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Jobs That Seem Easy But Are Actually Incredibly Challenging

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People Share Their Best 'Don't Ask How I Know That' Fun Facts

Shocking NDAs Revealed

Shocking NDAs Revealed

People Admit Who The Most Underappreciated People In Society Are

People Admit Who The Most Underappreciated People In Society Are

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People Debunk Common Myths About Their Profession

The Most Ridiculous Rule In Their Workplace According To Employees

The Most Ridiculous Rule In Their Workplace According To Employees

Doctors Describe The Weirdest Thing They've Ever Seen At Work

Doctors Describe The Weirdest Thing They've Ever Seen At Work

People Break Down Which Professions Do Not Allow F**k-Ups

People Break Down Which Professions Do Not Allow F**k-Ups
Photo by yns plt on Unsplash

You might think you have it bad at your job, that somehow your career of turning in spreadsheets before the boss goes home for the day or making sure your "deck" is adequately formatted will somehow bring about the end of the world if you don't spend hours on it. (This isn't really taking the weight off anyone's career. Obviously, do your best and all our jobs are important.)

But then you read about jobs like these, where even the slightest misstep could lead to actual death, and suddenly your deck doesn't seem that important anymore.

Reddit user, Guilhermedidi, wanted to know what job have zero room for error when they asked:

"What job allows NO f-ck-ups?"

When your job is to make sure other people make it out of any particular situation alive, it certainly adds another level of difficulty to your job.

Always Double Check Yourself

"The person who checks the safety harness on a bungee jump."

QuinnieB123

"I did a rock climbing wall with my friend when we were 18. They messed up and didn't secure her harness. I watched her fall from the very top. 2 weeks in the hospital. 2 months in rehab. It was awful."

exhaustedmommyof2

Too Little, Too Much

"Anesthesiologist."

[usernamedeleted]

"My cousin is an anesthesiologist at a teaching hospital. He has some stories, people with multiple pre-existing conditions, the complex cocktails of meds and monitoring needed...dang... not a profession that tolerates mistakes."

joeyjojojoeyshabadu

"And you don’t lie to your anesthesiologist."

"They don’t care if you recreationally use opioids or pot or something even heavier."

"Not disclosing to them could be fatal"

CrotalusHorridus

You Said A-, Right? RIGHT?

"Working in the blood bank. Any f-ckup, even the tiniest clerical error, can cause someone to die a horrible death."

coffeeblossom

The job itself may not even appear that challenging on the surface. Maybe a majority of your day is spent sitting around, doing nothing. However, when it comes time to be on it then you better be prepared to not make any mistakes.

Zooming Overhead

"Air traffic control. At one point, IIRC, it was ranked the most stressful job in the world based on number of decisions per minute. You're responsible for a LOT of lives."

Plug_5

Big Crane Go Boom

"My ex made a small miscalculation on an industrial part he was engineering for like a big crane and cost his company hundreds of thousands of dollars and they had to shut down. The part was for a high precision valve where even a fraction of a millimeter is the difference between something being perfect and absolutely useless."

"As a web developer if that were the case in my industry I would be out of a job today."

texting-my-cat

Watching Someone Else Face The Consequences

"The clinical technicians who prepare cellular material for bone marrow transplants."

"I worked at a major cancer treatment center across the hall from the lab that did this. They slipped up once and gave the cells for one patient to a different patient. Both patients died. One from being given incompatible cells, the other from not receiving their transplant in time after their radiation treatment."

"Lots of pain for everyone that day. Imagine losing your job because you killed two people."

scoobasquid

With consequences like these, it kind of makes you wonder why someone would take this job in the first place.

You Think Your Job Is Under A Lot Of Pressure?

"Underwater welder. And they have the fatality rate statistics to prove it."

djvandebrake

"Saturation divers in general, any time you need to be that deep for that long, any screw-up can be the last one you make."

"Underwater cave diving is generally thought of as being similarly dangerous, however nowadays you can be trained and if you spend the time to learn and understand how to avoid the main risks, you can do it relatively safely. Shout-out to Divetalk."

Tempos

One Slip Up, And You're Gone

"The people who climb and repair those radio towers. my brother fell off one of the towers while working on it, his harness luckily caught him and they got him down and he was immediately fired."

pushittothemax11

"What did he do wrong?"

KaiserRebellion

"Lost his grip and fell, if he didn’t have his safety harness on he would have died, and that’s a huge liability most employers are not willing to deal with, so yeah if you fall once it’s a done deal."

pushittothemax11

They Usually Make Movies About This Kind Of Thing

"Astronaut"

"If you mess up in space it's usually bad."

Emergency_Paperclip

In the Air

"Air traffic controller."

