I think this just for parnosso vs. knowledge for its own sake distinction is a false one.
In a learned profession, the best students (who end up with the best parnosso) are curious and passionate about the subject matter. They do not simply do only what they need to get by, and nothing more, as that doesn’t get you anywhere in a challenging professional program. Succesful students go the extra mile. Law students work on the law review and write articles. Medical students do research beyond that which is merely required to pass. People read articles that are of interest to them within their field and expand their knowledge and expertise. Now, you might say, people only do those things to enhance their ability to earn a good parnosso. That is not correct. There is a passion and an aptitude that allows one to succeed in graduate or professional studies, and that passion has to be nurtured.
Moreover, I don’t think anyone here would want to be treated by a doctor, represented by a lawyer, etc., who throughout school, deliberately tried to make sure they learned no more than what was necessary, who never went that extra mile to develop greater expertise.
Succesful professionals love their work, and that interest in their work is something they had to nurture, not suppress.
I’ve had many jobs, some of which were mindless and boring and I did only to put food on the table. Now I am a professional, and the work is both more enjoyable, and more fulfilling than when I had unskilled jobs, but it is also more demanding, and I could not do it if I had no interest in it. Whether you call that for parnosso, or for its own sake, I don’t think there’s much of a difference.