecting the organizations so that they can learn from each other and become more efficient. There are a number of ways that you can get involved with Education Pioneers. The first is their Analyst Fellowship Program (New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles); however, the final deadline for this program appears to have been April 1st (there could be flexibility on this, but I doubt it). Luckily, there are also some jobs posted at Education Pioneers including Program Assistant (San Francisco Bay Area) and Program Associate (Boston, MA). You can also throw your hat in the ring for future opportunities if you’re interested.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Education Pioneers?

BlueEngine

Willy Franzen — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:56:57 +0000

There’s a lot of talent out there on the labor market–so many smart college grads with great educations dying to work. Yet a lot of employers only want to hire people with real work experience. I get it. Someone who has spent the past 17+ years in a school environment may struggle with the transition from the classroom to the workplace (and employers don’t think they can afford to pay people to struggle in this economy). That’s not as much of a problem when the classroom is the workplace. We’re seeing more and more non-profits that are built entirely on the idea of taking fresh college graduates and putting them to work–often in education. BlueEngine is one of these organizations. They’re based in New York, NY, and they’re building a “professional teaching assistant corps that harnesses the power of service to advance educational equity and excellence in America.” Instead of turning grads into full-fledged teachers, BlueEngine Fellows work in New York City public schools as small-group tutors, so that they can maximize their impact on individual students.

Thinking You Can Isn’t Enough

The story behind BlueEngine is pretty cool, which is why you should watch the video below (e-mail readers will have to click through).

If that has you fired up, then you need to start reading up on BlueEngine’s Fellowship Program. There is a ton of information available on their website–everything from a day in the life to frequently asked questions. The best thing to read is probably this Open Letter to Applicants though (and after that you might want to read an Open Letter from a Fellow). It really sounds like an amazing program, so you should spend an hour or two on their website learning more, and then think about applying. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 6th, 2011.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about BlueEngine?

Nourish International

Willy Franzen — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:35:21 +0000

There’s something special about non-profits that start on college campuses. They’re born with a sense of scrappiness and youthful idealism. It’s just the combination that can make amazing things happen. Nourish International in Chapel Hill, NC is a perfect example of this. It all started with a UNC student named Sindhura Citineni. She started a student group called “Hunger Lunch.” They’d sell “rice, beans and cornbread in the Pit for $3 and use the profits to fund Nourish’s first project: a nutrition project in Hyderabad, India.” Since then the mission has continued to be “to eradicate poverty by engaging students and empowering communities,” but they’ve certainly expanded their reach. Students raise money on campus throughout the year, and then they travel abroad in the summer to fund and conduct community development projects.

Nourishing Opportunities

Starting in 2007 Nourish International started thinking about expanding to more campuses, and they launched chapters at North Carolina State and Michigan. In 2008 they got serious about expansion and launched its Chapter Founders Program. They accepted applications from students interested in founding their own chapters, and then accepted students from 19 universities. This model allows Nourish International to stay lean while rapidly growing their ability to do meaningful work. You can get a full overview of how Nourish International works here, and you can take a closer look at their projects here. Nourish International appears to post all of their opportunities on Idealist. Right now they’re looking for Chapter Founders across the country, and they also have a one-year Fellowship Program based in their home office. It looks like a great organization to be involved with, so take a closer look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

NourishInternational.org
Jobs at Nourish International (Idealist)
About Nourish International
Nourish International’s Team
Nourish International’s Projects
Nourish International’s History
Nourish International’s Blog

What do you think of Nourish International?

National Bureau of Asian Research

Willy Franzen — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 16:00:47 +0000

I really hope that I get to travel to Asia at some point in my life, especially Japan. I think it would be fascinating to experience a society that is quite similar to the United States in terms of its economy and technology, yet so different culturally. When I think about it, I’m amazed at how far America’s relationship with Asian countries has come over the past 70 or so years. We’ve gone from wars with Japan, Korea, and Vietnam to economic battles with Japan and China. Now our economy is deeply intertwined with that of China, and the fight against Communism is nearly forgotten. Even though our country’s relationships with Asian countries have changed over the years, it’s still extremely important that we work to understand them better. That’s what the National Bureau of Asian Research is all about. They’re a Seattle, WA based non-profit organization that “conducts advanced independent research on strategic, political, economic, globalization, health, and energy issues affecting U.S. relations with Asia.” They were founded in 1989 when the landscape was quite different from what it is today, but their mission is just as relevant.

Explore Everything Asia

By “drawing upon an extensive network of the world’s leading specialists and leveraging the latest technology,” the National Bureau of Asian Research is able to bridge “the academic, business, and policy arenas.” As important as doing their research, another key to NBR’s work is disseminating their research. They do this “through briefings, publications, conferences, Congressional testimony, and email forums, and by collaborating with leading institutions worldwide.” If you want to get a feel for some of NBR’s past work, you can take a look at this history of their first fifteen years. Another part of NBR’s mission is training “the next generation of Asia specialists.” This means that they’re big on Fellowships and Internships. It’s already too late for The Next Generation Leadership in Asian Affairs Program (deadline was January 15), and the Bridge Award Program seems to be limited to recipients of the Boren Fellowship; however, NBR also has a Jobs page. The only position posted is for an Accounts Payable Coordinator, which isn’t all that relevant to what NBR does. However, you can keep an eye out for other opportunities that might appear or you can reach out to them to see if there are any other options. Remember, training the next generation of Asian specialists is part of their mission.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been to Asia?

