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Mind=blown at people willing to do dead end jobs

Have no idea how people are able to do dead end jobs, especially for a number of years.

By dead end jobs I mean jobs with no real prospect of salary or skills progression, e.g. call center, retail (eg. store assistant / cashier), cleaners, security guards, garbage men, waiters & waitresses, factory worker, PAs/secretaries, etc.

I mean I cant even imagine how soul-crushing it must be to know that the sum of your entire's life's potential is for example, serving food to people (i.e. waiter) or picking up trash (i.e. cleaner/garbage man).

If you do one of these jobs, how do you not just hate life?
(edited 8 years ago)

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Original post by Dopesmoker
Have no idea how people are able to do dead end jobs, especially for a number of years.

By dead end jobs I mean jobs with no real prospect of salary or skills progression, e.g. call center, retail (eg. store assistant / cashier), cleaners, security guards, garbage men, waiters & waitresses, factory worker, PAs/secretaries, etc.

I mean I cant even imagine how soul-crushing it must be to know that the sum of your entire's life's potential is for example, serving food to people (i.e. waiter) or picking up trash (i.e. cleaner/garbage man).

If you do one of these jobs, how do you not just hate life?


Sewage workers are the worst lol
A lot of people work only enough to fund their hobbies n stuff too
Others don't feel they're good enough to get prestigious jobs i.e me lol

Stuff like that, some people are happy with mediocrity, in terms of employment
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Dopesmoker
Have no idea how people are able to do dead end jobs, especially for a number of years.

By dead end jobs I mean jobs with no real prospect of salary or skills progression, e.g. call center, retail (eg. store assistant / cashier), cleaners, security guards, garbage men, waiters & waitresses, factory worker, PAs/secretaries, etc.

I mean I cant even imagine how soul-crushing it must be to know that the sum of your entire's life's potential is for example, serving food to people (i.e. waiter) or picking up trash (i.e. cleaner/garbage man).

If you do one of these jobs, how do you not just hate life?


Because it pays the bills. What you consider a bad salary, somebody else might consider it enough. Your job doesn't necessarily define who you are, or how talented you are.

I find this quite offensive. There is no job below you.
Not everyone has the ambition. Not everyone wants to go big. Some people just like to work for the necessities. And many don't have a choice.
Original post by MountKimbie
Because it pays the bills. What you consider a bad salary, somebody else might consider it enough. Your job doesn't necessarily define who you are, or how talented you are.

I find this quite offensive. There is no job below you.


Yeah, you see. This what I was trying to say. Well done poster. Rep for you
There is more to life than your job.
Reply 6
Why do you think there's so many graduates without jobs?
Reply 7
People have different circumstances and some are just content with their jobs.

If you didn't have those people doing those jobs that you find so "below you" and "menial" then nothing would get done. We need those people.

Don't be so big headed. You never know where you might end up.
Most of the time its because they didnt have someone to put them through!

I have a friend who is very smart and capable, but his parents are awful, and he juts hasnt got the motivation or knowledge to do anything, because his parents never put him through
Reply 9
Original post by Dopesmoker
I mean I cant even imagine how soul-crushing it must be to know that the sum of your entire's life's potential is for example, serving food to people (i.e. waiter) or picking up trash (i.e. cleaner/garbage man).

If you do one of these jobs, how do you not just hate life?


The world would be a much worse place if we didn't have bin men and people picking up rubbish and the same goes for a lot of other 'menial' jobs. Whilst I agree the job wouldn't be that interesting, nor would it extend into another 10-15 hours a week you're not actually paid to do and it does need doing. I'd rather do that than a job I felt was unproductive.
I have lots of colleagues who used to work in some of the roles you mentioned.Now,theey're working in compliace,payroll,recruitment...quite successfull.You need a stepping stone and work hard.Then eventually you'll be able to move onto better things.just gotta be good at that first interview.And,basic skills like customer service and answering queries are vital in all professional careers.
I work in a pub/restaurant alongside my studies, and the people I work with are some of the best people I've ever met, and seem happy with their lives.

Sure, it's not something I wouldn't want to do for the rest of my life, but if people are happy it shouldn't matter whatever their jobs and or prospects are.
Most of these jobs almost certainly have more progression opportunities than the average TSR'er (who has never worked) thinks. Lots of retail places promote entry level staff to lower management and McDonald's even has a scheme to eventually get them to head office. A factory worker can pretty much mean anything and we get promoted all the time. Security teams are generally lead by a person who progressed from being an entry level security guard, and when I worked in a law firm some of the secretaries were skilled enough to do a high percentage of the lawyers' jobs for them. I don't know what a sewage worker really does, but it's probably more technical than a guy with a shovel and wheelbarrow.

I can't speak to a lot of these other jobs, but most businesses only have dead end jobs for dead end people. Just a hunch but I'm getting a vibe that OP has never worked and assumes his first job out of uni will be a highly paid, fast paced adventure of a position. It probably won't lol
As much as I'd hate to work a job like that, i think its much more pathetic to sit around jobless expecting muh government to fund your life
Reply 14
Original post by Student403
Not everyone has the ambition. Not everyone wants to go big. Some people just like to work for the necessities. And many don't have a choice.


Disagree.

I think a lot of people do have ambition and dreams, but eventually realise the dont have they talent / determination / courage to pursue them. For example:

http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/09/why-generation-y-yuppies-are-unhappy.html

this blog post comments on how many millennials believe "they're special and destined for great things", but then as they get older reality catches up with them and they realise they're not and have to settle for a life of mundanity.

Also, if so many people are content to just work for the necessities, then how do you explain the rampant consumerism in the west?
Reply 15
Same... tbh I don't get it
I mean look at Stephen Hawking
a guy who has lost total control of his body and controls his communication device with movements of his cheek muscles ... CHEEK MUSCLES... with a rate of about ONE WORD per minute. This guy wrote entire BOOKS like this! He is a WORLD RENOWNED physicist, revolutionised the study of black holes and physics in general, and even though his body failed him his mind carried on and look at him now. Yeah his health is declining but dem achievements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking
He's got kids, he's got people that love him, he's got a sense of humour and an amazing ****ing mind... this man was given 2 years to live back in 1963...

and here WE are... with our fully functioning bodies, with arms and legs that work perfectly fine, with a voice so we can speak - we can do SO much and there's people just wasting away... another number in the statistics... another person that will be forgotten within like 5 years of their death... why?

I don't care if I don't become famous or world renowned, but you BET I'm gonna make this life worth it :biggrin:
Some people just see work as a means of living, they just knuckle down and crack on without a second thought. I certainly envy that kind of mindset a hell of a lot more than I envy someone who's life revolves around their work.
Reply 17
Original post by Compost
The world would be a much worse place if we didn't have bin men and people picking up rubbish and the same goes for a lot of other 'menial' jobs. Whilst I agree the job wouldn't be that interesting, nor would it extend into another 10-15 hours a week you're not actually paid to do and it does need doing. I'd rather do that than a job I felt was unproductive.


tbh I think those people that work those jobs should be paid way more than they are
without them... the world would be ****ed up AND stink as well!
The former head of tesco (a few years ago, well before their current issues) was earning something like £15m/yr.

He started out as a weekend trolley boy.

You don't think there's progression in retail? You haven't got a clue what you're talking about.
Dunno. Maybe they'd just prefer to smoke weed and listen to death metal.
What's so great about you anyway?

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