The young professionals who believe their best chance at trying to save the world is by joining Wall Street and making millions

Some young people believe that working on Wall Street and living modesty - and donating the rest - will allow them to do the most good

Jason Trigg, a software programmer at a financial firm, donates to a malaria charity that says it can save a life for every $2,500 it receives



Charities like GiveWell and 80,000 Hours help civic-minded young people make choices about their lives and careers that will help the most people

Nearly all charities focus on helping the developing world, where a few U.S. dollars can go a long way

Jason Trigg, a 26-year-old software programmer, graduated with top honors from the vaunted Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His education and skills mean he could work nearly anywhere.



He chooses to work on Wall Street, earning six figures designing software for a high-frequency trading firm. There, his earning potential is all but unlimited.



Trigg's life goal is to earn as much money as he possibly can, but it's not so he can buy expensive cars, luxury homes and designer clothing.



He wants to save the world and he believes that the more money he makes, the more good he can do.



Modest: Jason Trigg, 26, says he donated half of his six-figure income from working at a high-frequency trading firm to charity

The Washington Post reports that last year, he gave half his salary - tens of thousands of dollars - away to the Against Malaria Foundation. The charity estimates that $2,500 can save one life.



By that calculus, Trigg figures he can save more lives earning a vast salary in finance that he could if he dedicated his life to public service.



He's not alone. A core of idealistic young professionals have joined Wall Street banks, hedge funds, and major tech companies that pay large salaries, all with the idea that their best chance of making the world a better place is earning as much money as possible - and then putting that money to good use.



'A lot of people, they want to make a difference and end up in the Peace Corps and in the developing world without running water,' Trigg told the Post.

'I can donate some of my time in the office and make more of a difference.'

Despite Trigg's high-paying job, he lives with three roommates and walks to work every day. He tries to live as conservatively as possible.



The most good: Trigg donates most of his earnings to the Against Malaria Foundation, which says it can save a life for $2,500

'I wouldn’t know how to spend a large amount of money,' he says.

Charities like GiveWell and 80,000 Hours - a reference to the number of working hours in a career - have been established to help civic-minded young people make choices about their lives and careers that will help the most people.



Nearly all of the charities focus on improving health conditions in the developing world - since money sent to poor countries can go much farther than any donations made to help Americans.



'You can pay to provide and train a guide dog for a blind American, which costs about $40,000,' Matt Wage, a Princeton graduate who works in finance, told the Washington Post.



'But with that money you could also cure between 400 and 2,000 people in developing countries of blindness from glaucoma, which costs about $20 per person.'

Wage says he gives about half of his incomes to charities that work in Africa and Asia.

Jeff Kaufman, who works as a programmer for Google, tells the Post that he and his wife lived on $10,000 last year. They allowed themselves just $165 a month for groceries and a mere $38 a week each of non-essential spending, including eating out. Together they gave away 45percent of their income.

Modest living: Jeff Kaufman, a Google programmer, and his wife Julia Wise, right, lived on just $10,000 last year and donated 45percent of their earnings to charity