MATCH Charter Public School

Willy Franzen — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:44:22 +0000

This is a sponsored post for MATCH Charter Public School.

Think back to your first day of middle or high school. If you went to a school with invested faculty, then there’s a chance that you were personally greeted and welcomed by a teacher, administrator, or maybe even the Principal. By the second day, this would have seemed pretty strange. Not at MATCH Charter Public School in Boston, MA. Every morning the school’s Principal greets each of the 450 students at the door with a handshake while asking, “Why are you here?” The students respond, “I’m here to learn.” The Principal then asks, “What will it take?” And the students answer, “Courage, Discipline, and Perseverance.” Then the students enter the school. This isn’t a military or reform school, but it is a unique place where education is treated as a life and death matter. Students who enter MATCH often start a few grade levels behind where they should be, but by the time they graduate they’re headed to a 4-year college or university. It’s an amazing feat, and MATCH has proven the ability to do it year after year; in fact, 99% of their graduating classes from 2004 to 2010 were accepted to four-year colleges.

Are You a MATCH?

The MATCH High School opened in 2000 with the goal of preparing “inner-city Boston students to succeed in college and beyond–including those who have no family history of college attendance.” MATCH’s results would be impressive for an elite private school in a ritzy suburb, yet they’re doing it with more than three-quarters of their students living in poverty. In 2008 MATCH opened up a Middle School in Jamaica Plain, MA to expand their reach and get an earlier start at helping students break through the “Achievement Gap.” Both MATCH schools are public and tuition-free while admitting students through a lottery program. You’re probably wondering how MATCH can get such great results given their situation, and the answer is an amazing staff with a family level commitment to success. Not only does MATCH select the best of the best, but they also invest heavily in providing meaningful training that prepares their teachers and tutors to succeed on Day One.

A large portion of MATCH’s staff consists of new and recent college graduates, and these new hires (from all majors) usually enter into one of two programs: MATCH Teacher Residency or MATCH Corps.

MATCH Teacher Residency

This is the most selective teacher prep program in the United States (even above Teach For America). New hires get an entire year of intense training to prepare them to be at the front of a high-needs classroom. It’s like the Navy SEALS of teacher prep. The new grads who are selected for MATCH Teacher Residency are already some of our nation’s highest performers. Then they’re given the tools and training needed to take their talent and translate it to education. That way, when they start teaching, they’re 100% ready to deliver the kind of results that the administration, parents, and students at MATCH expect. In addition to the training, MATCH Teacher Residents also participate in MATCH Corps (which you can read about below).

MATCH Teacher Residency accepts applicants from all majors, and no prior teaching experience is required. You just need an extreme passion for education and the willingness to give your students everything that you have. If you’re interested in MATCH Teacher Residency, you can read about the application process and apply here.

MATCH Corps

MATCH Corps was the first program of its kind when it launched in 2004. It is a yearlong tutoring fellowship for 90 top recent college graduates. MATCH Corps members work one-on-one with six to eight MATCH High School or Middle School students each day for an entire academic year. Corps members live together in apartments nearby the Middle School and in a dorm on the top floor of the High School. This is a full-time position, and it gives Corps members the opportunity to develop meaningful personal relationships with students in a way that classroom teaching never can. In addition to teaching, Corps members also undertake secondary projects such as serving as teaching assistants, coaching teams, or leading extracurricular programs. This is a grueling program that requires an average of 60 hours per week, but it’s worth it. Through MATCH Corps, MATCH Charter Public School is able to ensure that every student receives at least 2 hours of individual tutoring every day. It’s a big part of the “secret sauce” that makes MATCH special.

MATCH Corps also accepts applicants from all majors, and once again no prior teaching experience is required. If you’re not sure if teaching a class of 25 is for you, but you want to work face to face with students who are hungry for success, then you can read about the application process and apply for MATCH Corps here.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of MATCH Charter Public School’s approach?

Pencils of Promise

Willy Franzen — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 14:09:05 +0000

What do you want most in the world? Maybe it’s changed since yesterday because of something left under the Christmas tree, but chances are that changing the answer to that question isn’t so easy. For a small boy begging on the streets of India, the answer was pretty simple. A pencil. Adam Braun is a guy who gave a kid a pencil, a smile, and a promise of a better future. Adam Braun continued backpacking across the world, and giving out pens and pencils—thousands of them. Eventually his idea turned into a non-profit organization called Pencils of Promise. They’re based in New York City, and they now build schools for the 75 million children in the world who don’t even have access to a pre-school education. As important as schools are, the pencils and backpacks still play a huge role in what Pencils of Promise does.

Show Some Promise

The best way to get a feel for Pencils of Promise is to watch this 99-second video. It will give you a quick rundown of who they are and what they’re doing (e-mail readers need to click through).

After the video you may want to read the Pencils of Promise story and look at their current, upcoming, and completed projects. They’re making a difference one village at a time, and the pace at which they’re doing it is impressive. If you’re move by Pencils of Promise’s success, then you should consider a job with them. They seem to post everything on Idealist, and right now they’re looking for a Creative Technologist. It looks like a really cool position for a tech savvy grad, so check it out. They also have a number of volunteer opportunities and a Nicaragua Coordinator Fellowship.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever given anyone a pencil?

