The most common jobs you're told about when you're little are the obvious ones: Fire Fighter. Police Officer. Doctor. Teacher. So on so forth. However, once you grow up, those career options may not be the most appealing. The job market is grander than you could possibly imagine in the days of recess and cubbies, so maybe it's time we start informing the youth about these job opportunities a little more often.
WARNING: Some jobs include collecting farm animal...samples.
Reddit user, u/Praughna, wanted to hear about:
Redditors that work jobs most people don't know exist: what is it and how do people react when you tell them your job ?
"What a lovely thing to do," said Thomas
Train Controller.
People ask me if I drive trains. I am in the habit now of just pre-empting people and saying "It is like air traffic control but for the rail network". In the U.S.A. I believe it is called Train Dispatch. People are generally sort of impressed and want to ask questions about the railway.
Helping People Work
Dunno how unknown my job is as a whole, but it isn't well known in my area. I'm a job coach. I help people with disabilities do their jobs. I can aid in physical tasks they cannot do properly, teach them occupational skills, be there for moral support and supervision, and other stuff like that. I also make sure they aren't exploited in the workplace by people without disabilities.
It's a really fulfilling job, tbh. It's wonderful seeing clients learning how to do things and just enjoying their jobs. All of my clients are wonderful people and I can't wait until the world stops ending so I can go back to work and see them again. I miss them terribly.
Navigating The Cinematic Waves
I used to work as a film festival consultant/strategist. Filmmakers would contact our company, send their films in and we would assess its fitness for the festival circuit. If we thought it'd do well, we designed a strategy (1 or 2 year) with all of the festival's it will be submitted to keeping in mind premiere statuses and submission deadlines.
Film festival submissions are weirdly complicated and there's a lot of stuff you have to know about the festival landscape in the first place. But I also think that company was running a bit of a scam in hindsight. Also we helped an anti vax documentary get onto the festival circuit, which signalled my cue to leave.
Something Small To Something Large
I work in R&D at a company that makes resins for OSB boards and plywood. Let's say that we create a resin which will still hold the board together at 2.8% resin instead of 3.1%. Or it will hold together after being cured for 110 seconds instead of 125. That makes a huge difference when you're a company pressing 1 million boards a year.
It sounds really boring and most people zone out when I start talking about it, but it's pretty exciting when we patent an improved resin and sell it to another company for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Something You've Never Considered
I work in sterile services. You know all those instruments used in medical procedures and surgery? Well, they need cleaning, inspecting, packing, and sterilising. My department is for a small hospital, so we only recieve mostly dental and podiatry, but a few other one off instruments also. The worst is coil insertion kits, they're covered in bloody minge goo. There's also forceps and luxators that tend to get quite bloody, and on more than one occasion have had pieces of human gum attached.
Most people have the exact same reaction when I talk about my job, usually it's "oh yeah, I never really thought about that".
Written In Ectoplasm
I'm a ghostwriter. It's not necessarily an unknown career but people are usually interested when they ask about my work. Basically, I write books for people (autobiographies, memoirs, some fiction) and when it's complete they publish it in their name.
Ah, So You're To Blame?!
I'm in VDP—variable data printing. Basically, I put your name and address on personalized junk mail, letters, certificates, invoices, etc. I usually get a blank stare when I tell people this, so I switched to "programmer," even though I feel like that's an overblown title for what I actually do, though it does require programming knowledge. Most of my day is putting a salutation on a letter, but it is enjoyable when something more complex comes in that requires a lot of conditional logic!
Getting Paid To Read??
Audiobook Proofreader
Reactions were "Wait, you get to listen to books all day and be paid?" Yup. "That can't be a full-time though?" It is. "I bet it's temporary with no paid time off or benefits." I get benefits and more pto than I've had in all other positions.
This exists!? My long standing joke is my dream job being paid to read!? (Or listen!) How does one go about switching to such amazing career?
Monitoring Other People's Work
Sometimes I literally get paid to watch paint dry. I'm a security escort for secure areas where contractors must be escorted. My job is boring AF but, I get paid to watch other people work.
Examining Seeds At A Close Level
I'm a seed analyst. I do purity and germination testing. Every time you purchase seed, or seed is sold for commercial production, if there's a label on it that says "X% pure seed, X% Weed seed, X% Inert material, X% Germination"- that information came from a lab where people specialize in seed testing, germination, and identification. I can ID hundreds of species on sight by the seed, but if it's bigger than about 2 inches, I have no idea what plant it is.
