Whatever work you do, it influences your manner of thinking. Lawyers approach problems differently than, say, salespeople, or accountants.
I personally like manual labor, since it requires the constant physical, measurable solution of problems which actually exist. The contrast, of course, would be mental “work” which seeks to solve problems which may not even exist, and whose output cannot be measured. In many academic settings, treatises are written which cannot readily be understood, and which make NO difference to anybody anywhere, outside of, perhaps, an esthetic pleasure among a very small group of people.
This may sound provocative, but I mean this literally and sincerely: a plumber who fixes a broken toilet does more good than a thousand page book on the perils of post-modernism. Post-modernism is a CREATION of academia, which has been extraordinarily incompetent at solving it.
Self evidently, if your income depends upon the perception of problems by those who pay your salary, there is a strong disincentive to fire yourself through competence. By extension, this pattern BREEDS INcompetence. It fosters it. It encourages the multiplication of problems, and the “problematization” of solutions.
As for me, I have found the demand that things work properly to be a great Godsend in my thought work. I apply the same mindset required to master complicated wiring diagrams and logistical difficulties to large problems of general concern. If you define what you want, you can stop talking when you get there.