Environment America

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:44:36 +0000

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Now, I’m not one to worry much about Global Warming, especially when I’m enjoying a snap of 60-plus degree weather in Chicago in mid-November, but that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about the environment. There’s no doubt that our way of life has numerous negative impacts on the natural world around us, and we’re not doing enough to minimize those impacts. Environment America is a nationwide, non-profit “federation of state-based, citizen-funded environmental advocacy organizations” that is headquartered in Washington, DC. Their strategy is focused on combining “independent research, practical ideas and tough-minded advocacy to overcome the opposition of powerful special interests and win real results for the environment.” (Yes, they’re another special interest that is fighting special interests.) They’ve been around for 30 years, and I’m sure that they’re going to keep on going as long as mankind is harming the environment.

Try a New Environment

While much of Environment America’s work is focused at the state level, some of of the broader initiatives that they’re currently working on are Repower America (Green Energy), Stopping Global Warming, Our Rivers, Lakes & Streams, and Stop Toxic Pollution. As you can see, Environment America spreads their work across a lot of issues, which means that they have a ton of different job opportunities. You can find the full rundown here. For students and recent grads, their Fellowship Program is probably the best fit (and I believe potential locations include Mobile, AL; Little Rock and Fayetville, AR; Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, CA; Denver, CO; Hartford, CT; Washington, DC; Miami and Tallahassee, FL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Des Moines, IA; New Orleans, LA; Portland, ME; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Ann Arbor, MI; Minneapolis, MN; St. Louis, MO; Gulfport, MS; Missoula, MT; Las Vegas, NV; Concord, NH; Trenton, NJ; Albuquerque, NM; Albany and New York, NY; Raleigh, NC; Columbus, OH; Portland, OR; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; Austin, TX; Richmond, VA; Seattle, WA; and Madison, WI), but you may also want to check out positions like Communication and Development – Grants Associate (Los Angeles, CA), Financial Assistant (Washington, DC), Executive Assistant (Boston, MA or Washington, DC), Communications Associate (Boston, MA or Philadelphia, PA), Web Associate (Boston, MA), and Online Organizing Software Developer (Denver, CO). There are all kinds of options, so give everything a good look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What environmental issues are you most concerned with?

Global Green USA

Willy Franzen — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 14:57:58 +0000

As far as I can tell, most of the non-profits that we’ve featured here have originated in the United States—even the ones that do most of their work internationally. Global Green USA is an exception. They are “the American Arm of Green Cross International (GCI), which was created by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future by reconnecting humanity with the environment.” Global Green USA is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, and they also have offices in New Orleans, LA; Washington, DC; and New York, NY. Though they do work on some international issues with GCI, their domestic focus is on “fighting global climate change through [their] green affordable housing initiatives, National Green Schools Initiative, national and reginonal green building policies, advocacy and education.”

Are You Globally Green?

The idea of a “sustainable and secure future” is something that everyone can get behind. Global Green USA’s main projects include Rebuilding New Orleans, Building Green Cities and Schools, Promoting Climate Change Policy, Encouraging Dialogue on Security, and Driving Clean Water Initiatives. As our environmental challenges continue to change, I’m sure that Global Green USA will adapt to address them. If you want to be part of a “sustainable and secure future,” then you should check out jobs at Global Green USA. Right now they’re looking for a Database & Development Associate, and they are also involved with the The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, which you can find out about here.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Global Green USA?

Root Capital

Willy Franzen — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:46:08 +0000

Are you a current college senior who loves animals? Check out entry level opportunities with Nestle Purina for an awesome way to spend your time after graduation.

Up to this point I’ve been able to build my business with only my own investment and a little from my family. I don’t know if I’ll ever take outside capital, but I do know that most businesses require some form of investment to get off the ground. In the United States getting capital is pretty easy—there are both equity and debt options to fund your business. In developing nations, capital isn’t nearly as free flowing—mostly because the investments are far too risky. The microfinance movement has helped, but many upstarts are too big for the kind of capital that they offer. Root Capital is a Boston, MA based non-profit that has created “a new class of capital sitting between microcredit and commercial lending, enabling rural communities to unlock wealth and build sustainable livelihoods.” They seem to be modeled after for-profit investment firms, but there investments are obviously done with a very different focus.

The Root of Your Job Search

Since it was founded, Root Capital has “provided more than $200 million in credit to 282 small and growing businesses in 30 countries in Latin America and Africa with a 99% repayment rate from [their] borrowers and a 100% repayment rate to [their] investors.” Those are some amazing results from an investment standpoint, and they look even better when you consider how the investments have helped push forward the development of rural communities. If you look at where Root Capital works, you’ll see that they’re financing ecotourism businesses in Belize, coffee businesses in El Salvador, apparel businesses in Liberia, mango businesses in Burkina Fasao, and lots more. If you’re excited about international development, but also like the free market approach to investment, then you should check out Root Capital’s Jobs page. Right now they have a few opportunities that seem like good fits for new grads including Investor Relations Associate, Finance and Operations Assistant, Financial Analysis Fellow, and a couple of positions that are posted in Spanish that I can’t understand. The deadlines have passed for a few of these positions, but they were accepting applications on a rolling basis and haven’t taken the job postings down yet, so it’s worth a shot anyway.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Root Capital?

