"That's Not a Real Job"

[Jedi-Hunter4]

Well, going by the impression I get from game developers they certainly seem to think that writing isn't a real job.

Currently I work in a pharmacy dispensing medication to people who need it to control problematic conditions, yet I earn £6000 a year whilst someone who kicks a ball around a field can earn £600,000 a week. Not saying I should earn that much because no one, no matter what they do, should. But it is evidence that capitalism is entirely broken.

Supply and demand, there's only a few people in the world who can kick a ball that good. Now days sports players aren't often actually really being paid for their ability's out right in terms of the business model. They are paid for how many eyes they can bring to their attention and the kit they are wearing, whether that is because of how good a player they are and the success and consequent media attention(Messi) or how famous they are (David Beckham). The money only comes in that heavy because of how famous sports people are these days, 60 years ago Football in England was just as popular if not more than it is today, but they got paid around the average wage because there was no intensive advertising like today.

If you can figure out how to get millions of people to watch you, you can earn ridiculous money as well, that's why capitalism is fair to me.

 

[Korolev]

Anything's a job so long as you get paid freely for whatever it is you do. Artists and singers have jobs because they create art which pleases people. Sure, art and songs might not have any industrial worth - you can't use art and songs to make houses, BUT art and music help make life worth living - and good art and music are difficult to produce, so yeah, artists and singers have "real" jobs - they provide entertainment, and that is an essential part of life.

I have had religious people (Christian Scientists) say that doctors don't really do anything and that it is all "God's power" that helps heal people. As a medical student, I am affronted by this, but hey, if that's what they want to believe, so be it. If they don't want to go to a Hospital when they get cancer, and if they want to try to pray their cancer way, or pray their infection away, or pray their heart failure away, by all means.... they're welcome to do that. It's no skin off my back.

 

[Gilhelmi]

snip
I'm not in debt to anyone for anything(something credit agencies seem to despise. Whenever they run a background check on my credit it comes out with a bad credit score because its blank). I live within my means and have been given no handouts, or benefits of any kind.
snip

I am bugging my congressmen and representatives, to pass legislation to automatically give good credit points to people every year they do not have debt. Trying to get others to join me.

I am thinking about getting more involved in politics just to bug people to fix problems like this. It is good too see other fiscal conservatives out there (Note: I said FISCAL, just nipping the dozen people hating on me for saying the "C" word)

I would love it if my lack of debt would reflect well on my credit score. But i don't think that passing laws is the answer. It just shows that credit scores are less of an indication of risk and more an indication of potential profit for lending agencies. If you do not have debt and are driven to stay debt free, than any lenders you deal with don't stand to make much money on interest dealing with you and have no incentive to do so.

One solution i would like to see is credit scores being information beyond the reach of any businesses that are not lenders and only with your permission to obtain a loan or credit. Living within your means could in some fields actually cost you promotions because some employers do credit checks.

Oh and don't worry. I'm not offended by the notion of being related to fiscal conservatism. My positions are varied, but i'll admit that fiscal conservatives have a lot of good points. I'll take that as a compliment

That is good. Too many people hear Conservative and immediately assume the far right people. I call myself a moderate conservative because of my view on fiscal politics.

I would be glad to see only finical institutions being the only ones too see a credit score. That would help as well. Thing is if we do not pass a law, then nothing will change because the businesses have no incentive to stop doing what they are doing.

 

[MajorTomServo]

If you put in some form of effort get a paycheck, it's a real job.

End of discussion.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Would you expect to pay 10$ for a Van Gogh?

Yes, back when he was alive(fact!)

I can't even understand exactly how a person can even say this; barely anyone wants to work in a factory/involving manual labour: the people I know/have met say that they never want to work in something involving physical labour, even those whose jobs have them working in such a manner.

Also, you don't need me to tell you that you should never listen to asshats that have criteria for how "real" an occupation is.

Tell them to fuck off to their real job/tell them that you can't hear them over your paycheck.

Can't understand people who want to do physical labour? Really? I'd prefer physical labour over half the jobs the people on this site would choose.

I did mention that it is out of the pool of people that I know (myself included).

To each their own, I did not mean any offense.

OT: As a great saying goes:

"Opinions are like dicks: everyone has them, but there's no need to shove them down people's throats"

Which is what the "real job" guy did to the OP.

 

[JemothSkarii]

As a great saying goes:

"Opinions are like dicks: everyone has them, but there's no need to shove them down people's throats"

Which is what the "real job" guy did to the OP.

Well, you can if you're a prostitute...or like...I dunno, professional mouth inseminater. Dicks, that is. Opinions for money is Politics.

OT: A 'real job' is something which allows you to earn money for doing something that isn't illegal in my opinion. Of course this comes from a NEET whose last job was effectively giving the organisation a good rep ("We've never had a disabled employee before, so you'll be a good example to the community of what we do"). That said, I need to get a "real job" soon or I'll sink into self pity.

