The incentive in the private sector may be profit, but look at the progress and good for the world that the private sector has created over last 400 years. Public sector has aided in that too, but the explosion in innovation that has occurred since the advent of private enterprise is hyper exponential on the scale of human history.
Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
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Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#12My sense of purpose comes from two places :
A) the ability to innovate through R&D. Perhaps this is egotistical but it brings a lot of purpose to my work.
B) developing people’s careers and offering a fair opportunity for success.
Yes, perhaps these purposes are not quite as altruistic but I am passionate about such a job and great people I work with.
Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#13My sense of purpose comes from self improvement (learning new skills, improving skills I already know), it has very little to do with my work anymore. I believe it's dangerous to tie your self worth and purpose to your job. Working in the corporate/private sector will only drain you when you realize the company you work for treats you like a resource rather than a human being. So my advice is find purpose outside of your work, and use your work as a means to fund your needs/hobbies/interest, rather than your purpose for existing.
Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#14You can find companies/projects that while "driven by profit" still make good things, things that genuinely help or enrich peoples' life. You don't have to jump to the other extreme and work on harmful projects. Can also work for non-profit companies as well.
On a more personal level as a programmer there's always some exciting problem to solve, something that can be optimised. Also, being in the games industry I get to interact with a lot of artists which is something I've always looked for.
Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#15Find a company that helps others as part of its products. Its easy to hand wave and claim entire industries are filled with companies that are greedy but there are companies out there with a purpose/mission that aligns with something other than greed.
Or (tongue-in-cheek) find a large non-tech Fortune 500 company, you'll feel like you're working for the government since they move slow and have lots of bureaucracy.
Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#16Finding your sense of purpose in your work is bad, IMO, unless you own the company or have a similar position. I don't want my self-worth to be tied to an employer or market that can get rid of me any time. It's just a job. At best, I work in places that aren't morally against my values.
Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#17by definition work/material world does not bring fullfilment !!!
Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#18Profit doesn’t exist if you’re not fulfilling customer needs.* Find a need that people pay for that to find fulfilling and go support it.
*In theory. In practice, there are all types of companies that exist due to regulatory quirks / that customers are forced to interact with. If you flip it, technically people are forced to work with the government whether they like it or not and regardless of the quality of service. In the private sector they have a choice of using your company. At the extreme, if it is bad enough, they can start their own.
Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#19Many companies manage to make a profit while doing good in the world. "Doing good" can also include providing a product or service that people are happy to pay for.
And I've also found my most satisfying jobs are where I can bring up junior people, and shape their careers. Be the manager you wish you had and bring up your reports to be managers like that too, and to pass it on themselves - the good you do will keep on happening after you've left the scene, possibly for ever.
If the good people don't step up to manage, the bad ones will. Increasing the world's share of good ones is a worthy goal.
Re: Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
#20I don’t find a sense of purpose from my work