Taxpayers for Common Sense

Willy Franzen — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:00:33 +0000

Yesterday, we talked about a non-profit that helps people work towards personal financial responsibility. Today, we’re going to look at an organization that helps our country do it as a group. Imagine that you are at a restaurant. It’s pretty expensive, but you’ve got some money, so you’re going to have a nice dinner. But there’s a twist. Instead of paying for your dinner, you have to pay for the people who sat at your table before you; and the people who sit down next will have to pay for yours. That foie gras is looking good now, isn’t it? This is how the federal government works. They don’t worry about what they can afford now—they just let someone else pay the bill in the future. If the Congressional Budget Office’s latest predictions are any indication, those of us who are in our 20s are going to get stuck with a pretty hefty tab. It’s the biggest problem facing our generation, yet very few people talk about it. We’re going to be the group that gets screwed—the one that has to pay the tab for the people before us while also paying for our own tab. Just you wait. Not only will we be the generation that stumbles into the “real world” due to a terrible recession, but we’ll also be the one that actually pays for everyone else’s extravagance. Luckily, there are organizations like Taxpayers for Common Sense that aim to reign in the federal government’s wasteful spending. They are a Washington, DC based “non-partisan budget watchdog serving as an independent voice for American taxpayers.”

Some Common Sense for Your Job Search

Taxpayers for Common Sense aims for “a government that spends taxpayer dollars responsibly and operates within its means,” which is why they “work with individuals, policymakers, and the media to increase transparency, expose and eliminate wasteful and corrupt subsidies, earmarks, and corporate welfare, and hold decision makers accountable.” The organization was founded in 1995, and in just 15 years of operation has helped save taxpayers more than $5 billion dollars. That’s a huge accomplishment, but it’s scary how small that number is in relation to our nation’s debt. There’s a long way to go, and it seems that our country’s decision makers are only getting more and more spend happy. It appears that Taxpayers for Common Sense is mostly an advocacy and research organization, since they can only really accomplish their goals by bringing light to pertinent issues. If you’d like to join TCS and help ensure that the bill that our generation pays isn’t quite as outrageous as it could be, check out the Taxpayers for Common Sense Jobs page. They offer full-time, paid fellowships in National Security, Water Policy, Communications, Resources Policy, and Organization Development and also have a Research Associate position open. It’s your chance to cut your parents’ credit cards.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How do you feel about paying taxes?

The Financial Clinic

Willy Franzen — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:50:30 +0000

When I have a personal finance question, curiosity, or problem, I look to Ramit Sethi for help. His book I Will Teach You To Be Rich and blog by the same name are amazing resources for anyone regardless of financial standing or background. Although people love to blame Wall Street and other societal causes for their own financial misfortune, the truth is that a little education can go a long way in helping people achieve financial success. While Ramit provides educational resources for individuals, The Financial Clinic, a New York City based non-profit, provides a more hands-on approach to promoting economic progress. They call it “a Peace Corps for financial stability.” The truth is that most college students and new grads have enough of their own financial struggles, but if you’re the type of person who has a plan and a system, then The Financial Clinic might be worth taking a closer look at.

Walk in to the Clinic

The Financial Clinic was founded in 2005 to help “build working poor families and individuals’ financial security by addressing their immediate financial challenges and helping them create trajectories for long-term goals and financial mobility.” If you replace “working poor families” with “new grads” and “financial” with “career,” then it kind of sounds kind of like what I’m doing. Anyway, The Clinic focuses on five distinct practice areas, which are Assets, Banking, Credit, Debt, and Taxes. They have a ton of resources and partnerships to help them focus programs on each of these areas, but the key to getting the work done on the ground is their Fellowship Program. You can find the full rundown here, but the basic gist of it is that recruits “devote a year to counseling individuals and families through immediate crises such as consumer debt, home foreclosure and tax difficulties.” It sounds like an amazing program, so take a look and see if it fits you. I had trouble with the application link, so you may want to use the contact information posted on Idealist.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you financially literate?

U.S. PIRG

Willy Franzen — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:00:04 +0000

I didn’t watch The Real Housewives of DC the night before last, but it may have been playing in the background while I was trying to fall asleep. Besides hearing people Obama name drop often enough that you could make a college drinking game out of watching the show, I also noticed that lobbying was mentioned multiple times. I don’t really get how lobbying works, but I know that anyone (or I should say any entity) with a political agenda pretty much has to participate. For every interest there is a lobbying group, and some are far more powerful than others. Often this power goes against the public interest. U.S. PIRG is a non-profit federation of state Public Interest Research Groups that “stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being.” They’re headquartered in Boston, MA; however, they have a Federal Advocacy Office in Washington, DC and state chapters all across the country. Oddly enough U.S. PIRG and its affiliates have chosen to fight lobbying and special interests by being a lobbying group. I understand that they’re fighting for the public interest, but that’s still a special interest, right?

Enter PIRG-atory

U.S. PIRG and the state PIRGs are focused on a number of issues. These include Consumer Protection, Financial Security, Reforming Health Care, Toxics & Public Health, Transportation Solutions, Elections & Government Reform, Tax and Budget Policy, and Affordable Higher Education. I don’t think that anyone would disagree with the fact that these are all important issues. That’s why U.S. PIRG and the state PIRGs have built “a strong network of researchers, advocates, organizers and students in state capitols across the country.” To get a sense for what this network of people are working on, you should take a look at U.S. PIRG’s recent accomplishments. You’ll see things like holding elected officials to higher ethical standards, closing contractor loopholes, and promoting young voter participation. If these sound like things that you’d like to be a part of, then check out U.S. PIRG’s Jobs page. They actually do a really nice job with their Career site, so it should be easy for you to find out about all of their opportunities. They have Campus Organizer, Citizen Outreach, and Fellowship positions for recent grads, and there are plenty of other options all across the country. U.S. PIRG is hiring more than 100 entry level people this year, and you can get a feel for the types of positions that they’re hiring for by checking out the staff profiles.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of U.S. PIRG’s work?

