Job specific misconceptions which persist

[housemdwaswrong]

An acknowledgement to @whatusernameshallihavenow for totally ripping about their thread for general misconceptions that persist. I've tried linking to the thread but I can't. Sorry.

I wondered which job specific myths there were (and hopefully thus avoiding brexit or covid).

Proofreader: You don't need any training as it's just checking spelling.

In my past life supply-teaching: supply teachers get paid more than 'proper' teachers. Prevalent view around here. I never, never understood it (or was working for the wrong agencies).

@Badoukas

That people who work in factories are all thick uneducated losers.

^ this.

I worked in a factory for about 15 years, lifting long hard heavy paper tubing on a freezing cold factory floor.
The money was pretty good and it helped pay our mortgage off/ have a nice life/ nice things.

The skills I picked up from there help me with my current job: thinking on my feet, speed, dexterity and time management. Always had my hand on the next job before finishing the last.
I now work for the NHS. Those skills are priceless, and I’m grateful for them.

@RosieLemonade

That teachers get paid for the holidays. The absolute venom aimed at teachers just because people presume we get 12 weeks paid time off is unreal. It brings out such nastiness in people.

Yeah. I worked at an FE college and we got 28 days holiday a year, only to be taken in the holiday time and as long as we still had enough in the team. It meant I carried a lot over.

We still had to be in when we weren't teaching, so I got all my marking and prep done.

@PuddleglumtheMarshWiggle yes!

See also people who come on here and want to know what job to do if they are an introvert and people reply with be a librarian. Also that librarians are the people that work the front lines in libraries, more often they are library assistants and for some reason not differentiating between the two really winds me up.

That all office workers do a similar job consisting of shuffling paper, photocopying and creating a few Word documents, spend all day sat down, working 9 - 5, while able to take an hour lunch and multiple tea breaks. Plus have a good natter.

@housemdwaswrong

An acknowledgement to *@whatusernameshallihavenow* for totally ripping about their thread for general misconceptions that persist. I've tried linking to the thread but I can't. Sorry.

I wondered which job specific myths there were (and hopefully thus avoiding brexit or covid).

Proofreader: You don't need any training as it's just checking spelling.

In my past life supply-teaching: supply teachers get paid more than 'proper' teachers. Prevalent view around here. I never, never understood it (or was working for the wrong agencies).

I can clear up the misconception 're supply teachers. AND this stubbornness from many about teachers being paid in the holidays.

If you go far enough back there were no agencies. Supply teachers were paid as per their salary point. Because there are only 195 days that teachers are paid for you got paid 1/195th of your salary for every day you worked. 55% of that if you did a morning 45% if an afternoon.

If you worked a set month you would take home more than a salaried teacher because their pay was reduced to be spread across the 12 months. If you worked a full year you earned the same as them, but were not paid in all of August, for example.

When I had a day of strike action we lost 1/195th of our pay to compensate it too.

@WhatKatyDidNxt I hear you-I have friends who are RMNs and you honestly could not pay me enough to do their job
They graft in the most challenging and adverse of environments

Of course teachers get paid in the holidays, what nonsense to suggest otherwise! I'm married to one so I can categorically report he gets paid for 12 months of the year and enjoys a whopping 6 weeks off every summer - yes he has to do a few days work in that time, but really, not enough to add up to a week's worth.

The major negative is we still have to take our holidays in the more expensive school holiday period, even though are children are grown up.

I will back up that University lecturers do have to work over the summer - there is a ridiculous research production line that you cannot step away from if you want to get promoted.

That being on a term time only (plus 10 to 15 days) contract where you aren't paid at all for one day of the week, then part of your salary is held back every month to be paid in twelve payments rather than ten, so you are effectively unpaid for another day a week if you work fulltime, is exactly the same as getting extra paid holidays fulltime.

@akerman

That university lecturers do nothing in vacations. Same for teachers in schools.

