I have a PhD in biochemistry, a good job, a wife and a loving family. I have enough free time to contemplate my own place in the world and worry about if my work will have a positive or negative impact on society, because my grandfather who’s grandparents were slaves, started a real estate company by house hacking in the 1970s. That allowed my parents and me to live comfortable lives. Having this safety net allowed us to take risks and persue careers that we enjoyed.
If you live near a college campus, check out their recycling center or campus surplus. Lots of IT departments just toss UPS when they upgrade equipment regardless of battery status. I like to grab APC ones because the battery replacements are easy to find and there’s usually a YouTube video for the exact model with someone refurbing it.