Not a Scandinavian myself (Australian - halfway between the Nordic model and the US dollarocracy, and sadly sliding ever closer to the latter), so can't speak authoritatively. But I would have thought it's not so much about "getting the hell taxed out of you no matter what you do", but more about "getting decent pay and a massive social security safety net no matter what you do". Although either way, yes, makes sense to choose your career based on passion rather than paycheque. Which is why, for example, Finland (famous for its high standard of public education) AFAIK has a significantly less severe teacher shortage than most other OECD countries.