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Underappreciated Jobs

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Nychthemeron, Sep 18, 2014.

  1. Nychthemeron

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    In your opinion, what are some of the most underappreciated jobs in your area?
     
  2. Ryujin

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    Telephone sanitisers, Hairdressers and Advertising Account Executives
     
  3. Browncoat

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    In my area?


    I don't know about "in my area," but to me the one I've always recognized as fairly universally underappreciated are janitors.
     
  4. Nychthemeron

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    Well, "in your area" meaning your country or something. Maybe that phrase is too local? Sorry. Bad with words. :lol:

    But, yeah, I definitely see where y'all are coming from.
     
  5. Ryujin

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    That was a Hitchiker's ref btw
     
  6. Yosia

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    Teaching Assistants. They get like no recognition but schools wouldnt be able to function without all the little (and big) things they do.
     
  7. Hexagon

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    Garbage collection
     
  8. Anonymouse7

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    I'd go with teachers, sure they get a lot of paid holiday but I don't think many other professions get abused, mocked, antagonised and even assaulted, and after years of it, they will still bend over backwards to help students do well. They have one of the biggest impacts on society yet are paid far less than a lot of other jobs.
     
  9. Michael

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    This and bar tenders.

    Here in germany we also have someone who cleans the public bathrooms right after people use them. Usually you pay this person between 20-50 cents right after.

    Teachers too...
     
  10. Browncoat

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    Also, servers in restaurants/cafeteria workers.


    And most certainly non-University/College teachers.
     
  11. timo

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    Garbage collectors. Cashiers. Road workers.

    Thank you :grin:
     
  12. Nychthemeron

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    Bus drivers, too, I think. At least here. Not sure how much they're paid, but come on, they get up at five something every day to pick up a bunch of snotty-nosed brats who don't understand what "shut the fuck up" means.

    Ironically, if I had a friend to talk to on the bus, I wouldn't shut up either. Still a snotty-nosed brat, though.
     
  13. 741852963

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    But they get paid damn good money, more than a lot of highly skilled or high-stress jobs, so I don't think they are under appreciated.

    I think customer services and call center roles are really under appreciated. High stress, high pressure, abysmal working conditions and often the lowest salaries going. In call centers in particular agents are often expected to take 70-100 calls a day, usually from irate customers shouting the odds. Its a pretty toxic working environment for usually little more than minimum wage.

    One of the hardest and least appreciated jobs is that of the Emergency Call Operators. The type of calls they have to handle, and the accuracy and efficiency they need to have is truly astonishing. And yet they usually earn half of what a bin man would.

    I can tell you now I'd be much more comfortable driving around picking up bins for £25k a year than have to assist dozens of people in life or death situations everyday for only £15k.
     
  14. Michael

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    No problem, been there too...

    Taxi drivers, bus drivers, truck drivers...
     
  15. 741852963

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    Bus drivers and truck drivers perhaps, but I'd definitely disagree with taxi drivers being under-appreciated. In fact I think they need less appreciation.

    Taxi drivers here flout all rules of the road making things dangerous for their passengers/clients, other road users, cyclists and pedestrians alike. They speed, cut corners, jump red lights, don't check their blindspots, don't indicate. I think the problem is because their "profession is driving" they assume they are "professional drivers", treating the roads like their own private race track.

    In summary of my rant: I may slightly dislike taxi drivers. :lol:
     
  16. Kaiser

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    Retail.

    Hands down.

    So many customers just unload on retail workers, for any reason or no reason. They treat them like servants, who are sort of shooed off to fetch. It's one thing to, you know, ask if they can help you with/get you that product -- you don't have to say, " Get me that rake, and hurry up. I've got things to do! ", as if implying, the person getting you that rake, isn't a person, with things they could be doing... instead of getting you a rake.

    Somebody's car gets a fender-bender, and it's the cashier's fault, because she's the closest to the door, which looks out into the parking lot.

    The soda machine short-changed someone, so the store, being the closest one, is supposed to just refund their money.

    Mess up on a coupon, when the line is packed, and you're the worst cashier ever.

    I could go on and on, about the things I've seen or overheard, in retail. The point is, they tend to get treated 70-30, bad vs good.




    Teachers, definitely. The stuff they had/have to deal with, not just with the students, but fellow staff, even the government. On top of that, their personal life. They aren't paid enough, especially in the United States, for what they juggle. Hell, I alone back then, was worth a small bonus to deal with.




