What normal jobs do you admire and think you'd be bad at?
Discussion
Emanresu said:
Mechanics
They’re expected to know everything about everything and the salary comes nowhere near matching the skills and constant retraining needed. The job is stressful and some customers make it even more stressful, they want everything fixed yesterday for half the price. They have to deal with complaints about parts prices, mechanics don’t set the price, the manufacturer does. They spend many hours covered in dirt and oil to the point where it becomes ingrained in the skin and won’t wash off. They have to spend thousands upon thousands on tools and some of the tools will only get used once or a few times. In many garages the only way to move up the ladder is when someone dies, no matter how good you are. The mechanics have to deal with all the politics and bulls
t of service advisors and sales teams rather than being left alone to fix things. People are forever asking them to cut corners to save money, nothing is as disheartening as doing a half assed job because the parts you need weren’t approved. You will get cut, you will get burned, you will inhale toxic fumes, you will get things in your eye through no fault of your own. You spend a lot of time on your back, get contorted into strange positions and nobody will care because they will hire a new you tomorrow when your body is too messed up to work.
They’re expected to know everything about everything and the salary comes nowhere near matching the skills and constant retraining needed. The job is stressful and some customers make it even more stressful, they want everything fixed yesterday for half the price. They have to deal with complaints about parts prices, mechanics don’t set the price, the manufacturer does. They spend many hours covered in dirt and oil to the point where it becomes ingrained in the skin and won’t wash off. They have to spend thousands upon thousands on tools and some of the tools will only get used once or a few times. In many garages the only way to move up the ladder is when someone dies, no matter how good you are. The mechanics have to deal with all the politics and bulls
t of service advisors and sales teams rather than being left alone to fix things. People are forever asking them to cut corners to save money, nothing is as disheartening as doing a half assed job because the parts you need weren’t approved. You will get cut, you will get burned, you will inhale toxic fumes, you will get things in your eye through no fault of your own. You spend a lot of time on your back, get contorted into strange positions and nobody will care because they will hire a new you tomorrow when your body is too messed up to work. 
. Hacked it for a few years after school. Much respect to 60+ chaps still on the spanners.Shaw Tarse said:
For what it's worth,probably most of the abuse etc is not directed at her, but just frustration & upset family members.
If only that were true, and where it is true it's totally understood.However, there are a great many horrible sods who simply treat nurses like s
t. Alcoholics with terminal liver failure, drug addicts, ignorant "I pay your wages" types, wealthy entitled types who treat you like a skivvy... even when she was 7 months pregnant there were people who would not put out their cigarettes!Disgusting really.
Gun said:
My OH is a teacher and I definitely couldn't do it. It's not so much the kids, they're children so you can expect them to act like little sts now and again. It's the stories of the deluded parents that would really test my patience.
Same here. Plus she teaches at a 6th form, I sometimes give her a lift in to work and it turn out I'm way to lecherous to work somewhere like that ts now and again. It's the stories of the deluded parents that would really test my patience.
I'm police. It's tiring. The shifts are ste. The impact on your social/family life isn't great it can be stressful but it's a good job. Most people could do it. It's not particularly difficult and it can be enjoyable.
I couldn't be:
a social worker: we deal with the same of people, social services do want to help them but they get no respect, there isnt anywhere near enough of them to deal with the workload and they're contibually dealing with stuff that should it go wrong then it will go very wrong.
PCSO similar uniform, similar job to mine, similar uniform but when I get abused I have the power to do something about it. PCSO's have to take it.
Paramedic; they go to a lot of the same incidents as we do. They deal with the same sort of aggressive people but all without a stab vest or any sort of protective Ppe their service is more overstretched than ours and they all look absolutely knackered yet are expected to perform miracles.
Recovery truck driver. My dad does it. After his truck got rear ended at 60 and he nearly got wiped out by an articulated truck on the hard shoulder I realised how dangerous hard shoulders are. The relatively low wage isn't worth the risk. Plus the regular call outs in the middle of the night.
te. The impact on your social/family life isn't great it can be stressful but it's a good job. Most people could do it. It's not particularly difficult and it can be enjoyable. I couldn't be:
a social worker: we deal with the same of people, social services do want to help them but they get no respect, there isnt anywhere near enough of them to deal with the workload and they're contibually dealing with stuff that should it go wrong then it will go very wrong.
PCSO similar uniform, similar job to mine, similar uniform but when I get abused I have the power to do something about it. PCSO's have to take it.
Paramedic; they go to a lot of the same incidents as we do. They deal with the same sort of aggressive people but all without a stab vest or any sort of protective Ppe their service is more overstretched than ours and they all look absolutely knackered yet are expected to perform miracles.
