It's a fact that many of us have to work for a living to earn enough money to cater to our necessities. Not everyone is independently wealthy. How we feel about our jobs can vary depending on who we are and what we expect out of our jobs and how we view our jobs can affect our self-esteem and sense of worth. This can cause problems if you don't feel good about the job or career that you're in.

People often compare themselves to others, and that can lead to feeling dissatisfied with their lives. When comparing your job or career to that of another person you can become depressed and view your career as less valuable than theirs. That's because society has placed greater value on certain careers. Think about who gets paid the most in society, and which careers have the most prestige. There are the celebrities, who only make up a tiny percentage of the world's population.

Aspiring to be a celebrity is not usually an attainable career choice for most people, but there are other careers that are compensated more highly than most careers and are generally viewed by society as being more valuable. The next tiers of careers that have the most respect and compensation in our society tend to fall into the categories of science, technology, medicine, law, and finance.

It is true that those careers do provide valuable services to our society. However, every career and every job provides an important service to our society. In fact, some other less prestigious careers are so vital to the society that without them, we would die or suffer health problems. Without farmers, we would have no food to eat. Without sanitation workers managing human sewage and waste, the sewage would pile up even in public places, pollute rivers, and cause general living conditions to be unsanitary and potentially hazardous to our health. Without factory workers, we wouldn't have many of the goods that the scientists and technology gurus create.

You must also remember that not every so-called top tier career deals with important matters. Bankers deal in an imaginary commodity, money, and some of them just make more money for rich people and corporations. If there were no system of money in place in the world, a banker's job would be worthless. Additionally, not every top tier career always promotes enlightenment and goodwill for the mankind. Even so-called important careers can have a negative side. Science can be used for harmful purposes and can cause pain to animal test subjects. Technology can be used to create nuclear missiles and other weapons for war. Bankers can contribute to the wealth disparity in the world and keep the rich rich while reinforcing structures that make it harder for the poor to get wealthier.

Every job and career has value. Even the smallest job can have a large ripple effect that would affect many aspects of life for every one of us. Remember that the next time you start comparing yourself to another person based on your jobs or careers. Most importantly, your worth is not determined by your career, and your career's worth is not determined by society's opinions. You are valuable and so is your career. Work well and take pride in your work. That is the best you can do for your own self-esteem, and that attitude will also make your work days more positive.
This goes for stay-at-home parents as well. Just because you are not getting paid, it doesn't mean that you are not valuable to society. You are raising children, who will literally run the future of the world. Without children, there is no future. And if the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child," is true, then you are doing the work of an entire community. Take pride in that and do not feel bad when someone asks you what you do. You are no less worthy than a lawyer or a doctor. By the same token, if you are unemployed, you are not worthless. Often unemployed people lose their self-esteem because they feel they are not contributing to society or supporting themselves or their families. But you aren't any less worthy a human being just because you aren't working. Your worth is not determined by whether you're working or not. There are many ways to be a productive member of the society other than working.

Whether or not you are employed, focus on yourself and do the best you can to manage your own life and work on yourself instead of comparing yourself to others and lowering your self-esteem in the process. Remember that both working and unemployed people have the same basic needs as any human being such as to eat, sleep, and pass their food. Every single person on this earth is born equal. So, if you feel that your career is not valuable because it is not a so-called important career that has been deemed by the society to be top tier, reconsider your evaluation. Every job and career can help society. Concentrate on the contribution you make to the society through your work and not on the way your job is perceived by the society. Don't feel worthless if you don't have a high level job or are unemployed. Don't put yourself down. A person is more than his/her job. Remember that and keep your head high as you go to work or go about your daily errands. You are a unique human being, and that is enough.