The Reinvestment Fund

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:13:45 +0000

I grew up in Fairfield, CT, which is next to a city, Bridgeport, that is always aiming for “revitalization.” They’ve talked about a building a casino for years, and they even built a minor league baseball stadium. It’s hard to say whether that has helped or hurt, but it seems that Bridgeport is at least doing a little better than it was a decade ago. I’d imagine that the real reasons for improvement have come from smaller projects that are more in tune with the city’s communities’ needs. These are the kinds of projects that The Reinvestment Fund invests in in cities in the Mid-Atlantic. They are “a 24 year old nonprofit financial lending institution with a strong social mission” and offices in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. They started out as a small community development organization, and they’ve grown to become something much bigger.

Reinvest in Yourself

So far the Reinvestment Fund has invested nearly a billion dollars in capital into economic development projects. The results speak for themselves, as TRF has helped create:

532 businesses

18,590 housing units

28,870 charter school slots

45,755 jobs

8.2 million square feet of commercial space

2.7 million MWh of clean energy – enough to power over 290,000 homes for a year!

It may not sound as sexy as a baseball stadium or a casino, but The Reinvestment Fund is all about finding “the point of impact.” That means that they’re looking for the place where they can get the most bang for the buck. They want to maximize the opportunity that they create for both individuals and neighborhoods regardless of what might be popular. If you’d like to help “build wealth and opportunity for low-wealth people” while revitalizing communities, then you need to look no further than The Reinvestment Fund’s Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Financial Analyst in addition to post-doctoral students for their Policy Solutions Group Fellowship. They also have some part-time Policy and Information Services positions available, but they seem more along the lines of internships than jobs (but they are paid).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about The Reinvestment Fund?

The Aspen Institute

Willy Franzen — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:23:22 +0000

I don’t usually do this, but this is important. I find many of the non-profit jobs that I feature on One Day, One Job on Idealist.org. It’s the best resource for non-profit jobs on the web, and it’s a non-profit itself. The organization is in trouble right now, and they need money. If they’ve helped your job search in any way, go to their home page and make a donation—I just did. Even $5 will help.

If Aspen is known for anything, it’s known for skiing and affluence. In 1945 Walter Paepcke, a Chicago businessman, was so inspired by the town’s natural beauty that he wanted it to be known for something else—”as an ideal gathering place for thinkers, leaders, artists, and musicians from all over the world to step away from their daily routines and reflect on the underlying values of society and culture.” He started by organizing events in Aspen like “a celebration of the 200th birthday of German poet and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,” and then he founded The Aspen Institute. It started as a “forum based on the writings of great thinkers of the past and present,” but now it’s evolved into something more. It is now a non-profit organization that fosters “values-based leadership” and provides “a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues.” It’s certainly an ideas-focused organization, and it is now headquartered in Washington, DC with offices in Aspen, CO and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Happy Goethe-Day

Although it may sound as though The Aspen Institute is light on action, that’s not really the case. Their focus is on taking action to bring people together to discuss big ideas. The organization has four main modes of operation: they put on seminars; they provide young leader fellowships; they run non-paritsan policy programs; and they put on public conferences and events. What it really all comes down to, though, is promoting dialogue and the sharing of ideas. If that sounds like something that you could get behind, then you might want to consider a job at the Aspen Institute. Right now they’re looking for a Financial Analyst and a Front Desk Coordinator in their Washington, DC office. You may also want to look at their Leadership Programs for fellowship opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about the Aspen Institute?

New York City Teaching Fellows

Willy Franzen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:00:16 +0000

This is a sponsored post for New York City Teaching Fellows. Check out our editorial post on entry level jobs with New York City Teaching Fellows to see what we said when we first covered them.

Before I launched One Day, One Job in 2007, I shared my idea with employers at a Cornell University career fair. One of the organizations from the fair that I was most impressed with was New York City Teaching Fellows. They are an alternative teacher certification program that firmly believes that putting the highest quality teachers in New York City public schools will lead to better academic outcomes for the students in those schools. Out of 30 or so employers that I spoke with at the fair, they were the only one forward-looking enough to actually follow up with me. As a result, they were one of the first non-profits that we featured, and now, more than 2 years later, they’re leading the charge again as one of our first sponsors. Since their inception in 2000, New York City Teaching Fellows has placed more than 13,500 teachers in New York City schools, so they are constantly looking for innovative ways to reach talented new grads. That’s why they’re working with us to reach you.

Fellowship of the Teachers

In 2000, the New York City Department of Education faced a serious teacher shortage, and in response they launched New York City Teaching Fellows. Ten years later NYCTF’s Fellows account for 11% of New York City’s population of teachers. Since 2000, the Fellowship has focused specifically on the highest need subject areas such as special education, science, math, bilingual education and Spanish. Today, the highest need subject areas are special education and science, and NYCTF anticipates most Fellows for 2010 to be trained to teach in these subject areas. As an alternative certification program, NYCTF recruits and prepares high-quality, dedicated individuals who have no prior background or experience in education. These people are often new college graduates, but they may also be career changers or people coming from graduate school.

