I'll flip the question it's head: how do you know that is worth putting all your resources into?

Going all-in on one area of your life is not a good bet.

I know because I've tried.

I didn't say anything about putting all my resources into it? Are you saying that a career, uniquely among things one can spend their time on, requires putting all one's resources into it?

No, just that it can end up that way if you are avoiding other parts of your life. :)

I will say that the overall concept of a "successful career" that is pushed is very, very overrated. You get the sense it is a message meant for a specific type of person that needs that void filled, and it is sent by that same type of person. To which I say: don't be that person, so you're not unduly manipulated by the messaging.

I'd say I think I need a sense of purpose or fulfillment in my life. If you're describing that as a void that needs to be filled, than sure, that's me.

> I know because I've tried.

Can you please elaborate?

Then offer to do work in your community than your employer.

There are many food banks and code for america (and other country equivalents) that can use your help to impact your community.

Volunteering is nice but I think rarely takes up enough time to be a significant part of one's life. I'm not going to form deep connections with people or feel a deep sense of accomplishment volunteering somewhere for an hour or two a week.

Even if I quit my job, lived off savings and did volunteer work full-time, I'm likely not going to run into many other people like that. I could start taking a more active role and organizing, maybe with other full-time volunteers.

The work I'm doing while volunteering is also generally likely going to be less interesting to me than the software engineering work at a tech company. Maybe I'd be doing some kind of software engineering work full-time at a non-profit.

But at that point I've just traded in my job at a tech company with one at a non-profit. Ignoring whether this is better for the world overall (I'm skeptical it is, but whatever), how is it better for me?

edit: Not to imply that for some people, full-time work at a volunteer or non-profit organization can't be fulfilling, but I'm very skeptical that this is the case for most, or even many people.