AP English Passage-based Essay

The following excerpt is taken from the nineteenth century essay “Life Without Principle,” by Henry David Thoreau. In his work, Thoreau examines what it means to live a virtuous and honorable life. Among his assertions, one’s work or occupation should complement one’s ideals of virtue and honor.
“The aim of a laborer should be, not to get his living, to get “a good job,” but to perform well a certain work; and, even in a pecuniary sense, it would be economy for a town to pay its laborers so well that they would not feel that they were working for low ends, as for a livelihood merely, but for scientific, or even moral ends. Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”
Today, most working people will make several career changes during their lifetime of employment. What might this information reveal about modern society and the value an individual places upon work? In a well-written essay, develop a position on the importance that work serves in one’s life. Support your position with evidence from your reading, observation, and/or experience.