If candidates meet NYCTF’s highly selective criteria—the organization only accepted 9% of 14,500 applicants in 2009—they are then fast-tracked into full-time teaching positions in New York City’s public schools. These Fellows first go through an intensive 7-week pre-service training program, and then continue their education through a subsidized Master’s degree program in conjunction with their teaching. It’s a tough path to becoming a teacher, but it’s intensely satisfying—at least that’s what NYCTF’s 92% first-year retention rate would indicate. I guess it also helps that Fellows with only a Bachelor’s degree will earn an annual salary of $45,530 with full benefits as a full-time teacher in the program.

Who Will Remember Your Name?

You know as well as anyone how important education is. It’s the reason that you’re able to read about New York City Teaching Fellows and say, “That’s something that I can do.” Not everyone has that opportunity, but you do. And by choosing to teach you can pass that opportunity on to your students. Getting a job is hard enough these days. Through the New York City Teaching Fellows program, you have the opportunity to earn a great salary, excellent benefits, a subsidized Master’s degree, and the ability to make a lasting difference in the lives of New York City’s children. Whether a career in education is in your long-term plans or it’s something that you are in the process of exploring, New York City Teaching Fellows is the perfect program for pursuing your ambition.

You can find all kinds of detailed information about New York City Teaching Fellows—from Fellow profiles to all of the details of the Fellowship—by visiting their home page at NYCTeachingFellows.org.

To apply for New York City Teaching Fellows’ June 2010 program, you should visit their Application page (be sure to use this link so that they know you came from One Day, One Job). The final deadline to apply is Monday, January 25, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. (EST), so get your act together soon!

Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:00:09 +0000

When I saw the name and location of Winston Salem, North Carolina’s Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, I was instantly reminded of one of my favorite recent reads—Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley. A North Carolina based non-profit with Reynolds in it name has to be tied to the tobacco industry, and it is. “The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation was established in 1936 as a memorial to the youngest son of the founder of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company,” and it seems to be one of the few good things that has come out of the tobacco industry—”a trust for charitable works in the State of North Carolina.” The Foundation is focused on making grants to non-profit organizations in the areas of Community Economic Development, Democracy and Civic Engagement, the Environment, Pre-Collegiate Education, and Social Justice and Equity, which, in my opinion, is a huge improvement on the other things associated with the Reynolds name.

Improving North Carolina Grant by Grant

The cool thing about foundations like the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is that they get to give out lots of money. That’s what allows them to have such a wide range of focuses. Instead of having to do everything themselves, they can find the best organizations with the best people and fund them. Although the Foundation has had to make some changes due to the economy, they still have plenty of money to spread to do-gooders in North Carolina. If you’d like to spend some time working at the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, then you should check out their Jobs page. Although they don’t have any permanent positions posted right now, they do have an annual fellowship that they offer (it lasts 2 years, but they offer a new one every year). It sounds like a pretty cool gig, as “the fellow acts as a junior program officer and works with Foundation staff in evaluating grant proposals and visiting with grant applicants.” The application deadline is January 11, 2010, so check out all the information and see if a fellowship at Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is something that you want to do.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation?

Polaris Project

Willy Franzen — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:27:27 +0000

I know that most of us were taught in school that slavery ended nearly 150 years ago, but, unfortunately, that’s not really true. Slavery and human trafficking continue to plague our world, even though most of us aren’t really aware of it. Polaris Project is a non-profit organization is not only bringing awareness to the issues surrounding human trafficking and modern-day slavery, but also combatting them. They do this by “conducting direct outreach and victim identification, providing social services and transitional housing to victims, operating the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) serving as the central national hotline on human trafficking, advocating for stronger state and Federal anti-trafficking legislation, and engaging community members in local and national grassroots efforts.” They’ve been at it since 2002 with offices in Washington, DC; Newark, NJ; Denver, CO; and Tokyo, Japan.

Find Polaris

When you look at some of the accomplishments that Polaris Project posts on its website, you start to understand what it is that they actually do. For instance just last year in the DC area, they “provided 28 emergency responses serving 40 girls and women ages 13-42,” “provided individual mental health therapy for 4 survivors,” and “launched a Job Training Program for survivors” among many other things. It’s still hard to believe that human trafficking is going on so close to home, but it is. That’s why the Polaris Project exists, and that’s why you should consider joining their team. Right now they have two job openings in the Washington, DC area: NHTRC Program Associate/Specialist and NHTRC Resource Call Specialist. There are also two openings in Newark, NJ: Outreach Associate (part-time) and Case Manager. Additionally, they have quite a few openings in their Fellowship Program. You can find the specific application instructions at the end of each job posting.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Polaris Project?

Museum of Science, Boston

Willy Franzen — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:45:58 +0000

When I was a little kid, I was fascinated by science. Some of my favorite things to do were to wake up early on Saturday mornings to watch Mr. Wizard’s World, ask my Dad show me Chemistry experiments, and build all kinds of paper airplanes. I was just the kind of kid that would love the Museum of Science, Boston, and I’d still love to spend a day there if I ever get the chance. Their mission is to “stimulate interest in and further understanding of science and technology and their importance for individuals and for society,” and judging from their Flickr gallery, they’re definitely doing that. Some of their attractions include an IMAX theater, a Planetarium, a Laser show, a 3-D Digital Cinema, and an awesome looking Simulator that can take you under the sea or to outer space. That’s not even getting into the Museum of Science’s current exhibits. Boston’s Museum of Science looks like an insanely cool place to visit, and an even cooler place to work.

