Parents won’t let me take on “low class jobs”?

I’d just like to clarify that I don’t view any of these jobs as being “low class,” but this is just in the words of my parents. I’m 19 and looking for a job. I’ve worked previously as a tutor (twice) and as a clinic assistant and I hated all three roles, mainly because I don’t like interacting with people lol.
A lot of jobs that I have seen that are actually very decently paid are things like housekeeping, cleaning and especially now, jobs involved in the farming industry. I would be fine with working any of these, but my parents are really adamant that I don’t “stoop to that level.”
I mentioned to them yesterday that I’d found a really well paying job offer as a cleaner and my mom yelled at me for 20 minutes, passed the phone onto my dad who yelled at me for another half hour and then sent me about 9 voice messages demanding that I turn down the offer. I was so frustrated that I was literally in tears.
I know that I’m beyond the age where I need any kind of parental consent, but I hate lying to my parents. There’s also the issue that if I lied and told them that I was a receptionist or something, they WOULD literally go to my workplace to “say hi” and then I’d be exposed.
My parents both work very hard manual, low-paid jobs and are always saying that I should never walk down the same path. So while I appreciate that they don’t like the idea of their daughter having to do strenuous work like they have to, it’s not like my summer part time job is going to wind up being my entire life commitment.

Any advice...?

Im guessing your asain its a struggle sometimes negl haha

They also seem to have a very paranoid view on any job that I take, unless it’s an explicitly pg role. Like when I mentioned a few months ago that I might apply to be a housekeeper in a local travelodge, my mom screamed at me saying that it was too dangerous, that I’d killed in someone’s room and so on... when I said that I’d like to do some fieldwork, Part of my parents response was that they didn’t want me working in a field with a bunch of men....

Did they have any bad experiences being in those roles themselves? Maybe they found it degrading and faced some mistreatment or sexual harassment hence worrying about you. I can imagine that perhaps a hotel room cleaner might experience some of that, you never know what kind of person is booking a room or if they're drunk etc.

It's quite a difference between worrying about your safety and worrying that you're not 'making the most of yourself'.

Which are they talking about more?

I’d just like to clarify that I don’t view any of these jobs as being “low class,” but this is just in the words of my parents. I’m 19 and looking for a job. I’ve worked previously as a tutor (twice) and as a clinic assistant and I hated all three roles, mainly because I don’t like interacting with people lol.
A lot of jobs that I have seen that are actually very decently paid are things like housekeeping, cleaning and especially now, jobs involved in the farming industry. I would be fine with working any of these, but my parents are really adamant that I don’t “stoop to that level.”
I mentioned to them yesterday that I’d found a really well paying job offer as a cleaner and my mom yelled at me for 20 minutes, passed the phone onto my dad who yelled at me for another half hour and then sent me about 9 voice messages demanding that I turn down the offer. I was so frustrated that I was literally in tears.
I know that I’m beyond the age where I need any kind of parental consent, but I hate lying to my parents. There’s also the issue that if I lied and told them that I was a receptionist or something, they WOULD literally go to my workplace to “say hi” and then I’d be exposed.
My parents both work very hard manual, low-paid jobs and are always saying that I should never walk down the same path. So while I appreciate that they don’t like the idea of their daughter having to do strenuous work like they have to, it’s not like my summer part time job is going to wind up being my entire life commitment.

Any advice...?

I suppose their 20 years of working in their current jobs have been a bad enough experience. It’s very laborious, emotionally draining as a result and not well paid. in their own logic, would be considered a “low class job”. So that definitely factors into why they’re so against me picking up certain types of jobs.

They are both concerned about my safety and also don’t like the idea of me doing “dirty jobs” (in their words). They put me in private schools, loads of tutors, and all the jobs that I’ve had previously have been sparkly and clean, so they act like I’m betraying them in some way by doing a job like cleaning.