JBAnswers26

"My uncle was an air traffic controller until the mandatory retirement, got his start in the Air Force as a controller in Da Nang during Vietnam. He has this unnatural calm about him and is the kind of guy you would want with you when things hit the fan."

tdfitz89

Underwater

"Anything involving space travel or being aboard an active duty submarine."

Much-Meringue-7467

"In the early days of submarines you could destroy the whole boat by flushing the toilet wrong, I imagine things are a lot safer nowadays."

JeffSergeant

"As a former submariner... oh man we f**ked up TONS of s**t all the time. It's still partially true depending on the job or the system, though. Like the emergency surface system. Not a lot of room to mess that one up and get away with it."

Careless_currency

Space Watch

"When I visited Johnson Space Center, we got to watch the Mission Control people, guy explicitly said that job requires you to make exactly 0 mistakes. It may not matter, but in my comment I was referring more specifically to the people watching over ISS."

Azeda_

"The multimedia product that I worked on was actually used to build the app that launched the Space Shuttle. Sorta made me think."

OneLostOstrich

"I work in mission control. Many things you can't mess up, but we make our fair share. The biggest problem is messing up the same thing twice. So we have ways to track errors and correct them so they don't happen again."

tallnginger

Precise is a Must

"Pediatric pharmacy. The only error my husband made in something like 10,000 scripts was nutrition. Never a medication error. He'd remember the kids by name and would question changes (typos on the doctors' parts) because he knew the kid hadn't gained/lost that much weight that fast. Their dosages are by weight, not age."

propita106

He just got up...

"Lineman. One mess-up and you are dead."

Truthisnotallowed

"No crap. I saw an electrician working an interior BET when a thunderstorm rolled in and a near strike knocked him 15 feet back. He just got up, dusted himself off and said 'that was weird.' When he was leaving I followed him out and was surprised he got in a van, thought he was going to fly away."

match_

"I guess this depends on what a 'f**k up' is. Every football player ever has made plenty of mistakes that some would consider f**k ups, and it's not like mortal injuries are common."

spicydangerbee

Errors

"I’d guess brain surgeon but I’m not 100% sure and an anesthesiologist would be bad if it got past you and put into the patient."

Spiritual_Koala8259

"Brain surgeon here. Errors are made with relative frequency, but knowing how to properly address them is very important and can be the difference between a good and poor outcome."

whag460203

"My father is an anesthesiologist and said the exact same thing when I called and asked him this question."

grizzz666

Codes

"I was a software dev for trading tools that were used on the stock market. You’re literally writing the code that executed millions of dollars of transactions. I’ll never do it again."

tenaciousDaniel

"I wrote code for a company that did billions in transactions on a team of 5 engineers. Millions of dollars settling on the hour every hour every single night. All in batch files. It was a little stressful."

BooBear_13

Actually...

"Airplane mechanics."

rurdytoboogie

"My friend who's a military helicopter mechanic said you'd be incredibly surprised at the number of f**kups they have. Luckily they check things a few times before approving it (although sometimes people even skip on the checks)."

Extreme_Design6936

"I work in aviation, mess ups happen constantly, they usually get caught by quality control. What can really be bad if leaving objects in the plane where they shouldn't be. A misplaced wrench could cause a crash."

RedditMcBurger

Be safe out there. Seems like even driving in to the office can be the end of something.

What's so dangerous about your job? Tell us about it in the comments!

From Your Site Articles
jobs

Things Left-Handed People Deal With That Right-Handed People Never Do

Reddit user johnnyportillo95 asked: 'What’s something left handed people have to deal with that right handed people wouldn’t even think about?'

Left-handed person holding a Sharpie
Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Many of us who are right-handed never even think about how the world is designed to cater to us.

It probably doesn't even cross your mind that 10% of the world's population is left-handed.

Because of this, there tends to be a stigma for being left-handed since society tends to associate the left with negative things.

For example, the phrase "two left feet" applies to those who are clumsy and therefore, incapable of dancing.

Curious to hear more about the challenges facing those with the other dominant hand, Redditor johnnyportillo95 asked:

"What’s something left-handed people have to deal with that right-handed people wouldn’t even think about?"

If only manufacturers appealed to an ambidextrous world.

Furniture Obstacle

"Those desks or couch chairs that have a small desk attached. They do make left handed/sided ones but they are few and far between."

– Prussian__Princess

"And they’re only on one side of the lecture hall, and it’s never a good seat. There is ONE front row, lefty desk in the entire room and it’s in the far corner, obscured by an ancient overhead projector."

