A seven-decade study of 717 people found that ambition predicted higher income, education and occupational prestige—but barely greater life satisfaction and no longer lifespan. Career success, it turns out, is much easier to predict from ambition than happiness is.

A solitary figure reflected in an office window overlooking a city

Ambition arrives at work with a promise attached. Put in the hours, pursue the qualification, take the difficult assignment, aim for the larger role, and satisfaction is expected to follow the v...