> Also, I won't get into numbers about how much less. They get into numbers in the second paragraph; up to 23% of lifetime earnings. > The key metric would be

> Also, I won't get into numbers about how much less. They get into numbers in the second paragraph; up to 23% of lifetime earnings. > The key metric would be, how many people act on this impulse. We can get a rough tally of how many are acting on it from labor stats[1]. And I'm assuming all of these are what people view as "meaningful" work; I work in finance and find it plenty meaningful but I imagine that's a minority view. Quoth the BLS: Total employment: 144,733,270 Community and social service: 2,171,820 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations: 1,951,170 Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations: 8,646,730 Healthcare Support Occupations: 4,117,450 Education, Training, and Library Occupations: 8,779,780 So if those broad areas hit the "meaningful" buttons, you're looking at about 17% of the workforce. > What could be less meaningful then getting money for doing nothing? Totally had that doing government contracting. The trouble is you realize it's a trap: if you ever need a real job your lack of doing anything means you're fucked. > Yet, that's what a lot of people want, such as anyone who buys a lottery ticket. More realistically, anyone who is investing passively. But that's not a job or your profession, and when people talk about "meaning" they're asking "who am I?" If you're a carpenter, your identity is wrapped up in the houses you build, for instance. What the article is missing is the classic dichotomy of work to live vs. live to work. If your profession is who you are, meaningful work is more important in shaping your identity. But if it's not, the "work to live" paradigm, you're making money to support something else. If you're working to take care of your family, you're a father or a mother first. If you're working to support your art or projects, you're an artist or an engineer regardless of your paid job title. [1]: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm