The Quest of Work

As I passed by the shop outlets at KLCC - Gucci, Coach, Luis Vuitton - a thought came to me.

These outlets sell handbags and purses, and these leather products cost thousands. How could these things worth thousands? How could people buy these things? And how could people make a living out of these things?

Work is to feed yourself. But if you can make more than just feeding yourself, you can live in a better home, eat better food, etcetera. But the choice of work is not just about money.

Say, for example, you grow grapes for a living (I mean literally). You can sell it to markets or supermarkets for money, but if you are a Muslim, you can't sell it to wineries. Or perhaps in a more direct example, one can't work as a prostitute to feed yourself (and others).

To find a work that pays well is one thing, but to find an 'ethical' work is probably more important. When you work as an electrical engineer, and you develop a state-of-the-art microprocessor that will be sold for one thouosand ringgit for example, I would probably say that is better than designing a handbag that will be sold at the same price. (The word 'ethical' that I used is somewhat harsh, almost suggesting that handbag makers are 'unethical' jobs, but a more suitable word hasn't come to my mind for now.)

I heard Obama once said, instead of young children hoping to become Wallstreet stockbrokers and earn millions, he hopes the young children will be aspiring more to become engineers or doctors. These aren't the best money-making jobs, but these jobs are certainly the core of 'making the world a better place'. You designed the plasma TV and you get paid for your design, the money you get is most probably much less than the ones who sell your design, but hey, at least you've made the world a better place.

Not all jobs are beneficial to mankind, even if you're a fancy engineer. When I was young, I wanted to work with CERN. I wanted to be a nuclear engineer (no not like Homer Simpson), I wanted to clash particles and see what they're made of. The job sounds interesting, and the project is a multi-billion euro one. Surely it must be very fascinating. However, as I grew up, I wondered, what would be the benefit of the study to mankind? Apart from the knowledge, I couldn't find any practical applications of the discovery to the improvement of human's lives.

I spend a lot of time at home right now, and once I watched how airbags are made. One of the staffs said it was a great pride of him working there because he knew everyday he works he is saving lives all over the world. How great is that.

I want to get a job, and considering the economic situation right now, I would probably grab whatever that comes to me, but given the choice, I will always hope to work for something that would contribute to the society. Thankfully, I graduated as a chemical engineer, and if I work in a plant, the chemicals I 'produce' will probably be used to make plastics or solvents, or if I work on a platform, the oil I 'suck out' will be used as fuel, or if I work as a safety officer, my task is to ensure the safety of people. We work to feed ourselves, but it is always preferable (in all religions I believe) to seek a job that will contribute to the society and to the betterment of humankind.