Professionals Dispel Common Misconceptions People May Have About Their Jobs
[rebelmouse-image 18358936 is_animated_gif=Do you remember that moment as a kid when you realized being a fire fighter was much more than just spraying stuff with a hose? And how maybe the job suddenly wasn't as cool as you thought it was? If you're only just now having that realization, we're sorry. We'll wait for you to collect yourself. You good now, champ? We, as a society, hold a lot of ideas about certain jobs that are just plain wrong... but we rarely stop to think about it.
One Reddit user asked:
What's a common misconception that the general public has about your job?
And now I'm just now finding out that not all geologists deal with rocks... like... what do geologists actually even do?!? We have no idea.
No Math Required
[rebelmouse-image 18358938 is_animated_gif=Accountant - "You must be good at math."
Requires basic arithmetic.
Daycare
[rebelmouse-image 18358939 is_animated_gif=Daycare employees-" I wish I could play all day for work" said every annoying parent.
No Cone Lights
[rebelmouse-image 18358940 is_animated_gif=Air Traffic Control - Suicide rates aren't really that high in our field. Also we are not the people with the orange cone lights.
Can't Fix A Car
[rebelmouse-image 18358942 is_animated_gif=A mechanical engineer is not the same as a mechanic. I can't fix a car, I can engineer a mechwarrior bot.
Wait, So What Do You Do?
[rebelmouse-image 18358944 is_animated_gif=Geologist - All I do is look at rocks all day.
Some of us do, but not all branches of geology involve rocks at all. I haven't looked at a rock for work since I've started down this path.
Desk Work
[rebelmouse-image 18358945 is_animated_gif=Military - I kill people. Really I sit a a desk and overspend the taxpayers money
Chlorine Saves Lives
[rebelmouse-image 18358946 is_animated_gif=Water treatment - "Chlorine is toxic and kills, get it out of my water!" Chlorine saves lives, 3.5 million people die each year because of untreated water.
Fix Your Own Phone
[rebelmouse-image 18350009 is_animated_gif=My recent job (still working through college) is web development.
I am not an IT guy. I don't know how to fix your phone.
$10 An Hour Isn't Worth It
[rebelmouse-image 18358947 is_animated_gif=I used to work for Shell for about a year, in between slightly less s*** jobs. The only benefit was that I live in Oregon and it's not self service so the occasional person from out of state that isnt infuriated by the fact that they're not allowed to pump here, would give me tips for washing their windshield. I made a whole $27 one night! Lol The fact that it was exciting to me shows what kinds of jobs I've had in the past.
We weren't allowed to take lunch breaks (the real kind where you clock off and people leave you alone), but instead we could scarf whatever food we brought or could buy for full price at the station in between cars and hope we got to our lunch before a rush hit. The overnight shift was boring, but thats when all the weirdos came out, and so things could be kind of interesting, at least.
I'll never forget Justin, the pump guy who was ending his shift and taking all the trash on the property out, he had 5 bags to throw over into the side of the dumpster, and the bottom of the last bag had a tear in it, that he was unaware of. It was also full of about 30 diapers.... yeah... so the bag flew open and the diapers weren't exactly closed up very well and he was sprayed. It got on his face. In his hair. On his uniform.
The rage filled SCREAM that he let out was truly that of the most downtrodden minimum wage worker I've ever heard. He pulled his shirt off and came stomping into the store seething and shrieking every curse word he could possibly think of- and as soon as the smell hit us, we then knew exactly what had happened. That crazy mofo came back the next day, too. He didn't want to talk to anyone about anything for about a week...
If they had been me I would've quit on the spot. $10 an hour isn't worth being covered in human waste. It just isn't.
Poor Scumbags
[rebelmouse-image 18358949 is_animated_gif=All lawyers are wealthy scumbags. Just checked my student loan balance and can confirm some of us are, in fact, _poor _scumbag.
Not The Guy WIth The Hammer
[rebelmouse-image 18358950 is_animated_gif=I'm a construction super. People assume that because I work in construction that I'm stupid. Let's see the average person look at a set of plans and wind up with a correctly completed building. Oh, and I have a college degree. Lots of us do. I'm not the guy you want running the tractor, or swinging the hammer. But guess who's got over 100 change orders in a year and turned the budget from a loss to a profit?