 

[caselj01]

I kind of think of a real job as a job that you want to do indefinitely, rather than just a temporary job that you do to earn some extra money or to get to some other job. For example back in my uni days I did some work as a labourer one summer holiday, and also did some high school tutoring. Even though both of those jobs paid alright and labouring was 20-40 hrs a week, I don't consider either of them "real" jobs because I was only doing it to get some money so that I could get to my "real" job once I finished uni.

 

[maninahat]

All right, here's one for you. Is being a mother or a house wife a "real job"? I ask because a lot of people consider them not to be, despite involving a great deal of work that traditionally would have been paid for, if delegated to a professional nanny, cook or cleaner (all of which are definitely real jobs).

I don't plan on turning it into a feminist debate or anything, I'm just making the point that society has some very arbitrary ideas as to what counts as real work. Often the only qualifier is "do you get paid for it?", which totally flies in the face of anyone who works pro bono, voluntarily, or in a non-traditional role.

 

[Johkmil]

It does seem a lot of the people calling for getting "real" jobs are thinking of various factors, none of them equalling the quality "real."

A lot seem to be saying "Get full-time employment," there's the "Do some physical labour", "Do something beneficial to society", "Secure a more stable income," and the "Stop being so blue-collar/white-collar/artsy, and get something as blue-collar/white-collar/artsy as me." Lastly there's the annoying "Earn more money!"

What I do not manage to get my head around is how many of you reporting being told off for having low-income, temporary jobs. It might be an European/American thing, but here, there's so much competition for these. Types of entry-level emploment, that such a disdain for work experience seems alien to me.

 

[attackshark]

i deal in art related things and have heard this before (obviously). my response is always the same. "i'll be laughing all the way to the bank."

 

[CoL0sS]

Well I work as a part time warden in port authority and there isn't anything to do during fall and winter months except basically arrive at work. It gets very slow and I've gotten a lot of shit from total strangers because of this. On the other hand during summertime, when I'm forced to be outside when it's 40°C (around 105°F); sweaty, sunburnt and dehydrated, explaining to the same guy for the fourth damn time how to find his ferry I get a lot of sympathetic pats on the back and "Damn, it sucks to be you" XD

 

[Aramis Night]

snip
I'm not in debt to anyone for anything(something credit agencies seem to despise. Whenever they run a background check on my credit it comes out with a bad credit score because its blank). I live within my means and have been given no handouts, or benefits of any kind.
snip

I am bugging my congressmen and representatives, to pass legislation to automatically give good credit points to people every year they do not have debt. Trying to get others to join me.

I am thinking about getting more involved in politics just to bug people to fix problems like this. It is good too see other fiscal conservatives out there (Note: I said FISCAL, just nipping the dozen people hating on me for saying the "C" word)

I would love it if my lack of debt would reflect well on my credit score. But i don't think that passing laws is the answer. It just shows that credit scores are less of an indication of risk and more an indication of potential profit for lending agencies. If you do not have debt and are driven to stay debt free, than any lenders you deal with don't stand to make much money on interest dealing with you and have no incentive to do so.

One solution i would like to see is credit scores being information beyond the reach of any businesses that are not lenders and only with your permission to obtain a loan or credit. Living within your means could in some fields actually cost you promotions because some employers do credit checks.

Oh and don't worry. I'm not offended by the notion of being related to fiscal conservatism. My positions are varied, but i'll admit that fiscal conservatives have a lot of good points. I'll take that as a compliment

That is good. Too many people hear Conservative and immediately assume the far right people. I call myself a moderate conservative because of my view on fiscal politics.

I would be glad to see only finical institutions being the only ones too see a credit score. That would help as well. Thing is if we do not pass a law, then nothing will change because the businesses have no incentive to stop doing what they are doing.

In this case i fear passing laws wouldn't go far enough. Sadly business has proven that they can simply steamroll their way over and around penalties. And the penalties themselves are usually so slight that they feel free to ignore them. And if the penalties are strong enough to actually hurt them, they simply buy government support to lessen the penalty or remove the law entirely. I would be in favor of doing away with financial penalties and skip straight to public executions of company ceo's that are responsible for these offences taking place within their companies. At least that might actually justify their insane salaries and force them to be their own watchdogs.

Regrettably we seem unwilling to hold companies accountable in any real way that would change their behaviour. Laws are an inconvenience at best to them as it stands now. Vlad Tempes had the right idea. If you're willing to put people's heads and bodies on spikes, people shape up pretty quick and soon you don't have to worry about thieves. People are far too lenient now to the wrongdoing of others and then wonder why they are so often victimized.

 

[Sansha]

All right, here's one for you. Is being a mother or a house wife a "real job"? I ask because a lot of people consider them not to be, despite involving a great deal of work that traditionally would have been paid for, if delegated to a professional nanny, cook or cleaner (all of which are definitely real jobs).

I don't plan on turning it into a feminist debate or anything, I'm just making the point that society has some very arbitrary ideas as to what counts as real work. Often the only qualifier is "do you get paid for it?", which totally flies in the face of anyone who works pro bono, voluntarily, or in a non-traditional role.

