US Tech Force Aims To Recruit 1,000 Technologists (nextgov.com)
- Reference: 0180390709
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/15/1648225/us-tech-force-aims-to-recruit-1000-technologists
- Source link: https://www.nextgov.com/people/2025/12/trump-admin-launches-us-tech-force-recruit-temporary-workers-after-shedding-thousands-year/410159/
The program will primarily recruit early-career software engineers and data scientists, paying between $150,000 and $200,000 annually. About 20 companies have signed on to participate, including Palantir, Meta, Oracle and Elon Musk's xAI. Some engineering managers will be allowed to take leaves of absence from their private-sector employers to join the program without divesting their stock holdings.
The initiative follows the March closure of 18F, General Services Administration's internal tech consultancy, and the shuttering of the Social Security Administration's Office of Transformation in February. The IRS had lost over 2,000 tech workers by June.
[1] https://www.nextgov.com/people/2025/12/trump-admin-launches-us-tech-force-recruit-temporary-workers-after-shedding-thousands-year/410159/
Fascism March Continues (Score:5, Insightful)
Notice that the companies listed are run by right wingnuts. This is Project 2025 attempting to steal another piece of America for themselves. Naturally, the useful idiot is all for it. As usual when el Bunko is involved, look for the trail of McNuggets back to his pockets.
Re: (Score:2)
I have to wonder if the Trump admin has a shortage of tech workers thanks to all of the people that they laid off due to DOGE. I'd imagine that many more top performers just got sick of dealing with Elon's incoherent ramblings in early 2025 and went elsewhere.
That said, they're probably still saving money by hiring new tech workers right out of college for the lowest wages possible. They can probably offer pennies on the dollar now, considering that most big tech companies are trying to avoid hiring junior
A civilian corps? 25/27 is FDR 2.0? (Score:3)
This is interesting. A civilian corps is probably one of the ways that the US can get back on the world stage again. However, with just a two year stint, the people it will attract are the "well, I either have nothing, or this", as opposed to people who have FTEs as an option.
I'm curious what caliber people they want. If they want the best of the best, then have some job security, a pension, and a TS/SCI clearance that they can take to another job. Otherwise, they will be getting people who don't have FTE work, or people who need experience, so they will be getting junior to midrange people.
Overall this is a good idea, and a good pilot program, but this needs to be scaled to the tier of Thousand Talents for sake of US competitiveness.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Trump wants it ran like a startup with a twist: Move fast and break people.
Re: (Score:1)
See USDS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Digital_Service), which was renamed DOGE and I guess unrenamed? Not sure how this is different.
Re: (Score:2)
"Digital service" implies boring public service. "Force" implies militaristic violence. It's all about recruiting the right/wrong kind of morally flexible people who want to be "heroes."
Narrator: (Score:4, Funny)
The pay was way below market so the positions were filled with H1-B applicants
the new CNN? (Score:2, Insightful)
The stories on slashdot are starting to sound more and more like what you would read on CNN. There's 2 sides to every story and this site was never for politics, i've depended on this site for many years and i'm getting sick of it. All I see is, trump this, and trump that, added into just about everything
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Slashdotters are welcome to bring the Trump side. But being Don's team shoots from the hip and either don't know what they are talking about or intentionally obfuscating to hide it from "the rigged lying press", it's hard to present enough actual details to analyze from them.
Shoot-from-hip and democracy don't get along very well. Voters and checks-and-balance systems like explicit planning and justification. "Just trust me, I'm smart" will cause democratic indigestion.
Politics ruins, and it has come to Slashdot. (Score:2, Insightful)
You miss the point, Slashdotters don't want to bring the Trump side or any fucking political side - we want the political shit to stop - this is supposed to be a technology site, not an AM radio station throwing jabs at each other.
Re: (Score:1)
What was political about this story? It stated nothing but facts and offered no opinion. If this story makes you feel called out then it sounds like a you problem.
Re: (Score:1)
Two sides to every story does not mean both sides are correct. In fact many times one side is clearly wrong.
Re: (Score:2)
Perhaps you need to submit some stories that you thing would be more suitable. But I would only work for one of the named companies if I were desperate.
Re: the new CNN? (Score:2)
Like it or not, this is stuff that matters.
