[Rant] This game's practically dead in terms of actual content.

You could make money as a level 40 player training on mobs your level when you suddenly find an esther shield, or a 60% Glove for Attack scroll. You can't really do that nowadays.

Now you get the worthwhile drops from Elite Mobs and Elite Bosses. Which spawn at any level.

Of course you spend a lot less time grinding to level 100 than you used to, so far fewer monster kills and so fewer good drops.
But unless you spend the whole time in PQs, you should end up looting 3% or even 6% gear you can use, enough spell traces to scroll it all, and enough meso to star-force it. Plus something good from an Elite that you can sell to buy all, or most, of the mastery books you need.

Back in the pre-BB, you had no hope in hell of having enough meso for all your 4th job mastery books, unless you merched a lot, farmed area bosses for valuable scrolls for weeks and months, or somehow managed to join a bossing group that sold z-runs and htp's. Equipment rarely dropped, and scrolls were too rare and expensive to use on your own gear. Yeah, you could get really lucky with that Esther Shield or GFA. Or you could be scrabbling for potion money.