Apprenticeships

I have a lot of cool ideas, lots of irons in the fire, and not nearly enough time or energy or money to pursue them all on my own.

Between my business, my nonprofit work, my work supporting FIRST Indiana Robotics , and various other personal side projects, I often have opportunities for high school and college students to get involved in some of this stuff and gain hands-on experience.

These opportunities can vary widely in scope and duration, from one-off software bug fixes to longer-term educational program engagements. This stuff isn't super consistent, so it doesn't make sense for me to hire an actual employee, especially when the work won't generate any kind of income to fund it, it's something that might generate money eventually, or if it's just a neat idea that I think needs exploring. But, if you're genuinely interested and motivated, I'm usually happy to find a way for you to learn & contribute to some potentially interesting projects in a way that sets you up for future success and gives me a pool of people that can take on higher quality, paying work when I have it to throw around.

Group collaboration

In exchange for your time & expertise & a little help around the office, apprentices get access to the Sledgehammer Infosystems office space, tools (computers, software, and other equipment), business infrastructure (i.e. the ability to work with me to bring in more paying work for yourself & the rest of the team), and the opportunity to get help & advice from everyone on other projects you're working on.

I'm especially looking for people interested in:

  • Software development (I mostly work in Ruby and JavaScript, but occasionally have projects in other languages)
  • Technology infrastructure design & implementation
  • Web design
  • A/V & Event Production systems
  • Educational program support, curriculum development, and instructional design
  • Nonprofit and community engagement initiatives

I'm looking for people who are:

  • Curious and eager to learn
  • Self-motivated and proactive
  • Collaborative and team-oriented
  • Passionate about technology and community engagement

Some of the paid projects I have on the to-do list right now that apprentices might get involved with include:

  • Revamping my static site hosting architecture
  • Building pack/ship station software
  • Handling website content updates
  • Working on a variety of other small web & software projects for Sledgehammer Infosystems clients

I also have a number of unpaid projects and initiatives that apprentices can get involved with to gain experience and contribute to the community, and could evolve into paid work down the line.

  • Contributing to a couple of open-source software projects managed by Sledgehammer Infosystems / FIRST Indiana Robotics / the local FIRST community
  • Assembling a local AI-powered live captioning & speaker identification system for events
  • Working on in-school & community-based computing curriculum development, training, & delivery support
  • Doing some resource curation & creation for FIRST teams

I also have a couple of projects that could easily be turned into startup-type ventures with the right combination of technical and business-minded apprentices.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, please don't hesitate to reach out. Send something of a resume / portfolio and a brief note about your interests and goals to bkt@brad-thompson.com, or schedule a time with me to go get coffee or something.