I've got a pretty broad definition of what a "service job" is. To most economists, a service job is one where the good is labor, like a waiter or a housekeeper or a prostitute. To the more philanthropic, a service job might be one where a person dedicates their time to a greater cause, such as a part-time tutor or a food pantry manager or a volunteer firefighter.
My personal philosophy is much different. I think the best service you can do for humanity is to just do your job, whatever that job may be, as good as you can possibly do it. Every job is important. Every job has the ability to ruin someone's day if done poorly. But more importantly, every job has the ability to make someone's day if it's done well. In other words, I think every job is a service job.
I look at a job like tax auditing at PWC, and it looks unfathomably boring to me. But the world is always in dire need of great accountants. Our economy relies on our trust in corporations, and we've seen first hand what happens when this trust is taken for granted (@Enron). Being a great auditor is an incredible service that keeps all of us financially safer.
I look at a job like Mac engineer at Apple, and we can talk all day about what negative impacts the influx of technology has had on our lives. But I look back at all the things my MacBook has unlocked for me over the years — playing piano, recording music, learning graphic design, animating and editing videos — and I'm so unspeakably grateful that someone designed a device that enabled all this for me. Being a great Mac engineer is an incredible service that makes us all more creative.
I look at a job like a Safeway cashier, and I can understand why the job can get incredibly monotonous and frustrating. But the truth of the matter is a cashier is interacting with ~20 people every hour. That's 20 moments where they're directly impacting someone's day, and it's definitely obvious when a cashier is committed to making it a positive impact. Being a great cashier at Safeway is an incredible service that can make even running errands a highlight of the day.
I guess I just genuinely believe that every job is needed by someone or else it wouldn't exist. Therefore, doing that job well is necessarily serving someone. If we all do our jobs well, then everyone gets served, and everyone's life gets a little bit easier.
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