How to find companies that are genuinely improving the world?
I’ve burned out on working on things that don’t seem to matter in the grand scheme of things. I want to continue being an SDE but find companies that are truly improving the world. Curing diseases, solving hunger/water crises, improving education access, those types of problems. What’s the best way to find companies with great big missions like that? In SF I’m overwhelmed by the number of companies building copycat products or creating lame tech hoping to get bought. I want to work somewhere that makes a long-term impact on more people’s lives. I’m okay with taking a salary hit, working in a not-traditionally-tech area, and/or spending time building additional skills. But overall I enjoy programming and would like to continue to do that. Any ideas/suggestions?
Go into an academic research lab (as a side gig to your industry job) solving cancer and ask for work... You will find more than you can imagine
Excellent idea, thank you
Could you please elaborate as I'm really interested? Is it possible to get published too?
Gates foundation
I’ve heard fantastic things about it, not many tech roles ATM but will keep watching. Thx!
Gates foundation and Fred Hutchinson are two good non profits to work for in Seattle
Segovia, Khan Academy, Coursera, Flatiron Health, Meetup -- are any of these along the lines of what you're looking for?
Have definitely used khan, Coursera & meetup, but not familiar with the other two. Yeah I’d say these are along the lines I’m looking for, will go do some research on them - thanks!
Hadn’t heard of this one, thank you
It’s a social organization acting as VC for social impact startups in developing countries. They have Associate positions in NY and in the newly founded office in SF. Jacequline Novogratz (the CEO) is an inspirational person and overall the company tries to do good across the world. PM me if you need more details. I volunteered on the SF Chapter for Plus Acumen for a couple of years. Other companies you might want to look at would be Kiva.org. Omidyar Networks also invests in social impact Incase you want to work as consultant.
Tesla.
LinkedIn, Chan Zuckerberg foundation
Hey man (or woman) thanks for this post. Truly.
(Woman) 👍 you’re very welcome
Cruise Automation. Driverless cars. Destroy the auto industry from the inside and make the world safer.
Come join Square in SF.
Good point, square does change a lot of people’s lives. I find it really hard to search for companies based on these criteria but that’s a great suggestion I didn’t think of - thanks!
Our entire purpose is economic empowerment, and our goals are aligned with enabling this long term vision.