Want
Explanation
The Joke
A father and son are talking. The son says something along the lines of wanting to make money. The father responds that the older he gets, the more he derives his sense of purpose from "sucking the joy out of other people's lives." The son asks "Where, Dad?" and the father says he's been doing this at work. The twist comes when it's revealed the father got a fake degree so he could do this professionally, and he tells his son to "Go thaaaat way" — directing him down the same path.
The Humor
The comic subverts a classic parent-child "life advice" conversation. Instead of offering wisdom about hard work or finding one's passion, the father reveals that his true calling is making other people miserable — and that he's formalized this into a career by obtaining credentials (albeit fake ones) to do it professionally. The humor lies in the inversion: the father has found genuine purpose and fulfillment, but his source of meaning is entirely parasitic and antisocial.
The fake degree detail adds another layer — he's not even legitimately credentialed to ruin people's lives; he had to cheat his way into a position where he could do so. And yet he's enthusiastically passing this "wisdom" on to the next generation.
Broader Context
SMBC often explores dark or cynical takes on the meaning of life, purpose, and career satisfaction. This comic fits into a recurring theme where characters find genuine happiness through morally questionable or absurd means, satirizing the self-help culture of "finding your purpose" by showing that purpose itself is morally neutral — you can be deeply fulfilled by terrible things.