Video Game Developers
[rebelmouse-image 18358951 is_animated_gif=Devs at corporate studios don't get a single bit of say in what features get coded into games most of the time. They coded in that pay-to-win system not because they thought it was a good use of their talents, but because they didn't want to lose their job. They didn't omit that feature you wanted because they thought it sucked, but rather because they already had a laundry list of features to implement and nowhere near enough time to implement them (and no say in the matter anyway). And that feature shipped super buggy because the project was on far too short of a deadline and QA didn't get an RC to test until the 11th hour and stayed up until 5am just to get sanities done at the very least before the game shipped. Yes, they know about that bug. No, there wasn't time to fully test it, fix it, and test it again before shipping. Yes, they put it in the queue for patch 1.1.
When I see gamers screaming on the internet about "lazy devs" and "greedy devs" it makes me want to scream right back "IT'S NOT THE DEVS YOU IDIOTS, IT'S THE CORPORATE AHOLE COPYING BUZZWORDS FROM KOTAKU ONTO HIS WHITEBOARD WHILE IGNORING THE GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT!!!"
No I Can't Choose
[rebelmouse-image 18358952 is_animated_gif=City planner, no I cannot get a [insert restaurant here], it's a free country if they want to build here (and follow the zoning code), they will build here.
Who's Your Favorite Artist?
[rebelmouse-image 18358953 is_animated_gif=Stagehand - no we don't care, talk or hangout with any talent. To every person who asks: "Who's your favorite artist?", our reply will always be "the one who is writing my check." Sometimes we don't even know what artist we're working for. We're just here to put stuff together and take it apart again afterwards. We don't stay for the show half the time.
The Drugs Don't Kill You
[rebelmouse-image 18358955 is_animated_gif=Pharmacist - I don't just count pills all day.
I counsel your grandma on her blood pressure meds, and her diabetes meds, and probably talk to her more than you do.
I verify meds so they don't kill you.
Paperwork - drugs have many regulations and the paperwork is endless.
I deal with the your insurance company. I figure out coupon cards that save you money when your insurance company decides to charge $150 for an inhaler.
I deal with your doctor not sending in refills even though we called seven times already
I make sure the drugs don't kill you.
I try to find alternatives for your medications because of the constant drug shortages that have run rampant for three years and only got infinitely worse since the hurricane in Puerto Rico where all our manufacturing plants are.
Cahoots With Big Pharma
[rebelmouse-image 18358956 is_animated_gif=Physician-- that we charge and bill you for things and then laugh to the bank.
Except for small private practices, many of us are employed by large health systems, universities, etc. We bill and code based on strict legal regulations. Then I get a cut from the university/health system.
I don't just get to name my price and make you pay. Oh, and me and "big pharma" are not in cahoots. I get zero dollars from whatever prescriptions you fill.
Putting People In Jail For Money
[rebelmouse-image 18358957 is_animated_gif=I'm a prosecutor and I hear defendants complaining all the time about all the money they have to pay for getting in trouble, and talking about how they're only being prosecuted so we can all make money. In reality, of course, my salary is the same no matter how many cases I do or what the outcome is. Same goes for the judge.
Dude, if I was putting people in jail for their money, I'd have my student loans paid off years ago.
Uber Driver
[rebelmouse-image 18358958 is_animated_gif=Uber driver.
People think this isn't a job, or it's just barely one. "You just drive a couple hours and it's like a party, right?" Wrong! It's a 10-12hr a shift up to 6 days a week thing, heavy overheads, variable income, no job security, and lots of customers are aweful. You have to constantly worry over ratings, paperwork, maintenance, and so on. You don't get a social life, because the only productive times to be working are when normal people are having their nights out. You have to be able to navigate perfectly in places you've never been to before, but don't get caught looking at your nav or the customers will lodge an "unsafe driving - distracted driving" complaint. All operating costs are covered by you without reimbursement.
No other job requires an upfront ~$30,000 investment in equipment (a car), no benefits, no health insurance, depreciating value on your equipment (car losing value as you drive), dealing with customers, pay for all your own expenses (gas, car insurance), and risk of death, all for only~$10 to ~$20 an hour. Not worth it. I quit.