– earwighoney

Everyday Objects For Everyday People

"as a left-handed person myself, one thing we often deal with is finding left-handed tools or equipment. many everyday objects, like scissors or can openers, are designed with right-handed people in mind, which can make certain tasks a bit more challenging for us lefties. we also have to adapt to a right-handed world when it comes to writing on whiteboards or using certain computer mice."

– J0rdan_24

Dangerous Tools

"The biggest risk is power tools. I taught myself to use all power tools right handed because of risks using them left handed."

"Trivial, I love dry boards but they are super hard to write on."

– diegojones4

It's hard to play when you're born with a physical disadvantage.

Sports Disadvantage

"Allright, Sports when you are young. Every demonstration from PE teachers are right handed. You cant just copy the movements they teach you you need to flip them and your tiny brain struggoes to process it. As well, 98% of the cheap sports equipment the school uses is right handed."

– AjCheeze

No Future In Softball

"I tried to bat right handed for so long in gym class growing up because the gym teacher never asked me what my dominant side was and the thought never occurred to me as a child to mention it! Needless to say I never became a softball star."

– Leftover-Cheese

Find A Glove That Fits

"In softball and baseball we need a specific glove for our right hand that's often impossible to find unless you own one, and we have to bat on the other side of the plate."

– BowlerSea1569

"I was one of two left-handers in a 4-team Little League in the 1980s. Nobody could pitch to me. I got a lot of "hit by pitch" walks out of it."

– Jef_Wheaton

These examples are understandably annoying.

Shocking Observation

"Having right handed people make comments whenever they see us write, like we’re some kind of alien."

– UsefulIdiot85

"'Woah! You're left-handed????'"

"I find myself noticing when someone is a lefty, and sometimes I comment on it, but I try not to. I'm primarily left-handed (im a right handed wroter but do everything else left), and every single time I go to eat with my family, someone says, "Oh hey, give SilverGladiolus22 the left hand spot, they're left-handed," and inevitably someone says, 'Wait, really?' Lol."

– SilverGladiolus22

Can't Admire The Mug

"We never get to look at the cute graphics on coffee mugs while we’re drinking from them."

– vanetti

"I just realized…I always thought the graphics were made so someone else could read them while you drink. Hmmm."

– Bubbly-Anteater7345

"I'm right-handed and I often wondered why the graphics were turned towards the drinker instead of out for others to see."

– Material-Imagination

The Writing On The Wall

"Writing on whiteboards is a nightmare. I have to float my hand, which tires out my arm quickly, and I can't see what I've already written to keep the line straight."

– darkjedi39

"Also as a teacher, it means I'm standing to the left of where I'm writing, so I'm blocking everything I write. I have to frequently finish writing, then step out of the way so people can see, instead of just being able to stand on the right side the whole time."

– dancingbanana123

Immeasurable

"Rulers."

"How the f'k is no one talking about rulers? It's from 30cm to 0 cm to me, or I have to twist my arms to know the measure I want to trace over it."

– fourangers

Just Can't Win

"EVERYTHING. The world has always been based around people being right handed. As a Chef, my knife skills SUCKED until I worked with a Left Handed Chef. Then it all made sense."

"Literally, everything we do must be observed, then flipped around in our heads, then executed. This is why Lefties die sooner, on average, than Righties."

"I had to learn how to be ambidextrous, just to complete basic tasks (sports, driving a manual, using scissors, etc). I am used to it now, and do many things right handed out of necessity, as wall as parents and teachers 'forcing' it upon me."

"But, at least we are not put to death anymore, simply for using the wrong hand (look it up, it happened)."

"Ole Righty, always keeping us down."

– igenus44

The world doesn't need another demographic to feel "othered" for being different.

But if you're right-handed and tend to make assumptions about left-handed people, you may want to observe the following.

Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told CNN:

"We shouldn’t assume much about people’s personalities or health just because of the hand they write with."
"And we certainly shouldn’t worry about lefties’ chances of success: After all (as of 2015), five of our last seven U.S. presidents have been either left- or mixed-handed."

Word.

left handed

People Reveal Whether They Let Their Dog Sleep On Their Bed Or Not

Dog lying down on a bed
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

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...


pets

Old Wives' Tales People Still Believe For Some Reason

Close up of an owl tilting their head to side, looking bewildered
Photo by Josh Mills

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."

REDDIT

"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 Giphy

"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.

old wives tales

People Who Wouldn't Quit Their Job If They Won The Lottery Explain What They Do

lottery tickets
Erik Mclean on Unsplash

A lot of workers daydream about some day winning the lottery and being able to say goodbye to their job.

Far too many workers are unhappy with their job duties, workplace dynamics or company culture.

But with a taste for luxuries like housing and food, they keep plugging away, year after year.

However not everyone feels that way about their job.

So what are these compelling careers?

Keep reading... Show less
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