Careers that make an impact

I don't know, but maybe I am going through a mid-twenties crisis. I go to work each day and realize that I am only there to collect a paycheck. I assist in the manufacture of chemcials. Have you read the labels on the products you use, have you ever wondered how they efficiently make things? Well, there is a wonderful world of chemicals that manufacturers use to to assist in the production of everything. Neat huh?

I decided sometime ago that I wanted to be a chemical engineer. I think it was when I looked at a poster one of my high school teachers had up on his wall promoting careers in engineering. I looked at the list and saw chemical engineering near the top of the pay scale. I believe I thought at the time, "hmm, I like math, I like chemistry, I want to make money, I'll be a chemical engineer!" Like I usually do, once my mind is set, no matter what happens to disuade me, I go forward. I would consider myself a failure for "giving up". But now that I have been gone through torturous years on college added to it several years of working and I realize, I am not happy. I am not unhappy either. I feel not discomfort at work, but I also feel no joy. I am glad I make sufficient money for my current needs, but I am afraid that I will wake up in 30 years and say, "have I been awake this whole time? What have I accomplished?" When I graduated from high school, they told me I was the future. What future have I created for myself?

I suppose the good thing is that I am thinking about this stuff now, and not in 30 years, now I need to make a change, right?! So what do I change to? I want to make a difference.