Take a Scientific Approach to Your Job Search

If you were a nerdy kid like me who loved (and still loves) science and you want to share that passion with today’s kids, then there aren’t many better places to work than museums. And if you want to work at a science museum, it looks like the Museum of Science, Boston would be hard to beat. Like I said, I’ve never been there, but their website makes it look like a truly amazing place. If you’re intrigued, check out their Jobs page. You’ll see that there are currently 9 jobs available, and a few of them look well suited to new college grads. They have two Fellowships – a Program Fellowship and a Discovery Spaces Fellowship – that appear to be geared towards new grads. Additionally, there are some more basic jobs like Visitor Services Representative and some jobs that require a bit more experience like Education Associate and Computer Clubhouse Program Manager. You can find the application instructions on the Museum of Science’s Jobs page, so get your nerd on and apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited the Museum of Science, Boston.

Math for America

Willy Franzen — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:54:38 +0000

We’ve told you about teaching fellowship programs before, and today we’re going to look at another one. It’s called Math for America, and it’s based in New York City with operations in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Washington, DC as well. Their goal is simple; they want to “improve math education in secondary public schools in the United States by recruiting, training, and retaining outstanding mathematics teachers.” Numerical literacy is essential to a properly functioning society, and, unfortunately, we’re falling short. If people can’t understand basic math, there’s no hope that they’ll ever be financially responsible. If they can’t understand statistics, how will they ever fully comprehend the political process or medical advice? Our country’s math education is woefully inadequate, and even many students at top colleges have a fear of math. Great teachers are the answer, and that’s why Math for America is recruiting great mathematical minds for America’s classrooms.

Do You Love Math?

If you really love math and want to share that love with the next generation, then Math for America is perfect for you. They are aggressively recruiting new college grads who “know and love math, enjoy teaching and interacting with young people, possess excellent communication skills, can create a constructive learning environment for students, will make a five year commitment to the MƒA Fellowship Program, and can take personal responsibility for themselves and their actions.” The Fellowship Program has great benefits, and makes teaching a much more intriguing option for mathematically inclined new grads who may have never considered education before. Math for America’s website is fantastic, and you can find all the details of their Fellowship Program here. You can apply online, and the deadline for applications is February 13th.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have any good math jokes?

Internationals Network for Public Schools

Willy Franzen — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:16:39 +0000

Ever since we received an e-mail from a reader who was looking for help finding jobs that offer sponsorship, we’ve taken an added interest in helping international students in their job search. We published an article on job search tips for international students, and we try to make a note of it when we find jobs that offer sponsorship. Well, job search isn’t the only time international students face difficulties that most American students don’t. High school is tough enough for all of us, but international students have an even tougher time. They often face learning a new language while going through all the other typical high school struggles. The Internationals Network for Public Schools is a non-profit organization that is “dedicated to the development and support of the network of International High Schools that serve late-entry immigrant English Language Learners.”

Bilingual or English as a Second Language? Both!

Internationals Network for Public Schools is a non-profit organ It all started in 1985 with the launch of the first New York City International High School, a joint venture between the NYC Department of Education and LaGuardia Community College. As more International High Schools popped up across the city, an informal organization called the Internationals Schools Partnership was formed to help the schools share ideas and resources for teaching international students the English language. In 2004 funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation allowed this partnership to grow into the Internationals Network for Public Schools, which enhances the resources available to International High Schools with private money.

At the time of admission, all students in our network of New York City public high schools have been in the United States for less than four years and score at the lowest levels on an English language assessment test. Our students come from 90 countries, speak 55 languages, and live in low-income households: between 71-92 percent are eligible for free meals. In New York City, this student populations average four-year graduation rate is only 26 percent. The International High Schools average four-year graduation rate is more than double: 73 percent. More than 90% of our graduates matriculate to college.

The Internationals Network for Public Schools program addresses these issues through a hybridization of bilingual and English as a Second Language education techniques. There are currently 8 public high schools in NYC that are part of the Internationals Network for Public Schools; however, the organization is aiming for national expansion over the next 5 years.

Looking for a Few Good Teachers

Although Internationals Network for Public Schools is working in conjunction with the New York City Teaching Fellows, the hiring of Teacher Apprentices appears to be done outside the program. Internationals Network for Public Schools calls their alternative certification program ISTART.

In the first year of the program, you will serve as an apprentice in an International High School, engage in project-based coursework at the school level, and participate in seminars led by experienced Internationals and LIU faculty. You will receive health benefits and a stipend of approximately $28,000. During the second year of the program, you will assume full teaching responsibilities and, likewise, receive a full teachers salary. At the conclusion of the two-year program, you will receive New York State certification in and a Masters degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL).

The full job description can be found here. If you have excellent language skills and would love to make a difference in the lives of international high school students, there couldn’t be a program better suited to your interests. Use the links below to find out more about the Internationals Network for Public Schools. They still have openings for the 2008-2009 school year!

One thing that we couldn’t figure out is if Internationals Network for Public Schools sponsors international students for their jobs. If anyone knows, please leave a comment. We’re not sure how that would work in regards to the jobs’ being in public schools.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Become a Facebook Fan of One Day, One Job. It’s fun.

