I had a similar transition from public -> private, but much earlier in my career.
My advice is to find meaning outside of work, and then go work in the private sector.
One of the things I miss the most about public sector work was you can actually spend time worrying about what's the "good" thing to do, rather than just optimizing a KPI. However, in practice I saw what it sounds like you are seeing now: you don't really serve the public you serve the bureaucracy.
At this point in my career I'm making close to triple what I would have if I stayed in the public sector, and my work life balance is better than it was back then. This means that I have time to work on projects and things I find meaningful and actively contribute to communities I care about. Ultimately I have a bigger impact on people's lives with extra income and free time than I did when I was supposedly working full time to help people.
One caveat: try not to work for any direct to consumer companies, especially startups. It's okay if private sector work isn't meaningful, but when you are actively working to rip people off while your PM cheers about how you're making the world a better place, it feels gross. B2B, in my experience, tends to have less repulsive practices.
My advice is to find meaning outside of work, and then go work in the private sector.
One of the things I miss the most about public sector work was you can actually spend time worrying about what's the "good" thing to do, rather than just optimizing a KPI. However, in practice I saw what it sounds like you are seeing now: you don't really serve the public you serve the bureaucracy.
At this point in my career I'm making close to triple what I would have if I stayed in the public sector, and my work life balance is better than it was back then. This means that I have time to work on projects and things I find meaningful and actively contribute to communities I care about. Ultimately I have a bigger impact on people's lives with extra income and free time than I did when I was supposedly working full time to help people.
One caveat: try not to work for any direct to consumer companies, especially startups. It's okay if private sector work isn't meaningful, but when you are actively working to rip people off while your PM cheers about how you're making the world a better place, it feels gross. B2B, in my experience, tends to have less repulsive practices.