I didn't really have any bad subjects in school, so I figured I could do whatever interested me professionally, but nothing really strongly appealed to me other than a paycheck large enough to eat out whenever I wanted. I discovered programming was pretty fun, now I'm a software engineer, and I'm just saving money for.....something. I don't know what.
I've been trying to figure out what I'm moving towards for years. I just don't know where it's going. Marry, have children, buy house, continue office job? I want to really care. I see so much wrong with the world and I don't have any clever ideas on how to fix it.
I don't want to make an app, something that adds a little convenience but doesn't truly make anyone's lives better. I want to fix something that's manifestly broken. I envy Elon Musk above all others, because he's seen terribly important things that were very broken, and had what it took to break all barriers to fixing them. Needless to say I'm not Elon Musk. Most people aren't.
I'd like to fix something social more than technological. I'd like to fix something societal that's broken, like the fact that Congress is literally a joke among Americans, that people feel so detached and isolated from the people creating policy that we don't bother to vote because we don't think it'll change anything.
But I don't know how to fix those things, so I keep working conventional jobs, but I can barely bring myself to do them, because my heart isn't in it, and I feel the years passing.
As an aside, I did have one little idea recently that spoke to me:
I was thinking it would be nice if there were some sort of media outlet that focused on solutions instead of problems.
Imagine a news source where the articles were outlines of plans by people in positions to leverage change, explaining specifically what they want to change and how to do it. Every article would end with links and contact information informing people how they could support a plan that appealed to them: who they could call, where they could donate, where they could show up to voice support, or where they could apply to join.
For example, imagine a town official in charge of roads, explaining why the repairs on a certain local highway on-ramp have been delayed for two years. Imagine all the people in that town finally getting to say, "Ah, this is the guy in charge of that! But if what he says here is true, this isn't his fault! As a constituent, I can call this number to pressure the right person in this specific town agency to remove such-and-such barrier!"
This could work for local or national or international issues, I feel.
This all occurred to me when I was thinking about why most of the news doesn't seem to make things better, except for occasional major reveals of things that need to be publicized, like Snowden or Theranos.
>I want to fix something that's manifestly broken. I envy Elon Musk above all others, because he's seen terribly important things that were very broken, and had what it took to break all barriers to fixing them.
Here is the thing though: Elon didn't pop into existence as the founder of SpaceX or Telsa, or being involved in PayPal.
The way I see it is that he didn't just take the steps to break through the barriers, he took all the steps to get to the barrier.
No one glamorizes what it takes to get to being where Elon is (ok, maybe not a lot of people) but you have to start somewhere.
Sure. Writing an app isn't going to save the world, but maybe if you can fix just one little bitty problem (even if it is just other people's boredom!), maybe you can take that little bit of leverage / money / whatever to move on to something even bigger, ad infinitum. :)
I keep coming back to poor education as the root cause of many problems worth fixing. Sometimes, the root cause is more basic: poor public health. Most hard problems are going to be solved very slowly. In the meantime, short-term solutions just don't seem worthwhile.
The frustrating part is that it's not readily apparent how our technical skills can help with these hard, fundamental problems.
"my heart isn't in it, and I feel the years passing."
That spoke to me directly, because it's exactly how I feel right now. Seems like my only option is to take control myself and make the necessary changes. Getting to that point is the hard part.
Just get involved in something and figure out how you can get leverage. If at every step in your life you are looking to build up leverage it becomes more interesting. Can I use that experience to convince someone to hire me/ contract me? Can I make contacts that will help me eventually If I need press? Can I learn a skill that is unique and interesting and adds value where people are not easily willing to give it?
18F are still contractors, right? So you are kidding? :)
> "...there should be no changes when
> the next administration arrives..."
I understand that you are referring to some specific small category of changes. You're saying that no new president can administratively close 18f. Got it.
But, for the English word 'changes', there will be some.
If you had to place a bet regarding the future size of the USDS, what factors would you consider when choosing where to put your money?
this hits really close to home. i know that Musk's success/influence isn't overnight but still feel lost since i'm way behind compare to where he was at my age. it feels like it's impossible to catch up..
I didn't really have any bad subjects in school, so I figured I could do whatever interested me professionally, but nothing really strongly appealed to me other than a paycheck large enough to eat out whenever I wanted. I discovered programming was pretty fun, now I'm a software engineer, and I'm just saving money for.....something. I don't know what.
I've been trying to figure out what I'm moving towards for years. I just don't know where it's going. Marry, have children, buy house, continue office job? I want to really care. I see so much wrong with the world and I don't have any clever ideas on how to fix it.
I don't want to make an app, something that adds a little convenience but doesn't truly make anyone's lives better. I want to fix something that's manifestly broken. I envy Elon Musk above all others, because he's seen terribly important things that were very broken, and had what it took to break all barriers to fixing them. Needless to say I'm not Elon Musk. Most people aren't.
I'd like to fix something social more than technological. I'd like to fix something societal that's broken, like the fact that Congress is literally a joke among Americans, that people feel so detached and isolated from the people creating policy that we don't bother to vote because we don't think it'll change anything.
But I don't know how to fix those things, so I keep working conventional jobs, but I can barely bring myself to do them, because my heart isn't in it, and I feel the years passing.