How Else Will We Save On A 3 Taco Plate?
I make coupons on the back of receipts.
You know that Mexican place coupon on the back of the Kroger receipt? You're welcome.
You Have To Study For This?
I had a brief stint as a "junior cheese evaluator." People loved hearing about the cheese tasting part, but what is less known is the business analytics side of things — we have to know what good cheese is and what consumer tastes are like and how to influence those tastes to make room for company products that maximize profits for the cheesemaker and retailer.
There's a whole national certification exam I was studying for before I decided to take a drastic career shift because the whole cheese thing wasn't paying the bills and it was too much work holding down three jobs.
Don't Blow It...Blue It...?
I'm an operations manager for the Blue Man Group show, a lot of people don't realize how many people it takes behind the scenes to put on that show!
How many "Blue Men" are there in reserve for each tour/show? Is it the same folks out there on stage every night, or is there a pool of people that rotate?
My location (at time of closing) has 7 full time guys and 3 part timers. Sometimes they'll even change in between shows, so if there's two performances in one day it may be different performers for each show. Once or twice we've gotten stand-ins from other locations, but this is usually a last ditch save as every show has a unique scene. This means every location has one piece of the show that no other location has. To have a stand-in from a different location's show means filling them in on a section of show they don't normally perform at their home venue!
I Know They're Only Dummies But...
I work on a truck doing simulated emergencies with high fidelity mannequins . The mannequins have pulses they breathe, you can listen to lung sounds, and their eyes move back-and-forth. We take the truck to fire departments and critical access hospital's in our state to provide emergency training at no cost to the fire departments and hospitals. There are only five states that I know of in the nation that do this training.
Typing Up What Everyone Says
I produce subtitles, for TV and now for online learning at a university. It's been amazing how many people have thought that either A, a computer does it or B, I'm a sign language interpreter.
I was also a teleprompter / Autocue operator for a while, when I first left uni, and it was one of the best jobs I've had. Though again, people thought a computer did it. And I've had likes of actors literally laugh in my face because they consider it beneath the lowest of the low apparently (until it breaks...)
Buy. BUY. BUY!
Im a procurement officer for an airline, I order parts for planes.
No one seems to realise my job exists but everyone gets it when I tell them what I do.
Reaction is generally wow that's so cool! In reality I raise purchase orders all day. But it's pretty cool to wander out to the hangar when a plane is in
The Art Of Foam
Not me, but a longtime friend of my dad's was/is(?) a professional carbonated beverage pourer. (Spellcheck's not happy with 'pourer', is it 'pourist'? ...'pourmaster'?)
It was for closeup shots, mostly for commercials for sodas or beers, and sometimes for movies or TV shows.
At one point I asked my dad (not wanting to be rude to the guy), "Is that one of those jobs where some studio exec just picks one of their buddies to get paid a salary for basically nothing?"
According to my dad, this was NOT the case - apparently it was very specialized, precision work. They'd be like "Okay, we need a 5-second pour with a 1-inch head that settles into a 3/4" head in 2 seconds," and he could make it happen. Mistakes were a big deal because studio time's expensive, if he messed up too many times one of the crew would be drunk, etc.
As a kid I always imagined this guy at work to look like someone diffusing a bomb or something, dramatic music, everyone staring anxiously, bead of sweat on the forehead etc. As far as I know, that imagining is completely accurate.
You Have One Job And You Do Very Well At It
I was an enucleator.
When people passed and wanted to donate their corneas I would retrieve their eyes from their body and take them to the lab to process for transplant. When people found that out they were either completely grossed out or thought it was really interesting.
Best "Job" or Greatest "Job?"
Once upon a time I worked at a boarstud. I got hired in the lab preserving semen for sale. Dull, morning headachy work staring at semen under a microscope.
Buuut the shed often needed help collecting semen and a fun, well paying, easy job. Go get the pig, get him to mount, grab a penis and then nap as they ejaculate for ten to fifteen minutes. Repeat.
I got paid $27 an hour to sit on a stool and hold a curly penis three days a week. I now work 6-7 days, collect blood samples, monitor surgery, take phones, do inventory and handle angry clients with a smile for $16 as a vet tech. Hmm.
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk him about it.
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
Giphy
"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
Giphy
"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
Giphy
"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen
Giphy
What Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
Hug GIF by The BarkPost
Giphy
Who Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
sleepy kitten GIF
Giphy
Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official
Giphy
Is That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
Giphy
"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Giphy
"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace
Giphy
"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.