[rmchugh]

I think open source can be an important tool for socially beneficial projects. Since open source tools are free, they can be accessed by anyone. Since they are open, they can be modified easily to suit local needs. By removing the cost of intellectual property, products leveraging open source software can be cheaper and thus more accessible. In the long term, open source makes it more difficult for companies to develop monopoly positions due to their control over this software and thus helps to prevent the problems that follow.

I think working on open source software within a suitable good cause niche would be a good fit. I can't really think of any examples where you could easily find a paying role, but I'm personally inspired by projects like Open Source Ecology, Open Street Map and Wikipedia. I work in the library world, where I try to use and contribute to open source software whenever possible. It's not revolutionary, but it's okay.