The New Teacher Project

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 13:00:55 +0000

This post was written by Alyssa Godesky as one of her entries in our Find a Job, Win a Wii contest, which she ended up winning. We don’t have any contests going on right now, but if you’d like to write a post for us and get your name in the spotlight, e-mail us at info@onedayonejob.com

Are you interested in a job in education, but teaching in a classroom just isn’t for you? Entry-level jobs in education that are done outside of the classroom are tough to find, but they’re out there. The New Teacher Project is a fine example. The New Teacher Project is a non-profit organization that recruits and trains teachers to put them in classrooms where they are badly needed.

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) focuses on four main elements to achieve success: teaching fellows programs, staffing initiatives, teaching certification, and policy and research. The New Teacher Project founded The New York City Teaching Fellows program and many others like it around the country. From there, TNTP partners with school districts to help improve the flow of qualified teachers into the schools that need quality teaching the most. This is partly to ensure that schools open fully-staffed; however, TNTP is also involved in developing and implementing many levels of professional training to help teachers become, and stay, certified to teach. Lastly, TNTP conducts targeted research, which allows them to identify the obstacles that school systems are facing and make realistic recommendations that will improve the quality of education that students receive.

TNTP occasionally recruits on college campuses, and hires about ten entry-level employees every year. Most entry level positions fall into either the Communications or Operations Associate category. Judging from other people’s experiences, if you are a hard worker who shows dedication and enthusiasm for TNTP’s cause, you can move up very quickly. Here is an overview of TNTP’s hiring process and expectations for applicants. One downside to TNTP is that they do note on the job listings that these positions may require “non-traditional” work hours, including weeknights and weekends. Nonetheless, TNTP has been named by Princeton Review as one of 2007’s Best Entry Level Jobs and also offers above average salaries for non-profit work.

The New Teacher Project allows you to for specific positions through their job listings. You can also inquire about jobs by e-mailing jobs@tntp.org. Be sure to include a detailed cover letter when you apply.

Note: On April 27th we revisited entry-level jobs at The New Teacher Project.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have anything to say about TNTP? Leave a comment.

New York City Teaching Fellows

Willy Franzen — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:00:00 +0000

New York City Teaching Fellows is now a sponsor of One Day, One Job. Check out our sponsored post to get an updated look at their teaching opportunities for new grads.

Do you remember the name of your first grade teacher? If the answer is yes, think about the impact that he or she had on your life. If your answer was no, either you partied a little too hard in college or your teacher didn’t give you the educational experience that you deserved. Every child should be able to look back on his or her teachers and appreciate their devotion to education. New York City Teaching Fellows wants to help make you somebody that will be remembered.

The New York City Public School System, with 1.1 million students, has an especially dire need for devoted teachers. Since teachers are legally required to gain certification before they teach, the shortage is exacerbated by the hurdles applicants must jump over to enter the field. In 2000 New York City’s Department of Education collaborated with the New Teacher Project to form New York City Teaching Fellows as an alternative certification program. Instead of requiring teachers to go through the traditional teacher education program, Fellows engage in a short, intensive pre-service training program and then complete their subsidized Master’s of Education while they teach. Since 2000, NYCTF has added 13,000 new teachers to New York City’s public schools from over 115,000 applicants. Talk about filling a need.

Over the past 7 years, NYCTF has become a very selective organization with only 1 in 8 applicants being hired on average despite the fact that the program has been expanded to 2,000 Fellows a year. NYCTF hires from all backgrounds. They are looking for both career changers and recent college graduates. The awesome thing about NYCTF’s job requirements is that the list of things you can’t have done before is longer than the list of things you should have done. They want people who are new to teaching whether it is their first or twelfth job. In fact, they don’t even care what you majored in. If you want to teach Math or Science but didn’t have a relevant major, NYCTF offers Math and Science Immersion Programs. NYCTF is more impressed by who you are and how you can lead than what experiences you’ve compiled for your resume.

As if the opportunity to touch the lives of children every day isn’t enough, NYCTF also offers excellent benefits and a starting salary of $45,530 for recent grads with only a Bachelor’s Degree. On top of that are the subsidized Master’s Degree and a nontaxable $2,500 stipend during the training period. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and to begin as a June Fellow (for the 2008-2009 school year) your application must be submitted by January, 7th.

Overall, the NYCTF website is phenomenal. It’s easy to navigate and includes every detail you would want to know about the program. The site is what corporate careers sites should look like. Unfortunately, there is one glaring error on the site. It’s easy to access every page on the site, except the application page. Here at One Day, One Job we uses Apple Macs with the Safari browser. When we try to go to their application page, we get a browser not supported error. The silly thing about this is that our browser is supported! We know how to trick the site into thinking we’re using Firefox or Internet Explorer, and then it works fine. What is happening is that they block “unsupported browsers” from viewing the page, even if the browser can display the page perfectly fine. I hate to think how many applicants are being frustrated by this (especially with the growth in Mac users over the past few years).

We don’t want to end this post on a sour note, though. New York City Teaching Fellows is an amazing program for college graduates whether you are planning on a lifelong career in teaching or just want to try it out for a few years.

Note: On April 26th we revisited entry-level jobs at New York City Teaching Fellows.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Teaching can be a stressful job, why not enter our contest so that you can relax by playing Nintendo Wii after a long day at school?