For no particular reason I decided to try to think if each field had values and if each set of values was unique for each profession. I don’t know the value of this exercise, but it was fun.

I noticed that some values worked with nearly every field, like service, integrity, and some obvious ones that apply any time someone works for another.

By the way, I’m listing the fields’ values at their best, by their standards, so I can include fields like drug dealer and hit man, with the caveat that I’m describing how they see themselves, not how others see them.

Each field can embody values at their worst, by somebody’s standards somewhere. Fields at their worst, from another’s perspective, seem to me nearly always to be something related to helping yourself at the expense of others.

I don’t know the point of listing the values. I just found it an interesting exercise. How does your field measure up?

Science: beauty, curiosity, discovery, honesty
Art: truth, beauty, expression, communication
Business: innovation, efficiency, profit
Medicine: healing, compassion
Sports: competition, drive, championship, calmness under pressure
Journalism: investigation, revelation
Politics: influence, power, public service
Religion: inspiration, faith, uplifting
Military: defense, honor, brotherhood
Engineering: tinkering, implementation, exactitude
Homemaker: cleanliness, order, providing, comfort
Garbage collector: doing what needs to be done
Drug dealer: fun, meeting a need society neglects
Hit man: justice, meeting a need society neglects
Law: resolution, order
Homeless: survival, dignity
Student: growth, discovery, fraternity, fun
Teacher: education, service
Bureaucrat: order, safety, comfort
Tradesman (carpenter, plumber, etc): craft, exactitude, handwork
Menial laborer: not sure what to put here if flipping burgers or driving a bus

I couldn’t think of what to put for menial laborer. I flipped burgers too (probably contributing to my no longer eating meat, though I did it at a Burger King on the Champs-Elysees in Paris) and did grunt work in high school, but so long ago I don’t remember.

• ← Living by your values
• Not envying others, without complacency →