I’ve struggled with this for much of my career. I worked construction to earn my way through college. At the time I was mostly unskilled labor. But a lot of the remodeling jobs that I worked on are still standing 30 years later. I remember five or six room additions we did. I was part of the framing and roofing crews on those jobs. Those houses may have sold a couple times but the additions we added are still enriching their lives.
I envy people with jobs that leave a mark in the world. Theres a local builder that did some remodeling work for me. He bought land back in the early 80’s. He would build a spec house, put it on the market, and then do remodeling jobs until it sold. He also built custom homes for clients that requested them. Today he’s almost seventy, semi-retired, and owns one of those spec houses he built in the late 80’s. Half the houses on that street are homes he built. He picked out the blueprint, did the framing, and most of the interior finish. He made choices for the exterior finish. That house is brick because he made that choice. Its a career legacy that will last for decades to come.
Songwriters, musicians, and painters are much the same. Their work has a certain relevance and permanence for many years. You don’t have to be famous. A local artist’s oil painting that sells for $500 might hang in a private home for 40 years. Then hang in someone elses home for even even more years. Or it may get donated to Goodwill. 
Everything has a shelf life. How many people can list five Irving Berlin songs? But his music was known and enjoyed for several decades. Our local tv weather man wrote a Christmas song back in the mid 80’s. He performed the piano and a local singer did the vocals. It’s become a regional favorite and is on youtube. Part of many families annual holiday tradition.
Its rare to have a job that makes any lasting mark in the world. Teachers can look back at former students that went on to successful lives. But theres also the burnouts that end up in prison or drug rehabs.
I often wonder if I made a mistake leaving construction. One of my longest career burn out periods came very early in my computer programming career. We had a very long and complex conversion of our in house HR and Payroll system to another mainframe. We had a team of five guys on this project. Working 50 hour weeks. We went live on schedule and ran payrolls for seven months. Then the administration decides they want to go with a canned system they wanted to buy. We had to move the HR and Payroll system back to the old mainframe. They returned the new mainframe and got something else. A year or so later they buy this expensive canned system and I helped convert everything over. I found out later the admin always wanted to go with the canned software. But contractually they couldn’t switch hardware vendors. That year long project I invested so much into never stood a chance.
It triggered a two and half year burnout in my career. Where I just didn’t give a shit about my job anymore. I had so much pride and such a feeling of accomplishment in that first payroll project. I made the mistake of caring about my job and being defined by it. I finally got past that first burnout. I still get satisfaction from coding and writing reports. I know they’ll end up in the trash a few days after I turn it in. But the information I provide serves a purpose. I moved into a new job 15 years ago that allows me to provide all the pc support for a dept. I personally spec’d out the server. Purchased the staff workstations and purchased some software we used. It’s still only temporary. The server has been replaced twice. The workstations get obsolete every four or five years and require replacing. Part of my job still requires me to write database reports. Its interesting work and keeps me busy.
I’ve learned to accept the career I’ve got. But I do wonder what if. What if I had become a contractor/builder. Or pursued my love of music and written songs. Would I have left even the tiniest mark on this world? Something that actually mattered?
Ultimately my biggest legacy is my family. The daughters my wife and I raised. The values we tried to teach them.
Sorry, for rambling. Middle age is kicking my ass lately. I got a whole lot years less ahead of me than whats behind me. It makes me think about choices I made and whether they mean a hell of a lot.
Thats one permanent legacy no one wants.
It’ll be huge in a few years.
). Now, though, I’m a proposal writer, and I’ve regained some of that “mission” feeling: I’m back to having customers – whatever agency issued the Request for Proposals – who do cool/important stuff.