To ask what jobs people secretly (or not so secretly) look down on and why?

MLM recruiters

MPs. The quality is so poor.

MLM and for some reason traffic wardens. I know a TW is a job that needs doing I just can't imagine ever doing that job. It's not personal or logical I just dislike the concept.

I was semi expecting this (I'm a childminder) but then was pleasantly surprised when it didn't crop up in the first dew dozen posts.

Then I got to your post and realised, yep! There it is. Cheers!

I spend my day caring and cleaning and cuddling and teaching little ones so their mums and dads can go to work and realise people look down on me for that is charming.

And no I dont believe you yourself dont think it, it's always easy to say 'of course I dont think this, other people do though.'

The jobs that are done by some people's 'high earning' husbands on here, that they apparantly can't actually do. Because they need the constant support of their wife to do them and function. They can't combine them with any type of childcare or domestic responsibility at all, so all consuming are they, yet they don't seem to involve actually making the world a better place, or helping anyone.

MLM types get a thumbs down and two fingers up from me

Ugh yes they were so rife about a decade ago, I remember a few of the ‘boss babe’ types on my Facebook and one or two occasions when you think somebody you’ve not seen in ages is genuinely trying to reconnect then you realise ☹️

Life coaching, and only because I know a life coach whose own life is all drama and chaos. Definitely not someone I'd respect or take any advice from.

yes there is also the view that people with more money have ‘worked harder’

Ponzi recruiters on Insta - be a boss babe - usually to do with travel agency/stocks and shares/life coaching etc.
Post pics of themselves in sunny places, images of a coffee next to a laptop, usually sporting a very expensive watch.
Then there are ‘conferences’ in exotic places where they all discuss being a boss babe.
Trained to spot and target vulnerable women or women they know who are struggling financially.
Someone I know reasonably well contacted me to ‘meet for a coffee’ to get involved in this bullshit when my dad was dying, I explained I couldn’t meet I was at my dad at the hospices and she replied…
I can bring the coffee to you!
I told my dad who to be fair was both dying and still funny and he told me to invite her and let her try her recruitment pitch on him. He’d have done it as well for the laughs!!!

I’m a banker. My clients are social housing providers. We lend them billions and billions of pounds so they can build affordable housing and also invest in their current stock, for example making homes energy efficient so their tenants energy bills are more affordable. I’m sorry if that makes me a ‘greedy fucker’ I actually think it’s a fairly valuable contribution to society - if we want to build more affordable homes of course. I guess banks could just shut up shop and see how it goes?

As someone who both works in finance and had a number of elderly relatives with very little education or finance knowledge, it has always made me very angry to see rich celebrities accepting money to advertise rip-off products like over-50s plans to naive member of the public.
It’s honestly an abuse of their fans’ trust, and extremely damaging. They should be ashamed.

HR people. Universally looked down on and despised. I would know, it’s been my career for 20 odd years. It’s paid very well but I feel I’ve sold my soul and I will be changing career in the next 18 months.

The only people I look down on are those who look down on others who are doing their best.

In general though:

Working in McDonalds - always made to sound like the very worst possible outcome in life when actually it’s an honest job which offers real life work experience & progression to management for those who may want it.

GP Receptionist - I work in a GP surgery, although not as a Receptionist (I couldn’t take the abuse they take day in day out). Despite popular belief most are actually very intelligent people with a wealth of previous experience. Our team includes an ex Practice Manager (wanted to step down to fewer responsibilities), an ex nurse, two ex HCAs etc etc. Everything the say to you, every rule they impose comes from the partners of the practice. They’re just the poor minimum wage employees passing it on to the patients.

I work in retail and can testify that many many people look down on retail workers, as though we're only there because we can't do anything else!

Considering how many people on MN speak of their 100K salaries, it’s not a stretch to think that job value equates to money earned, for many people.

People who do the sort of practical jobs that keep the cogs turning are never going to earn the salaries that bankers etc earn. I know who I’d rather spend time with.

I judge people who are earning money by damaging others, by drugs, trafficking or modern slavery. I judge people who don’t commit to a good day’s work for a good day’s pay.

Lobbyist for tobacco industry. Can't get my head around someone's ethics who would want to do a job like this. I'm nowhere near these circles so seems very alien to me.

I'm sure someone would have said this upthread, but I think covid showed the value of some looked down on jobs.

Flight attendants

I simply don’t know much about jobs outside the industry I’ve been in, so I can’t be judgmental. Also, I don’t spend time thinking about other people, let alone their jobs.

Cold callers of any description and chuggers
I'm VERY rude to them

Bailiffs. I used to work in debt advice and they were some of the worst people I had to deal with. I very rarely spoke to a decent one.

MLM stuff, always thought prison officers were an odd group.

Anything in childcare ( childminder / nursery worker ) ( I don’t look down on these jobs at all. but I know people do )

Any presenter on Loose Women.

People who do MLM jobs, I tend to feel sorry for/annoyed by depending on what they're like with it.
Any job that preys on vulnerable people, debt collection and that sort of thing seems problematic but then you presume that there's a level of desperation in taking that job.