    Fast food workers, some of them. I'll admit, some folks in fast food, they don't give a rat's ass about anything. They're just there, to get a basic check, and live a basic life. But the ones who do go there, because they have no choice, for whatever reason, or those who have retired but need a little extra income, or individuals who lose a job, and need a temporary money cushion, those folks, are always grouped in with the basic assholes. Those are the ones I'm talking about -- they get disrespected, bad mouthed, short-changed, and blamed for anything that happens to them, inside of the restaurant.

    Oh, you were running in the restaurant, and didn't expect to trip, fall, and McBust your head on the table? This is our McFault for your McFuckup? You should have McKnown better, you clumsy McKlutz, LOL.

    I'm McFuckin' terrible for that.



    Some others I could mention, have also been mentioned. Taxi drivers, truck drivers, hell, anyone who has to be on the road, isolated and away from everyone, deserves some sympathy.




    I think that should suffice, for the time being.
     
  17. AAASAS

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    OMG, ha Live this everyday. I think Hydro, and Civil workers are pretty underappreaciated but they aren't under paid.

    Retail workers, make shit pay, and get treated like shit, janitors earn more and are given more respect.

    I actually was a hypersensitive person before I got my job at retail, but it has toughened me up. And made me realize how absolutely shitty people are.

    I could name like 5 interactions I had with people today that are negative as fuck. They expect you to bend over backwards for them because they think you actually give a fuck about the company you are working for.

    I cannot tell you how many times I've been yelled at by customers because "we don't stock well enough", " I'm lying to them and we have the product they want even though it's not on our fucking system" , " I'm being lazy because I won't get a product that requires a forklift to get down; I'm not licensed on the forklift", " I'm going to the competitors store"; like I really give two fucks where you spend your money, " I can't give a discount"

    I start my shift at 6 a.m, because my work sells building supplies and contractors and tradesmen need to get there shit. WE also sell other random home improvement shit, so there is basically all types of people coming in. But I can remember it being 6 : 00 a.m

    The store just opened, I was starting to stock the "holes"; ya I'm a skilled worker. Man walks in, starts looking at product about 10 feet away, he doesn't wait 30 seconds before he calls me " A fucking idiot, you should be fired becuase you won't help me you fucking moron". Well, before I could even open my mouth hes like " Why aren't you fucking helping me yet?". Again before I could open my mouth a co-workers chirps in and just starts reaming on the guy.

    Several customers were around and were shocked at how that could even happen.

    I've been called, Fucking Moron, Fucking Idiot, Piece of Shit, Dumbshit, Dumbass, Retard, Moron, Fuck Face, Idiot, basically everything you can think of. The first time it happened I actually cried on my way home because I was so disappointed that this is what my life was, being treated shitty by privledged pieces of crap.

    After that I now laugh and I don't give two fucks about pleasing customers anymore. If they're nice I'll give them the time of day, but if they're rude, I just say "let me get you someone" and then leave and forget about them. Me and my co-workers will even deny selling people crap if they are being shitty, we'll lie about them being in stock, or being able to get it, just because we want them to leave.

    So if you want something to get done for you by a sales person, do not treat them like crap, because a lot of them already have their souls crushed and will just go into robot mode the second you show your true colors.
     
  18. Candace

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    People who work in the fast food industry, cashiers in general, sanitation workers, librarians, and testing center proctors.
     
  19. asdfghjk

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    Customer service people at animal shelters/rescues/pound, the ones who have to set up intakes and turn people away for various reasons. Holy shit is that a terrible job, and it's usually right around if not exactly minimum wage. It is emotionally stressful, people come in emotionally stressed as well, people get frustrated with policy and procedures you didn't set but have to follow, people don't understand why some policies and procedures are the way they are, or just don't understand them at all, and will absolutely take it out on you. I considered taking a (WHOPPING ONE DOLLAR) pay raise to do this kind of work and decided it was absolutely not worth it, people are shit heads. The ones that don't scream at you will guilt you and generally be awful. I know it's shitty that you found this stray and are just trying to find a good place to house it but please don't threaten to dump it on the fucking highway because they don't have space; take it to the pound or make an intake appointment, don't guilt the employees about giving this dog a slow painful death because they can't say "OH NEVERMIND WE CAN TAKE THEM IF YOU'RE GONNA PITCH IT IN A FIELD TO THE COYOTES, THEN!" anyway.

    ---------- Post added 18th Sep 2014 at 04:57 PM ----------

    Also, roofers and framers. Although it's my understanding they can earn decent money , but that may just be the supervisor and not the guys actually throwing up out there doing the manual labor.
     
  20. Opheliac

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    Pretty much anyone who does manual labour. Drivers, too. As in bus drivers and taxi drivers... it's unfairly looked down on.