> I am cynical of the "mission", and I can't connect my work to people I care about. How do I know what the source of the problem is? You just answered your ow

> I am cynical of the "mission", and I can't connect my work to people I care about. How do I know what the source of the problem is? You just answered your own question. You see that the work you're doing isn't really benefiting society in a way that's meaningful. What you have is wonderful: you care about people, and want to improve people's lives, and not just superficially. Please don't ever lose that! It sounds like you already have the money to just quit for a while. I suggest "taking a sabbatical", in other words just quit and spend more time with the people you care about, learn more deeply what are the source of their problems, and figure out how you can help solve them. Then start working full time at that. And the solution usually isn't technology.