© ESL Study Guide
Topic: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The most important aspect of a job is the money a person earns. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
One aspect that all adults have in common is employment. Regardless of the field, adults pursue career goals and have a variety of motivations in doing so. Some of these motivations may include: making money, technological progress, helping the homeless or abused, or simply giving something back to the community they came from. While some people focus entirely of monetary gain, I believe that personal satisfaction and contributing to society is much more important.
First, personal satisfaction is more important than money. If people were only concerned with money, their life would be extremely unsatisfying. While a characteristic of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, financial gain is not the peak. After meeting their basic needs, people move on to higher levels than the one including money. The esteem level, rather than including money, deals with the need to be respected or have high self-esteem. This need is included in personal satisfaction.
Second, people look upon their job as a method of contributing towards society. Many people are concerned with factors other than money. While traditionally earning a significant amount of money, lawyers may work pro-bono for agencies such as the ACLU or the EFF. Agencies such as these have the sole purpose of protecting constitutional rights such as the right to free speech, yet are not able to offer even the smallest salary. Another field of employment traditionally known for high salaries is doctors. However, many doctors annually contribute to society through agencies such as Doctors without Borders, a nonprofit organization designed to bring medical care to third world countries unable to afford it. These doctors forgo financial gain to help the poor, an activity clearly contributing to society.
In short, while every adult works, not everyone is concerned with monetary gain. While people have different reasons for their career choices, I believe that personal satisfaction and contributing to society are two reasons that are more important than money. Simply being rich will never provide the satisfaction that contributing to society will. After all, as the saying goes, “money can not buy happiness.”