Or after school;"you only work from 9 to 4, and get loads of holidays". My SIL was a primary school teacher, and spent most evenings and a lot of holidays marking and organising work. Secondary school must be even worse.

That academia is a gravy train. Job for life, mark the odd essay, jet off to conferences — business class — and take three months off in Italy or France in the summer, or whenever you have a book to write. No such thing as a target to meet, a committee to sit on, a line manager to report to.

That, as a police officer, all of my colleagues and I are bastards.

That lawyers know every detail of every law.

In reality we are almost all specialists and just because we know about (say) pensions law doesn’t mean we can advise on your parking ticket.

That it’s just like The Good Wife or Suits.

All physicists are like Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory and work in labs doing research with no application to real life.

Mathematicians are automatically good at all other geeky things so dh will be able to sort out any computer problems I have.
In real life his preferred level of technology is the blackboard...

@LadyLovelyLockz @Flabbymcnally

"You must read a lot" Yes, I do but the books in my library are so boring! They're undergraduate and postgraduate science and I don't understand even the titles of most of them.
Far happier with a good Austen or Atwood, or Pratchett!

DD’s school careers adviser suggested librarianship to her the other day based on her fact she likes reading
She does read a lot but she also arranges her books by colour, so I am not convinced.

That your DC’s car insurance quote is daylight robbery “because that’s more than the cost of his car!!!”

Yes their car may only be worth 500 quid, but the four mates they’re giving a lift to are worth a good 10 million each if you break them badly enough, and that’s what your insurance is paying for.

Also, often seen on MN, that uninsured driving is a terrible sin because if you hit someone they won’t be able to claim compensation. I’m not denying that uninsured drivers are a scourge, they mostly can’t get insurance for very good reasons, and they shouldn’t be on the road, but their victims will be compensated as usual by the Motor Insurer’s Bureau (ie the rest of us).

Of course teachers get paid in the holidays, what nonsense to suggest otherwise!

Then it’s a good thing that no-one did suggest that, isn’t it?

Teachers get paid IN the holidays, they do not get paid FOR the holidays (except the statutory 28 days that EVERYONE should get).

Former high street family lawyer. I never earned more than $40K a year.

Work is broken down into 6 minute units and yes, you are expected to account for how you spent all of your day. There are fee targets to be met. Spending your day doing free half hours doesn’t bring in money for the partners.

As a lawyer I know the law in relation to all legal issues that friends, families and random acquaintances may come across such as a speeding ticket, neighbour dispute, planning issues, divorce, child access, police interview under caution, school admission appeal, benefits appeal, problem with Granny’s care home etc etc.

This
Also 'solicitors have to give you a free 30 minute appointment'. NO WE DON'T.

But mainly
Criminal Solicitors will help guilty people plead not guilty.
No way.
Tell us you're guilty ? You can tell nice Mrs Judge the same thing.

Call centres are staffed by school drop outs and we all have no qualifications
Also asking to speak to someone "based on site" rather than in the call centre. You can but they'll just put you back through as they can't actually book you in... that's my one job and I do know how to do it

DD’s school careers adviser suggested librarianship to her the other day based on her fact she likes reading

I've always thought schools career advisors were rubbish at advising on careers. Is that a misconception!?

@MsWarrensProfession DH has spent a lot of his life trying to explain how insurance premiums are calculated to people, and the concept of the main risk in motor being catastrophic injury pass them by.
There are many misconceptions about insurance and especially claims that drive him insane, and of course no one is ever happy with what insurance has done for them

My old job: university lecturers don't work in the summer and it's a cushy, secure gig. I don't think there were any misconceptions about being a postdoc, mostly because absolutely nobody knew what it was.

Current job: the university quality department exists to torture academics for absolutely no reason and if I say you can't do something it's probably personal spite, or more likely laziness, on my part

Detectives spend a lot of their time chasing serial killers etc. My friend who is one does mainly paperwork & wfh during lockdown.