The great thing about the CSSC is that everyone is super enthusiastic and energetic. You can really feel the positive energy when you are talking to people. There are lots of really smart and well-versed people too, so you can feel quite connected with everyone.

The work is great, although a little bit slow-paced. Right now most people are just doing it part time, but fulltime and parttime staff alike are working very hard. Most of the work are related to taking to people in your own university, as well as weekly or biweekly conference meetings. Being a member of the FInance Committee, there has been some researching of grants, budgeting, coordinating fundraising deals etc. Since the work deals with your passion, it is actually very enjoyable.

As a new nonprofit, there isn't a lot of compensation besides the great experience and knowing that you are making an impact in this world. The majority of the people are working for free, and the staff are putting in tremendous amount of hours with decently modest salaries. The training involves a lot of self-learning, which is really what you make of it.

Since the organization is still young and there are lots of positions to fill, it is not terribly difficult to get in. However, there is a lot of hype about it and crowds of people have expressed interest in being part of the CSSC. I can imagine that it will be a lot more competitive in 1-2 years.

As the organization is new and small, growth within the organization is tough, since there's not much bureacracy yet. However, since the organization is growing quite rapidally, there are lots of opportunities to grow with the organization and sit in high positions when it is well established.