Mystery Shopper
[rebelmouse-image 18346831 is_animated_gif=I'm a secret shopper and people think it's a scam. It's not. I get to go to fancy restaurants, apartments and hotels. I pay and they pay me back plus whatever rate they have offered and I agree to. I get to test drive nice cars and learn about latest products. I choose which jobs I take and therefor make my own schedule. I NEVER have to ask my friends to buy stuff they don't want. The worst I might have to ask is for them to come out to dinner with me and I'll pay. This only happens when my husband is sick and I promised to get a job that requires two people done. Those are always fun anyway because I never rope him into real "work", only the fun stuff like movies and bowling. It's a lot of work and it's not for everybody but it's not a scam.
Groundskeeper
[rebelmouse-image 18358960 is_animated_gif=I'm a commercial grounds-keeper. You'll often see me tending to some shrubs in a parking lot or mowing grass on a boulevard. I'm dressed in rags and I get many looks of pity or even disgust as people think I'm basically a slave or mentally-challenged. I have 40+ sites under contract. I have employees but still enjoy being out there getting dirty. I dress like that because I can. I clear six figures easy, owe nothing and my people are paid as much as plumbers and I rarely turn-over staff. I've had trashy, greasy-haired, scabby, single-mothers basically tell their kids that if they didn't stay in school they'd end up like me. LOL you ain't raising kids who are gonna work half as hard as me and the whole bunch of them will be emailing me 'resumes' in a couple years.
H/T: Reddit
(c) Oh Myyy LLC
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The day Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election, people literally took to the streets to celebrate, giving an idea that people weren't so sad to see his predecessor leave office.
Indeed, many think so ill of the 45th President of the United States, that people have a hard time even saying or writing his name.
Throughout his tumultuous, often headline-making four years in office, he was frequently referred to as the "worst President of all time."
But was he?
Redditor Unaball3r was curious to hear who the Reddit community considered the all time worst leader of the free world, leading them to ask:
"Who was actually the worst President in US History and why?"
The 17th, but also an unceremonious "first"
"Andrew Johnson."
"He only became President because he was VP when Lincoln was assassinated."
"He basically tried to obstruct/reverse as much of Lincoln's policy as he possibly could."
"Inept, regressive . . . the first President to be impeached."
"Unworthy."
"A President that never should have been . . ."- OutsideSpring
"Andrew Johnson paved the way for the KKK to form in the aftermath of the civil war."- Random_puns
"Andrew Johnson is directly responsible for much of why the US is f*cked up today."
"TLDR: land redistribution after the civil war could’ve set up former slaves to be on equal footing with white people."
"Instead, Johnson made sure they got nothing."- caldo4
So bad they weren't even mentioned by name.
"The two presidents before Lincoln and his successor are usually ranked as the worst ones by historians."- DanSRedskins
"The 'Trail of Tears' guy wasn't great."- RudigherJones
Seriously, how do people like this get elected?
"Grover Cleveland assaulted a woman, got her pregnant, promised to take of her, and had her name the baby after a friend of his that passed away."
"He had a doctor he knew deliver the baby, then kidnapped it and had his sister raise it."
"Then he had the woman committed to a mental institution."
"When all this came out, he painted her to be mentally unstable and a drunk."
"He claimed she didn’t know who the father was and had several men come forward and lie saying they all had been with her."
"He also made it a point to mention that she had named the baby after who she thought the father was, and that wasn’t him."
"The guy was dead so he couldn’t say anything."
"He convinced everyone he had tried to help her by having her put away to get help and by finding the baby a good family because he assumed the father to be his deceased friend who the child was named after and he was just wanting to do the right thing."
"He also married the daughter of a friend and business partner."
"He doted on her as a child and bought her a baby carriage."
"When her dad died when she was 11, he was more like a father figure."
"Until she got older and then he started sending her flowers."
"Everyone assumed he was courting her mother until the two of them popped up and got married."- TheMudbloodSlytherin
A war is never a good way to end a Presidency
"James Buchanan."
"The Civil War escalated to the levels that it did because of his inaction."
