A solution to this is to do work whose end result is actually meaningful to other people. Let's say helping to fix some societal issue like pollution, lack of a

A solution to this is to do work whose end result is actually meaningful to other people. Let's say helping to fix some societal issue like pollution, lack of access, etc. You have an in-demand skill that can serve many different purposes beyond superfluous tertiary sector projects. It may not be the case that the actual work is much different, but feeling like your work actually has a point completely changes your relationship to it. I see a lot of people here who talk about their depression despite making enough to afford so many comforts and retire early. To me the reason is fairly clear: deep down they are consciously or unconsciously aware that their life's work is either of no consequence beyond enriching a few people and sometimes actively harmful to the world. Of course, many personality types would not care at all about this factor but I believe not everyone can ignore this need.