'You like sleep? This is not the career for you.'
By
Mack Gelber
It's easy to idealize the jobs you don't have.
We've all dreamed of being a doctor or an astronaut, or publishing a hit
novel. We sit in our cubicles trolling the job listings, all of them
sounding infinitely preferable to what we're currently doing. But as a
recent Reddit thread proves, even the seemingly toniest of jobs has its downsides.
And there are some serious, serious downsides.
In the thread, workers spoke out about the most hated
aspects of their careers. From authors to programmers to aerospace
engineers, here are all the reasons why you shouldn't enter a particular
career field. Check them out, because the world is a cold, dark place.
NOTE: Reddit sources are anonymous, and can't be independently verified by AOL Jobs. Some posts have been edited for clarity.
1. Scientist
You might think years of rigorous, demanding education would pay off in the long run. Not necessarily, writes hoagie612.
"I have a degree in Molecular Genetics and Chemistry and I'm working on
leukemia and thyroid cancer. A manager at Panera makes more money than
me."
2. Programmer
Our boundless obsession with technology means that computer programmers are in demand and often handsomely compensated. But it's not without its own set of frustrations.
"You will spend hours on end writing documentation so that even the
dumbest plebe can understand what your program does, write up a design,
outsource the actual coding, and then end up with a mess of a program
that some intern in India whipped up without giving it a second
thought," writes AlonsoMalfonso. "Surprise, you're now going to debug that mess and make sure it does what it's supposed to."
"Your work day will consist of project managers telling you they need 10 things done that are all the utmost priority," writes NorwegianPearl.
"You'll try and tell them that they can't all be utmost priority or that
defeats the idea of a priority rating system. But nobody will listen.
Like some sick twisted Dilbert comic that's become your real life."
SoberHungry had some colorful comments about their chosen profession.
"Do you like poop? Do you enjoy cleaning poop? Stuck on walls? On
ceilings? Do you also enjoy being hit on, hit, and occasionally verbally
abused? Do you ever come home from work wondering if there is a job
that will destroy your body even faster? Come be a nursing assistant!
Where the poop is plenty!"
5. Architect
Looks like you won't be living in that fancy high-rise building you helped design.
"Architecture: You like sleep, job security, high salary, paid overtime
and lots of job opportunities? This is not the career for you," writes ThereIsBearC*m.
6. Teacher
"Teaching doesn't end," writes marshmallowsbunny.
"It's the weekend? Grade papers and prep for next week. It's break?
Grade papers and prep some more. Summer break? You'll get two weeks of
sanity then start worrying about next year. Parents will yell at you.
Students will be disrespectful to you. You will watch some amazing kids
not live up to their potential because they are lazy."
7. Author
Moonknight321 neatly summarized the bleak realities of the writing life.
"You'll spend years drafting and redrafting, will get rejected a hundred
different times by various publishers, and maybe, just maybe, someone
will eventually decide to print it. And then chances are if it gets
reviewed, it'll be panned, and no one besides your mom is going to read
it, and it will rot away on the back shelves of libraries no one's
visited in decades, and all your thoughts/insights/ideas about humanity
and all its wonders will mean nothing to anybody ever."
8. Veterinarian
"If you love animals, don't become a vet," writes RobotHeather.
"You see them at their worst and they're not exactly pleased to see you.
Think the owners are going to be grateful? They'll mostly complain
about the high cost of your services while you struggle to pay your
enormous student loans on your $45k salary. An enormous amount of time
will be spent covered in blood and fecal matter. And we enjoy one of the
higher suicide rates for a reason."
Even the folks designing space shuttles aren't immune to bureaucratic woes.
"I really hope you like being a cog in the military industrial complex
because NASA doesn't employ hardly anybody. Guess who makes all those
cool satellites...major defense contractors. And the people who send up
the most satellites? The military and the NRO, so I hope you like spying
on and assisting in killing people. You could be even luckier and
directly work on drones or making bombs!" writes AltonBrownsB*lls.
10. Copy Writer
Believe it or not, working at an advertising agency might be even more soul-crushing than they make it look on Mad Men.
"Your Creative Director is literally Satan. When it comes to you, his
job is to criticize. Don't worry, he won't actually help you. He won't
actually lead you in any direction. He'll just tell you it's s*** and
you should start again, that or you haven't brought enough options to
him and you should work harder," writes jimvz.
11. Photographer
"Think you'll be on the sidelines of an NFL game, tracking snow leopards
in Nepal, or on the beaches of St. Martin with scantily clad women?" writes Wormnado.
"Nope. Most likely you'll get to hang out with strangers on the
weekends at weddings where you shouldn't be drinking. Eight of 10 people
don't want to pay you right because their 'cousin has a camera' and
will do it for free and they can't appreciate art."
12. Doctor
You might make bank as a doctor, but money won't save you from falling into a pit of existential despair.
"Prepare yourself for knowledge concerning: how cancer is slowly going
to destroy you and everyone you love; how neurodegenerative disease is
going to destroy you and everyone you love; how pollution and
environmental contamination are going to destroy you and everyone (and
everything) you love," writes figgy_puddin.
13. Producer
There really is no business like show business. Let's keep it that way, okay?
"There are only two places in America you can make a full-time living
with steady work in film/TV production: New York and Los Angeles," writes FishyFred.
"You might be able to do it in D.C., but only for specific things.
Already, your cost of living is assured to be stratospheric. You will
get paid pretty well, but because it's nearly impossible to string
together two or more gigs without a gap in there, you're never going to
know quite how much money you need in the bank."