"His presidency was by far the most disastrous in history."
"He’s at the bottom of every conceivable list."- LFCSpectre
"James Buchanan."
"Encouraging secession and setting the stage for the civil war puts him at the top without much debate."- jah05r
Andrew doesn't seem to be a name befitting a President
"Jackson and Johnson."- ConnieLingus24
In the eyes of others, maybe there was a President worse than the 45th.
A man with more impeachments than terms as President.
Perhaps its still too soon, and everyone's just trying to forget it ever happened...
It's hard to beat great sex.
But, particularly for singletons, sex isn't always easy to come by.
Then too, as far too may people know, there is also never a guarantee that sex is going to be great.
Luckily, sex is far from the only known form of pleasure.
Some might even say there are other things which are even more pleasurable than sex, and likely much easier to come by.
Redditor sparklingshanaya was curious to learn the things people find as or more pleasurable than sex, leading them to ask:
"What is an alternative but equivalent pleasure to sex?"
Always a relief.
"One of those really big pressure relieving poops."- jimmygreen717
"Taking a big long pee after holding it in for an age."- BilboSwaggins1993
Side-splittinngly funny!
"A real good laugh."
"I mean a real, hearty, can barely breathe laugh."
"Sadly rare, though."- dqflynn
"There... right there... oh, yea, that's the spot..."
"A really, really good backscratch from someone when you just can't reach an itch."- DaynoDestroyer
Quench my thirst...
"Drinking fresh water when you're extremely thirsty."- Angiiiiii
Unbridled comfort.
"Very rare nowadays, married with kids, but sitting down in comfy clothes for uninterrupted gaming."
"No chores, no plans, snacks as a plus."
"The dream."-KnackeredParrot
Hot and steamy... literally...
"On a cold and rainy day, taking a hot shower after you have been outside for a while."- 177Columbus
Hitting the sheets...
"Putting clean, fresh sheets on your bed, and then crawling under them while they're still cool, enveloping you in that fresh laundry scent as they gently settle around you."- NihilisticPollyanna
True love
"The joy of realizing someone you like loves you."- DRMRCX
Goodbye and good riddance!
"Quitting a lousy job and peeling out of the parking lot!"- canadaguy9
For those of you going through a dry spell, maybe consider giving some of these a try.
Or who knows, maybe you'll soon discover a sensation which makes you miss sex a little bit less.
Or completely.
People Explain Which Things Someone Can Learn In Under One Minute That'll Change Their Life
As much as academic scholars are held in high esteem for their higher education, so should those who have learned and applied valuable knowledge simply just by living.
Those with street cred have just as much of an advantage at succeeding in life, thanks to specific experiences that can't be taught in a classroom.
Curious to hear examples of what those might entail, Redditor WiSe_genX asked:
"What can you learn in 1 minute that will be useful for the rest of your life?"
Class is now in session.
A diploma isn't a requirement for being able to apply these life-saving facts.
A List
"Maybe not useful 'the rest' but very much so when it is"
"How to spot a drowning victim"
"Edit:"
"The basic warning signs of skin cancer"
– BirdsLikeSka
Worth A Try
"CPR: Lay person flat on their back on a hard surface, place your hands one on top of the other with arms straight, compress chest down to hell to the beat of 'Stayin Alive,' don't be afraid to crack ribs."
"Edit: Oh, and remember that if someone needs CPR, they're dead. You are working on a corpse. If they don't survive, it's because most people can't wake the dead with their bare hands. Talk to someone if you have to, but don't beat yourself up over it."
– mossadspydolphin
Take The Side Exit
"If you're caught in a riptide, swim parallel to the shore to escape it."
– trowaway7342
It's Easy To Lose Sight Over This
"Always wear some type of eye protection when dealing with anything that can cause eye damage. From connecting battery jumper cables to yardwork and everything in between."
"Protect your eyes. You only have two of them."
"Always unplug/remove the battery from your power tools before performing any kind of maintenance."
– wishIhadlistened
The kitchen can be a danger zone unless you're armed with these very simple bits of wisdom.
Damaged Goods
"A wet oven mitt is worse than useless."
