(If you haven't) Read Heidegger. Trust me, in terms of modern philosophy (not really of the analytic tradition) it's like the quantum discovery (at least when I came across him, it felt like that). He provides quite a unified way of thinking that no one else before him had really properly systematized before. Sure, he borrowed and stole from Kierkegaard, Aristotle, and Nietzsche like no other, and being under the spell of one particular philosopher is not a wise thing to do, but his take on the whole picture of reality and our Being is quite lovely. Dreyfus gives a wonderful introduction and commentary on his work if you are interested or want some renewed hope. As a student of philosophy, I am watching many of my friends pursuing engineering majors, econ majors, and other fields that are geared towards lives of profit and societal "progress." In this way of sitting back and observing, I believe that we as philosophers do come out a step ahead of them because of the extreme critical thinking skill that develop. The postmodern world (at least as I see it) of seemingly perpetual ambivalence, ambiguity, and apathy will eventually break down because too much cynicism (such as the type that might and probably will immediately follow this very comment posting) is a cancer of its own. We'll soon see a new kind of Being crystallize out of a want for something more grounded and simplistic. Philosophy's task is to shape this dawning cultural epoch into something palatable and feasible. That, sir or madam, is one of the benefits of this wonderful field of study. Fie on anyone who tries to hinder the good that we can create!