&gt; <i>Most people in financial jobs also harm no one</i><p>This is a complicated issue. Are you harming others by investing other people&#x27;s money into oil companies or weapons manufacturers? Are you harming others if they expect you to make a certain return, and you fail to meet that? (More on that below)<p>&gt; <i>and though they accept higher wages, they also create far more value</i><p>This is actually very, very debatable. While the finance industry is helpful and lubricates all other parts of the economy, it&#x27;s also rife with abuse. I worked at a financial software company for a while, and you would be blown away by the corruption, greed, and irresponsibility of that industry (among ratings agencies, bulge-bracket banks, and hedge funds). If the general public in the US knew about it, there would probably be mass panic.<p>Furthermore, a lot of finance involves wealth management, and there&#x27;s no evidence that wealth managers actually generate any value unless they&#x27;re actively, illegally gaming prices. I don&#x27;t have time to get sources right now, but it&#x27;s pretty easy to Google. Jon Stewart&#x27;s interview with Jim Cramer is very enlightening in that regard, since he admits to illegally gaming prices because all of the top-tier wealth managers have to do it.