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).

Don't know if anyone has said this but librarians spend most of their day just reading and stamping books.

@TeaStory

Yeah, I think you may be out of date - or maybe it is an English thing? In Scotland, teaching jobs have an annual salary and like all professions you work the hours you need to get the job done.

I’m English. Someone upthread has explained it to you. Teachers are paid for directed time (1265 hours over 195 days), but work many more hours than that which are technically unpaid.

Must be different in Scotland. I don't know about the 'technically unpaid' bit - if you are a professional you do your job. Paid by the hour is usually for manual work. I certainly see my DH as a professional and he does the hours he needs for the job - just like me. And then revels in his fab holidays.

It’s why I said “technically”.

That all admin jobs are 'nice' and 'little' and they are 'stress free'.

That the library wants all your old tatty textbooks. No - we spend a lot of time ensuring that our stock is up to date. In my field (medical libraries) out of date information is dangerous. Just re-cycle them.

That teaching assistants are unqualified mums there to wash paint pots and zip up coats.
So many TAs are qualified teachers (I am one). There's a lot of responsibility given to TA level 3s and being a supply TA is much harder than a supply teacher. I only did one day as a supply TA!

Sahp are all too happy to look after others people’s children because a couple more won’t make any difference. SAHP must love looking after everyone else’s children because they have nothing better to do.

I love that there are preconceptions about Careers Advisers on a thread about career preconceptions.
I'm a qualified careers information and guidance professional (as is @SueEllenMishke ) and now manage a team of careers advisers.
As well as 1:1 interviews where, yes, we discuss a young person's career ideas, we spend a lot of time coaching and helping them develop lifelong career management skills.
We also deliver group sessions, see adults (employed and unemployed), liaise with other organisations, and support young people who are out of work or haven't been able to sustain a post school destination.
Older ones (like me!) have a degree and at least a PGDip if not an MA, other routes are VQ based, but most have a degree.

That night care workers get paid to sleep all night because apparently, all the residents are asleep and there's nothing to do.
Apart from cleaning and tidying the communal areas and doing the washing, drying and ironing, we regularly assist people to use the toilet, clean up accidents when that doesn't happen fast enough, reassure and calm confused and disorientated people, trying to promote sleep (in the residents not us!)
Respond appropriately to issues and call someone if needed, check on people anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hourly to ensure they're safe, audit medication, give out prn medication to those in pain, sit with people at the end of their life, trying to make them as comfortable as possible by turning, mouth care, changing of inconvenience products, beds etc, calling families to deliver bad news in the middle of the night, and dealing with their grief too.
Then you've got attending mandatory training or meetings after a Nightshift when you've had two hours sleep that happens at least once every couple of months.
And actually while I'm at it, not job specific but shift specific, night shift workers need sleep too, they're not some magical being that can survive endless nights with 4 hours sleep, and function properly at work. So no I'm not lazy if I went to bed at 10am and don't get up at 2pm, it's actually 2am for me, how many people are regularly up at 2am and stay up, including an 8-10 hour shift until 10pm that night? Looking at you mother!

We are not on an hourly rate, we do not get paid for our holidays, we do not get overtime.

I don't know if it comes under overtime but my DB often does revision lessons, sat school during the holidays & gets paid a good hourly rate for it (£30-40)

@CaptainWentworth Sorry I should have made clear that the 50k was based on London salaries, outside of London I think there is big discrepancies.

@gongy

He is lucky, maybe it depends on your school or LA.
I wish we got paid extra for residentials, those are the only thing I sort of begrudge doing.
£30 I think is what top of the main scale no tlr would be if we only worked our directed hours.

That administrators have a very easy, stress free job. They just type letters all day and make the tea doncha know.

That journalists are all scum without morality

1. Working in a hotel means you know how to make beds to hotel standards, meet lots of celebrities, and can get your friends free nights

@TableCat yes I think it's very dependent on school & headteacher ethos. He really doesn't work that much in the holidays. Virtually all of his colleagues have a TLR of some sort to bump pay up.

Hi OP, to answer your question, our workload went through the roof over the lockdown (first one) as the surgeries were not seeing face to face patients which was fair enough but they then had to issue all scripts electronically and as some patients had not already (pre-covid) nominated a preferred pharmacy for this, the surgeries sent alot of prescriptions electronically to local pharmacies, so we had random new patients and not enough manpower to cope. The early days of this situation were very bleak.
Also people were ordering prescriptions early as they were panicking over medicine shortages (completely understandable if you look at the state the supermarkets were left in, one would assume meds would be affected too).
Some items did go out of stock worryingly, a particular inhaler was impossible to get hold of and I can only imagine how terrifying that uncertainty is for a patient who relies on their medication.

I'm glad your pharmacy take care of you

Pharmacy work- when the patient says "what's taking so long you just have to slap a label on the box...."
You have no idea mate. It's the making sure the drug doesnt kill you part that takes time!

I’ve always been curious though to know what pharmacists are doing in the time between my handing over my prescription and them handing me the drugs. I’m mean, I know it’s something important and not just putting a sticker on a box - but what exactly?

That a chemist is not the same thing as a pharmacist, and that a horticulturist is not automatically a gardener.

@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.

That's bollocks though. When you see a teacher's salary advertised, that is what they get . Unlike a job for a teaching assistant or a school office post when you always need to pro-rata the salary and end up with 20% less than advertised .

@hopeishere

Teachers I assume get paid in the holidays because whatever they are paid is spread over 12 months. Does that mean if you see a teaching post advertised that you need to pro-rata it?

No you don't . Teachers get paid exactly as advertised . Unlike support staff in a school .

@PuddleglumtheMarshWiggle

That putting "I love books" will get you a job as a librarian! No! We don't want you reading at work. We want to know about your metadata skills, your knowledge of digital repositories, your understanding of the difference between green and gold open access, current copyright regulations, do you understand about correct citation and plagerism? Please read the essential criteria first, you'll never see "love of books" listed there.

I have no clue what any of these things mean - but when I worked as a library assistant some years back. Having a love of books seemed integral to the role (plus an understanding of filing systems)!

When you see a teacher's salary advertised, that is what they get . Unlike a job for a teaching assistant or a school office post when you always need to pro-rata the salary and end up with 20% less than advertised .

Yes it is, and for that salary we are directed to work 1265 hours over 195 days.

I am near top of the main scale, if I calculated my hourly rate based on my salary and 1265 hours I would be on around £30 an hour.
If I got £30 an hour for the hours I am at school I would get £64,000 a year, if I got it for all the hours I do evenings/weekends/holidays I would be on more like £70,000.

Support staff pay is pitiful, it really is they should be on twice as much , but they do get paid for every hour they work and can put in for overtime.

For fuck's sake!

The utter idiots that are still arguing about teachers' salaries are unbelievable. It clearly doesn't matter how many times it is explained to them that teachers are paid for 1265 hours per year they still insist you are paid for holidays!

1265 hours - which is ALL teachers are paid for - is 39 weeks of the year at 32.5 hours pay per week.

Does that make it easier to understand??

As a teacher you will be paid for 32.5 hours per week. Despite probably working between 50-60. You will only be paid these 32.5 hours for 39 weeks of the year.

However, to help you out the government will take the money you are paid (32.5 hours a week for 39 weeks of the year) and divide it by 12 and give you it every month...

It's not rocket science surely?

That doctors take up the profession because they are caring.