I don't see it as a job, rather a necessity to maintain a household. It's still very hard work, but I don't see it as a job.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

You ever get someone that tells you that? I got an argument with someone that says art isn't a real job because there's no physical labour involved, and nobody should charge more than 10 dollars for a drawing. Needless to say many erupted at him, but I've heard this about almost every job that involves entertainment or the like.

All I hear from it is "Stop enjoying your work and have a miserable job like mine". I mean, what is a "real" job? I perform a service, people are willing to pay for it, I get paid. Is it not a real job because I enjoy doing it?

Of Course! It's not a real job unless it crushes your soul one grinding 8 hour work day at a time.

 

[Bat Vader]

I am working on becoming an author and a screenwriter but some of the people I have told this to at my work place don't think that being an author or being a screenwriter is a real job. I don't understand why they don't think of it as a real job. A good author can get pretty good advances from a publisher and will also make royalties off the sales of their books.

It's like they think that having a real job means that you to do hard physical labor or hate your job.

 

[5mj7R7yf4Dwr3gdZyyu9PeGNwYjlNrjzuh3iTXQG]

My parents raised me in the '80s to value above all other things, the bottom line.

I should have been an arms dealer.

I should have made gazillions pushing AKs and UZIs into southern Africa. I should have gotten a trophy wife and given her a gaudy necklace made of cut blood diamonds. I could tell my parents how many people perished from the ammunition sold on those diamonds.

Fuck real jobs. Fuck them all.

The American dream was once the notion of an economy of consistency emeritus, the idea that an honest day's work would yield an honest day's pay (and that the work was there for the asking, not after all the buggery and cocksucking one has to do to get employed).

The reality of course, is that bankers and financiers make their gazillions by cheating the country with a double Irish with a Dutch sandwich (Google that. It was one of Romney's favorite tricks). Meanwhile soldiers get their asses shot off for a pittance, and servers can get underpaid and undertipped at the same time.

It's all real work. You're lucky to be creative and unlucky if you to have to risk limb or tolerate filth and sexual harassment, but there's no such thing as a fake job, and that includes clubbing your neighbor to take his money, because that's what you do to survive.

Yes. I'm sensitive. My country and my schools lied to me.

238U

 

[FoolKiller]

I get this all the time off my brother who's in finance and banking. "Teaching isn't a real job and you need to get in the real world."

My response:

"Yeah well at least teachers contribute to society rather than ruining our economy."

Don't worry. He probably couldn't handle half of what your job requires. Your job is one of the hardest on the planet.

 

[zehydra]

I hate when anyone ever says "a real X", no matter what the X is.

"A real man", "a real woman", "real art", "real music", "real science", "real gay person", "a real sport" etc

 

[Penitent]

Not strictly a job, but at a Science ball, a drunk Chemistry student told me that computer science isn't a real science. "I can't do it, I have no idea how it works, but it's not a real science."

I hope she was only joking, but otherwise I'm still pretty pissed she spoke down on my course about that. I'm not the most fond of computer science, but I haven't worked my ass off, while students from other courses got to have social lives, for nothing.

I hate when anyone ever says "a real X", no matter what the X is.

"A real man", "a real woman", "real art", "real music", "real science", "real gay person", "a real sport" etc

Amen to that!

 

[Thyunda]

I dunno about the definitions of a 'real' job, but I do know what the blue-collars are getting at. Everybody should work tedious shit for at least one stage in their lives. I'm talking the eight-hour days in retail or the mind-deadening shifts in storerooms and factories. I say this because last year I got stuck with university students with no idea how real life worked. I'm going to university for myself in September, and I'll be twenty-one, and tomorrow I have to be at work for 8am to tend the vending machines and get on with my eight hours. Sometimes I do nine or ten hours. It's tiring, it's tedious and I don't want to do it for the rest of my life.

But it makes the Saturday night out so much sweeter. And I know when I'm in university, surrounded by eighteen year old kids straight out of college, I'll definitely appreciate the easy ride university will be compared to the shit I have to deal with, and have had to deal with in the past. My intellectual brilliance does me no favours when confronted by an angry customer in bright pink shorts. My sharp wit would only get me in more trouble.

There is no humiliation quite like having to swallow the rough edge of a public scolding from some idiot tourist earning more money than his personality deserves.

It's like how they say, you should do things that scare you. It's good for you.

Do shit you hate. For stupid hours. For stupid lengths of time. It's totally worth it. I feel good after a long day's work. I like relaxing.

Get a 'real' job, artists. Well don't if you're already earning from it - shit I'd love to be making money off the things I love to do. But if you're trying to get noticed, or anything along those lines, don't consider crappy work beneath you. Go do it. It'll give your art grounding, that's for sure. Also if you're good at writing and talking, your superiors like you more. And make you spell-check everything.

It's a good life.

Oh. And the icing on the cake. I get paid a third of minimum wage. I'm the definition of a tool.