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I've always thought that the best way to put your technical skills to the greater good is through your day job, not instead of it. Some of my days jobs have be
by edw519 17y ago
I've always thought that the best way to put your technical skills to the greater good is through your day job, not instead of it.
Some of my days jobs have been to write software to ensure that:
- people get the right prescription medication on time
- firetrucks and ambulances get to where they're supposed to be
- parts that go into cars and planes are properly certified
- prisoners are kept in jail
- those same prisoners get proper medical care
- electronic equipment gets assembled properly and on time
- medical supplies get dispatched to where they're supposed to
- insurance claims are processed properly
- quality data is properly maintained for food items
You don't need to do charity work on the side in order to contribute to the greater good.
OTOH, if you don't think that the work you do during the day contributes to the greater good, then maybe you should consider doing something else with your valuable time.
Do good and get paid. You can do both at the same time.
- slapshot 17y agoAbsolutely. My day job does make the world a better place. But it doesn't resolve a lot of the very serious issues in the world.
- timwiseman 17y agoI also think my day job does make the world a better place, but that is very different from volunteering specifically to make it better without cost to anyone else.
- neilk 17y agoSo what serious issues did you have in mind? Or are you shopping for $MEANINGFUL_LIFE? Sorry if this feels a bit pointed, but a meaningful life is not something that others can give you, or even recommend to you. I could tell you that third world literacy is the number one cause you should support, but that's what I believe. Figure out the causes that matter to you, research those, then maybe you'll find some angle of attack. Incidentally, a guy who did this wrote a book "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World". He was a marketing guy, but he does run his charity with a lot of the style of a tech company. Maybe that book will give you ideas. http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/ http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/