Working for a non-profit? AND 5 questions to ask @ interview?

[Spartan5]

Lay it out for me folks. I am relocating and I'll be interviewing with a small 501C3 non-profit soon. Yeah, that strikes me as a bit odd too, but it's in a field I am very interested in, so I am excited about learning more about the opportunity. It's a lateral move for me into the field of sustainable design/green infrastructure. Off the cuff, I'm expecting the salary will be lower than average, but that is largely unfounded. I am grossly underpaid at the moment anyway, so that is not a huge factor. Career wise, is this a horrible move? As I alluded to, when I was in school I was more interested in stormwater/hydrology than what I've wound up doing the past 7+ years... so I see this as a good opportunity to change gears and head in that direction.

Thoughts?

It's also been quite a while since I've interviewed anywhere... what are your top 5 engineering interview related questions to ask (especially considering it's a non-profit)?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[TheTick]

My limited experience with nonprofits (universities, conservatory, churches, nursing homes) has shown me that charities are anything but charitable inside their own doors. Management can be just as dysfunctional and despotic as anywhere else.

 

[zelgar]

I'd ask about the same type of questions for a non-profit (e.g., salary, benefits, amount of travel, etc.) You may be surprised by what's being offered.

I'd ask what type of work is being performed (e.g., design vs review). Workload (e.g., steady or feast/famine modes); funding (e.g., State, Federal & the stability of the source). Stability of employment (e.g., is it a politically sensitive position that changes when political parties change power) Type of customers who are requesting your services (e.g., other engineers, general public, corporate types). Potential for advancement.

Goog Luck. I've been working for State Government for ~20 years and enjoy it. Most of the other engineers worked in private industry before coming here and enjoy the different environment, but it is different.

 

[KENAT]

Be prepared to be the 'non profit' part of the non profit.

Checking on funding sources is a good idea, if they rely on a lot of federal grants etc. some of that money might dry up soon - of course to some extent the same goes for companies, it can be difficult to know if they'll run out of customers at some point in the future.

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