– Robobvious
Get A Grip
"A falling knife has no handle. Can be very useful in preventing kitchen emergencies."
– theiciestb*tch
Fighting Fire
"Learn how to operate a fire extinguisher. Many people don't bother but so many lives are saved and so many fires are stopped by them. It takes a minute and can save your life, as mine was saved when my mother put out a house fire with one. Also always keep some in your house and make sure you know where they're located."
– liyexa7217
Let It Fall
"Also hot things. I pull out some weighty dishes out of our 550°C furnace at work and every time before I pull them out I repeat over and over in my head 'Don't catch it if it falls. Don't catch it if it falls.' I also usually put my free hand in my back pocket or behind my back."
– 1800generalkenobi
It doesn't take long to listen and apply these helpful instructions.
First, We Assess
"Pause and think before you respond."
– sparkj
Don't Be Impulsive
"Don’t put it down, put it away."
– Wishyouamerry
Make It Easier To Get Assistance
"How to properly as ask for tech support - 'Hi, this is [name]. I have a problem with [software/hardware name (to the best of your knowledge)]. I'm trying to [thing you're trying to do] and the result is [result] instead of [expected]. It started at [rough time frame] after [something significant you've done beforehand].'"
"How to do it badly: 'My keyboard doesn't work.'"
"How to do it better: 'Hi, I'm Noy. I have a problem with my laptop's keyboard. The L key no longer functions. It started yesterday after I spilled coffee on it.'"
"Your IT department thanks you."
– Noy2222
There is much value in the lessons shared here that can change your life or those of others.
Now that plenty of helpful information was shared here, the next time you're about to be swallowed by a riptide, swipe left!
We all pride ourselves in knowing random bits of trivia.
While "useless knowledge" is the common parlance for these little fun facts we, often randomly, know, that seems an unfair label.
After all, who knows when a subject comes up in conversation, and you might be the only one who can answer a group question.
All thanks to the fact that you know a random piece of knowledge almost no one else on Earth seems to know.
Redditor Just_Free_Tea7 was curious to learn some of these obscure pieces of trivia, leading them to ask:
"What is a fact that you think barely anyone else knows?"
Don't be fooled by their cuteness
"The nuke stockpile in Washington State is guarded by trained dolphins that seek out and clamp a balloon on unfamiliar divers."- Gothsalts
A possible STD symptom no one mentions.
"Boanthropy is a psychological disorder in which a person believes they are a cow and try to live their life as one."
"Medical explanations suggest late-stage syphilis as one of the causes?"
"Cool."- j451k4·
You mean, that wasn't flipper's real voice?
"The sound used for a dolphin in nearly every single tv and movie is actually the same Kookaburra bird recording."- HFXmer
You always wonder what goes through their minds...
"Animals and other creatures each perceive time in different ways based on their Critical flicker frequency which is almost like their minds refresh rate."
"Dogs, for example, perceive time as being slower than humans do, and it's perceived as a little faster by cats."- TwilightArcade
Well that's disturbing...
"No one has found a centipede with exactly 100 legs, because all centipedes discovered have an odd number of pairs of legs."
"They have found centipedes with 98,49 pairs, and 102, 51 pairs, but never exactly 100."- ZagreusD
If you take a closer look...
"Raindrops don’t fall in the drip shape popularly conveyed. "
"They fall in the shape of tiny parachutes or hamburger buns."- CBGville
Two iconic roles
"The girl who voiced Lilo in 'Lilo and Stitch' also played Samara in 'The Ring', both released in the same year, 2002."- ThrowRARAw
Um... how is this not better known...
"Before toilet paper was invented, the people of the USA used corn cobs."- Impossible_Cicada_75
"..I don't want to live on the moon..."
"Not sure how many people know this, but the moon has a sort of atmosphere."
"However, it is so thin that it's considered to be an exosphere."- JustAnotherAviatrix
They'r contributions did not go unnoticed
"More pigeons have war medals than horses, dogs or mules."- Global-Program-437
It's easy to laugh off most of this information, as our lives might not be changed one way or the other for knowing it.
But we should always be open to learning something new.
And hey, if we ever find ourselves stuck with scratchy toilet paper, we can at least be grateful it isn't a corn cob.