this post was submitted on 24 May 2025
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This one hurt a bit too close to home.
In high school and college I did believe that in my lifetime humanity would really start space exploration and colonization.
I studied engineering and did everything I could to contribute to this great advancement of humanity. I got a double master degree in aerospace manufacturing, specialized in the machining of exotic alloys used in aerospace, worked on rocket engines, developed new machining techniques that unlocked new possibilities for aircraft engines performances and was working my way up to be one of the few people in Europe highly specialized on machining technique for these alloys used in aerospace.
Then in 2016 I read more and more about "Collapse", more specifically the collapse of our thermo industrial civilization. We are not going to colonize space, we will be lucky if most of humanity does not die in the coming century.
So rather than contributing to the future of humanity with my work I was contributing to worsen the condition of life on earth by accelerating climate change and the uses of resources.
I had a bit of an existential crisis at this point.
I understand your crisis, but I would not hold your career choice against you for a second, just like I wouldn’t for engineers still refining piston engines for automobiles.
People are going to use them for a long time, so if your niche is making that more efficient then it’s worthwhile.
I wouldn't consider making better aircraft engines as accelerating climate change, necessarily. It's not like you're making them burn bunker fuel.
Even in the best scenarios where we actually deal with climate change, we weren't going to eliminate commercial flight. We night reduce it by having reasonable high speed train options, but across the ocean is certainly still flight, likely LA to NYC as well.
We shouldn't need NY to DC flights though.