Have you always wanted to be more involved with Umbraco but have never really had the time to do it? Perhaps you've also been wanting to try writing documentation?

The Curator 'Internship' is a great way to see if writing and updating documentation is something for you! It's an unpaid internship, where you for 6 months join us, The Documentation Curators, to work with the Umbraco Documentation. You'll get to test your writing skills, play around with your favorite CMS and see what it's like being part of an open-source project - all the while you'll have direct access to some true Umbraco experts!

Intrigued? So keep on reading 😄

What is a Curator "Internship"?

• Time limit: 6 month
• Applications twice a year (March / September)
• Open to anyone
• Participating in curating the documentation, e.g. reviewing PRs, discussing issues and joining the bi-weekly (fortnightly) online meetings
• Working on a dedicated project matching the interns experience and interest, supported and mentored by the Curators, e.g. the “Getting Started” section or “Examine”
• Benefits
  • Featured in “Introducing Spring / Autumn intern” blog post
  • Learn how to contribute to Umbraco using Github
  • Learn Umbraco good practice in unique way
  • Discuss Umbraco implementation with experienced Umbracians and Umbraco HQ
  • Be involved!

Some FAQs

When does this internship start?

The first internship is planned to start on March 3rd  2020 and runs until the end of August 2020 - which makes it a total of almost 6 months. The next internship will then start on Tuesday, September 1st and run until the end of February 2021.

How many interns are you looking for?

We’re looking for 2 interns per 6 months. 

When and how will I be able to apply for the internship?

We will open up for applications at the beginning of February 2020 - the exact date will be announced when we get closer - but I think you should start considering if this is something for you already now. 

As to how: There will be an online form you will need to fill out - this form will be shared on all platforms at the beginning of February.

We expect to keep the application open for 7-10 days. After that, we’ll select 2 interns to join us for 6 months.

I’ve never done documentation before - will I be able to apply?

Anyone can apply for an internship as a Documentation Curator - that’s the whole point of the internship;  It’s for everyone. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to Umbraco, have been writing documentation your entire life or you’re already working for Umbraco HQ. As long as you want to try and work with the Umbraco Documentation, you should apply! We can vouch for the fact that you’ll learn something new 😄

Why an internship?

We have been approached by a few people over the last two years, offering to help more with the documentation and take on specific sections or tasks. Sadly it’s been really hard to help and support their efforts on a regular basis, coordinating with our ongoing goals and the time available from all of us. We felt an official internship might be a tentative way to encourage and support these bursts of community effort properly. And that, without permanently locking anyone into any lifelong commitments to document. 

We joked recently when Jesper left to start the Package team that he’d just finished his internship with the Documentation Curators… so maybe, well maybe we should try this officially.

What kind of work will I be doing as an intern?

That entirely depends on you! We will have a list of tasks and projects that you could throw yourself into, but if you have a project or idea for the documentation that you would like to work on during your internship, with our support, we are open to your suggestions!

Oh, and you’ll of course also get to join our bi-weekly Curator meetings, where we talk about documentation related issues, pending PRs and much more.

How much work do you expect me to do?

It’s an internship, not a full time job. We expect to “see you” at our fortnightly meetings (every two weeks), but otherwise, the commitment is very flexible in terms of how many hours you’re able to put into contributing. The main thing, of course, is that you have fun! 😄

And that you feel you’re getting something out of being a part of a community team - whether that be personally or professionally.

Internship - does that mean I will get paid?

No. This is an unpaid internship, and it’s entirely on a volunteer basis. 

Umm - What’s in it for me?

Oh, plenty! Let me list some of the benefits for you:

• You’ll contribute in a focussed way to an open source project and be lauded for your efforts
• You’ll get support and mentoring from the Documentation Curators
• You will get to go to a team gathering in Odense
• It will look great on your CV 
• And last but not least, karma will look after you, somehow...