Their concerns are totally valid, but... not to this extent imo. The same could be said for any job, really. The fact is, if I were to work part time in a laboratory that specialises in infectious disease, despite that being dangerous in itself, they would not care at all because they see it as a “sophisticated” job.

Are you not native British, by any chance?

In that case I can understand their POV. What's your cultural background? If they've worked hard to put you in a private school and get a good education it will feel like a waste for them. However it's your life, but if it causes family problems best to make sure it is what you want and worth it.

Do you personally want to do this cleaning job? Is it that you prefer it to lab work or is it all that's available?
Is it a temporary solution or can you see yourself doing this for many years? If you want to earn some more money while you do it, you could reassure them that it's temporary. Out of curiosity though, how much are these jobs advertising an hour compared to lab work?

I was born in the UK, but I'm Asian

I understand.
My maternal grandmother may be the most snobbish octogenarian currently alive in Britain.
While my father is a massive inverse snob class war revolutionary who grew up without parents and made a fortune from the food & property markets.

I'm working four jobs at the moment, several on zero hours contracts.
Since I was 18 I've worked dozens of different jobs to pay the rent, living expenses and postgrad tuition fees.
Admin, courier companies, company services, estate & lettings agencies, inventory clerk, management consultancy, money laundering compliance, recruitment consultancy, travel agency, officer temping, petcare, personal assistant, photography, photoediting and publishing.

Try to avoid the jobs that involve cleaning, domestic service, housekeeping and waitressing.
Widespread staff exploitation through questionable payment practices, plenty of false allegations of theft, denial of references and frequent sexual molestation of female workers.
Pay is lousy, bullying rife and working conditions are often made very horrid for people with no family members in the household or helpful contacts within the company.
Personal experience of some of this is probably at the root of your parents hysterical reactions and paranoia about 'low' status jobs/sectors with low pay.

Yes, I thought so. There was a reason for my asking this - it does affect any sensible answer I could give you. You, and I, both think this is entirely ridiculous, but if you are a first or even second-generation immigrant who has struggled to make your way in this country and has faced endless hurdles and abuse, the very last thing you want to see is your child somehow going 'backwards' and 'undoing' all your hard work.

It's not like that - of course it isn't. But whilst we can both see that, your parents probably never will, and they will be relatively resistant to any sort of reasoned argument. They just wont agree with this, so you either need to just do it and tell them that they're going to be unhappy about it but that's that, or quit it and keep them happy. There is really no 'third way' here. Sorry

I understand their position as well. Spent the last 19 years watching them struggle slaving away. It's just that I don't think they understand that I don't equate any one job to status. If a rubbish collector was paid £50 an hour, I would gladly collect rubbish.

Yeah, I actually - maybe weirdly - enjoy the idea of cleaning. I really enjoy jobs where I don't have to interact every single second with customers. And I mean, the lab work thing was just a very random example lol! I might do it depending on the tasks.

No, of course I don't see myself doing it for many years... I don't intend on being cleaner until I retire, it's just a summer job before I start Uni again. I have tried to tell them this, but they still insist that I find something else.

Some of these cleaning jobs that I've seen are about £11-12 an hour, which I think is decent considering I used to get paid £5 per hour as a tutor. Lab work, definitely a lot more but these are mostly graduate jobs.

This is true. I think Asian parents are notoriously stubborn....

May I ask how old you are and how you found these jobs? At 19, it's been really difficult. I have experience in very specific sectors, none of which I wish to re-enter (teaching, especially. I hated it a lot). Without any other formal experience, it is very hard to find jobs outside of things like cleaning and waitressing. On that note, I have many girl friends who do waitressing, bartending and the like who admit that it's difficult work, but very worth it because of the pay. So while undeniably exploitation does occur, I don't think that this should be a reason why I should avoid every job opening under the category....

Most of the jobs that you've had, just from a quick scan of any job website tells me that I would need at least some experience in that sector, or formal qualification like a degree, which I am still working my way towards. I'm just not sure where to go from here.