This study shows how jobs are perceived in Sierra Leone by exploring beyond earnings, health benefits, and pension plans that characterize a "good job" to focus on the features that increase living standards, productivity growth, and social cohesion. Since the civil war (1991-2002), Sierra Leone has struggled to achieve economic growth. Men are more likely to participate in the labor force than women, middle-aged people work more than the younger and older, and prolonged health problems hinder employment. Urban households containing wage workers or individuals with a mix of employment are better off than households with only self-employed members. While the relationship between wealth and employment is unclear in rural areas, where most households do farming mixed with some self-employment, only wage workers have any benefits. Assessments of job satisfaction show meaningfulness of a job determines the level of satisfaction, with middle-aged workers more satisfied than younger and older, and wealthier people more satisfied than less wealthy. Jobs consist mainly of manual tasks-dominated by routine work with a relatively high level of autonomy-and a "good," more meaningful job requires a shift from manual toward more cognitive work, from routine toward more creative tasks, while maintaining autonomy. Wage-workers display significantly higher trust toward people than exhibited by both self-employed and farmers,showing wage employment contributes to social cohesion.