Recovery truck driver. My dad does it. After his truck got rear ended at 60 and he nearly got wiped out by an articulated truck on the hard shoulder I realised how dangerous hard shoulders are. The relatively low wage isn't worth the risk. Plus the regular call outs in the middle of the night.
alangtt said:
Reversing a truck. Some of those guys make it look so easy but I bet it's not. I can hardly reverse my trailer when I go and do a wood run and feel a right tool when I reverse like banana shapes in to the yard when all the wood guys are watching (or feel like they are 
)
My old man is a retired truck driver and he also has a small trailer that he tows with his car, he reckons the car trailer is more difficult to park as it reacts much faster to steering inputs than a big truck trailer.)In fact he's got a mate that he works with that drives Class 1 LGV's all day long, and sometimes he borrows my Dad's car trailer, but he can't reverse it to save his life.
DanielSan said:
bazza white said:
Agreed with plasterer, as a diy'er it stresses the hell out me.
Carer for mental health, I'd fall to pieces. Shamefully all my mums side of the family work in this area.
My girlfriend is a mental health nurse, some of the things they deal with in the job is outrageous. Dont think I'd last long before I ended up smacking some of the patients in the gob with how abusive they can be. Carer for mental health, I'd fall to pieces. Shamefully all my mums side of the family work in this area.
I've ended up in hospital a few times but mainly low level stuff such as bites.
One particular patient has it in for me and threatens to 'smash your face in'/'knock your block off' etc. pretty much every shift I work at the mo.
I could probably write a book (or at least an interesting blog) of my experiences and the incidents I've been involved in over the years.
I'd never do another shift if I had a choice, but mortgage to pay, kids to feed etc.
As for jobs I couldn't do, anything in confined spaces or heights would concern me. I think I would hate offshore/oil rig type work, probably due to the 'if anything goes wrong here, I've had it' feeling I would get.
I get the admiration for the work the police do and that it's not for everyone but wouldn't mind a go at that if their starting pay was not so poor.
Prison warden
Cold caller
Working in a benefits office
Nightclub toilet cleaner
Also one no one has said but any job that involves office politics, getting up at 0630 and having a one hour commute each way in stop start traffic just to come home to an ungrateful wife and kids and a big mortgage!
Good jobs for me:
Jet ski man on a nice beach
Lifeguard at a pool abroad
Sunbed rent collector
Work in a bar abroad with lots of attractive girls
Funny when you think of it, i think I just want to live in the sun doing a non stressful job and don't really care about money
Cold caller
Working in a benefits office
Nightclub toilet cleaner
Also one no one has said but any job that involves office politics, getting up at 0630 and having a one hour commute each way in stop start traffic just to come home to an ungrateful wife and kids and a big mortgage!
Good jobs for me:
Jet ski man on a nice beach
Lifeguard at a pool abroad
Sunbed rent collector
Work in a bar abroad with lots of attractive girls
Funny when you think of it, i think I just want to live in the sun doing a non stressful job and don't really care about money
NDA said:
Piersman2 said:
Plasterer.
I've done a few houses up over the years and am happy turning my hand to any work/trade... except plastering.
Same for me...I've done a few houses up over the years and am happy turning my hand to any work/trade... except plastering.
I tried to plaster a small area behind a TV in a previous house - it looked like a 3D image of the ocean when I'd finished. I genuinely admire the skill of plastering - the good guys are artists.
Gav147 said:
NDA said:
Piersman2 said:
Plasterer.
I've done a few houses up over the years and am happy turning my hand to any work/trade... except plastering.
Same for me...I've done a few houses up over the years and am happy turning my hand to any work/trade... except plastering.
I tried to plaster a small area behind a TV in a previous house - it looked like a 3D image of the ocean when I'd finished. I genuinely admire the skill of plastering - the good guys are artists.
austinsmirk said:
problem with being a plasterer, is you generally need to a be a raging alcoholic. Thus I don't fancy being a plasterer
That quote has been used a fair few times and I've seen it in plasterers. But it's just a quote about about how much hard work and dedication it takes to be a good spread.I'm at last after nigh on 40 years doing a bit less nowand doing more construction and earthworks now.
Divorce rears its ugly head also in the plastering game a fair bit.
Ki3r said:
A friend is a A&E nurse. I don't know how she does it. Some of the things that shes had to deal are shocking.
Nurses, paramedics and a whole shed load of other people in front line public services get all kinds of abhorrent abuse, largely from people they're there to help. Ok, it's clearly drug / alcohol related a lot of the time and the aggression is born of desperation, but i'd just leave 'em to it after the first 5 seconds of abuse. You sure you want me to fk off? Smashing, i'll do just that....Working on the lifeboats sounds good in that respect. Get abuse; drop 'em back in the sea with no CCTV or witnesses
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