Unholy Financial Conflict of Interest (Score:5, Insightful)
So, to be clear, some of the managers will have:
Ongoing employment with government contractors and service providers
Financial ties to current and potential contract recipients
Close personal ties to contractors relevant to their field of employment
In normal circumstances, they would be precluded from long-term strategic planning, the creation of RFPs, and the evaluation or selection processes of contracts.
Are these guard rails in place? Color me skeptical.
Wrong name (Score:3)
They’re all gonna be software engineers and data scientists? No problem, but don’t call it a “tech force”. Call it computer science, or something like that.
News flash - there’s more to the tech world than code. You know, the entire world of atoms, not bits? Engineering fields like mechanical, electrical, civil, biomedical, etc. etc.?
Re: (Score:2)
> They’re all gonna be software engineers and data scientists? No problem, but don’t call it a “tech force”. Call it computer science, or something like that.
> News flash - there’s more to the tech world than code. You know, the entire world of atoms, not bits? Engineering fields like mechanical, electrical, civil, biomedical, etc. etc.?
Normally, that would be good advice, but a special tech group formed to service the US government under a Trump administration - the name "Tech Force" is probably a good warning. You never know what you will be asked to do.
Re: (Score:2)
Given the jokers like Kizenko, Sweet, Tullman, etc they hired for DOGE 1.0 I can only assume anyone hired for Tech Force will be some randos with very little in the way of complex systems knowledge or even basic software dev/maintenance. And honestly who would want to be associated with Trump Tech Force on your resume? If you've already made the decision to work at a place like Palantir, xAI (not judging. Everyone has to pay the rent) why diminish that with "Tech Force".
I just hope they have to wear stu
2-year stints? (Score:3, Interesting)
So, not a permanent Federal employment with its guarantees? But perfect for bribery and grift. Why this doesn't surprise me?
Who in their right mind would work for the gov? (Score:3)
I know people that have a job, were fired, rehired and then fired again. I'm not a billionaire with a day job as hobby.
The best of the best will stay away (Score:2, Insightful)
Only the desperate wannabes who can't get hired anywhere else will apply
State sponsored "capitalism" (Score:1)
So.. communism for the rich and austerity for everyone else. Only those who pass a loyalty test are allowed income and everyone else gets deported or sent to the Gulag.
Early-career, care to explain what early means? (Score:3)
> The program will primarily recruit early-career software engineers and data scientists.
What is the implied definition of "early" in "early career" here? Limited experience with a specific technology? Limited experience with a specific software stack? Limited experience working for the government? Is the "early" in "early career" subjective or objective? I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's objective, since admitting it's subjective would have literally all the age discrimination lawyers ordering new Porsches. Given "late-career" is generally defined as "the final phase of a person's working life", I would be more measured with my choice of words rather than try to argue that "early career", the polar opposite of "late career", does not implicitly include any age component.
Re: (Score:2)
Considering that the major backers are Meta, Oracle, XAi, and Palantir, they'll probably spend the first year of their two year stint arguing over which AI framework and hosting providers to use.
Fuck you. (Score:1)
I don't use my skills for evil, so I won't work for this government regardless of what they might offer. That juice isn't worth the moral squeeze.
Re: (Score:2)
Hear, hear.
Joining this "tech force" might result in you having to explain yourself to your grandchildren.
Free 2 Year Probation (Score:2)
It could also be a 2 year probation period for the "partner companies" evaluate potential hires and siphon off federal employees that cut the mustard with no real risk to the companies.
IT National Guard (Score:2)
Maybe the US (and other nations) could get value from an IT National Guard. It could be a collection of people from assorted IT disciplines who may not be physically able to do military work, but are well suited for the MANY back office tasks any modern army requires. Someone has to design and build drones, keep communications working and secure, and do the countless other similar tasks. Sure, they could recruit the current way, but that likely disqualifies a ton of capable technophiles who could add high v
And if you ever fail any subsequent loyalty test. (Score:5, Insightful)
You're fired!
Re:And if you ever fail any subsequent loyalty tes (Score:5, Insightful)
This was the goal of the firings... to rehire and require these illegal questions.
Re:And if you ever fail any subsequent loyalty tes (Score:5, Insightful)
For sure. Plus none of the new hires will be part of that pesky group consisting of Democrats, females, blacks, ......
Re:And if you ever fail any subsequent loyalty tes (Score:5, Informative)
He said as much 5 years ago [1]https://www.govexec.com/workfo... [govexec.com]
[1] https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2020/02/white-house-confirms-its-purging-disloyal-employees-bowels-federal-government/163316/