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What do you wish people understood about your job?

195 replies

CostOfSieving · 01/06/2023 18:44

I regularly see my profession being ripped to shreds on Mumsnet.

I find the comments are often rather ignorant, but I wonder what I don’t appreciate about other job roles.

What is something you wish people “got” about your job/industry?

OP posts:
C1N1C · 04/06/2023 08:06

That I'm always right.

aloofflooty · 04/06/2023 08:08

RhubarbandCustardYummyYummy · 01/06/2023 21:19

Dentistry - how annoying it is when people won’t open wide! And when they tell you they floss and you can see it’s a lie (light hearted)!

but seriously…. Just wish people didn’t think we are all money grabbing scum and tell me they hate me all day (less lighthearted)

I don't think dentists are money grabbing scum but I am cross with the government making NHS contracts unworkable for you. The end result is, you charge too much for me and my family to access dentistry now 🤷‍♀️ but I appreciate that's how much it costs and have a chuckle when everyone says the NHS needs to be privatised and they're ignoring what's happening in dentistry!

aloofflooty · 04/06/2023 08:11

I'm a hospital speech and language therapist working with swallowing problems.

No - I don't work with kids
No - I'm not 'going to make you talk better innit' - followed by a mighty laugh. Heard that one daily for nearly 15 years.
No - I don't just go around putting everyone NBM.

And to my own wider family who get all flustered that I'm not a nurse / doctor or working with kids (because that's all they can find common interest in) - just ASK what I do and don't default to my husband who is a teacher and ask him about his job instead!!!!!

Maverickess · 04/06/2023 08:14

That I really, really don't care if you want to drink yourself into a coma, but unfortunately the law holds me responsible if you do and end up sick or hurt as a result or you do something stupid, because I'm the one selling it to you.

I'm not on some power trip nor judging you, but unfortunately as I'm expected to be responsible for your choices and bear the concequences of them then I'm going to err on the side of caution.

Also that an age challenge policy is a mandatory requirement of having an alcohol licence, you won't get or keep the licence without it, so yes it does need to be there or there's no licence and no booze for anyone.

Crushmonsters · 04/06/2023 08:17

readwritelove · 01/06/2023 20:13

Writer - so many things, I could write a book on them all!

A classic, when it comes to success: ‘I tell you what you should do, you should try and get a film deal!’

Yeah, it really is that simple!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah. This! People's view of a writer's life is totally skewed.

I'm a writer who actually did get their book adapted into a major TV series. But NO I am most certainly not filthy rich, I cannot retire and if writing was my only income, I'd be poor as hell!

youveturnedupwelldone · 04/06/2023 08:18

I'm a civil servant.

I want people to know that the vast, vast majority of us are working very hard and generally in quite difficult conditions. We're under cosh with budgets being cut hard, poor pay rises and frankly this particular government isn't very nice to work for. They criticise the civil service and attack us at every chance.

We worked really hard during covid to keep things running, most of it was unseen and unacknowledged and hidden behind criticism of government policy.

We're not all bought into govt policy - our job is to enact the wishes of the govt of the time, whatever their politics or policies, we're not paid to believe it in. Plenty of us move jobs if we object to what we are being asked to bring to life.

Lots of people seem to have us down as work shirking, piss taking public sector all off sick on full pay at the drop of a hat. Those people are the minority.

Lifehaslifedme · 04/06/2023 15:01

Thank you for this thread.I have learnt a lot.I work with children and as much as I love it,I am not too happy in it as I feel VERY under appreciated.

Parkandpicnic · 06/06/2023 17:44

PartingGift · 03/06/2023 21:10

I'm a specialist nurse in a hospital. When I ask patients questions about medications, medical history etc, and they reply with a very annoyed "it should all be in my notes/on the system/why are you asking me that you idiot"...
no, it isn't. Don't ask me why, but it isn't. I can't see any of your GP records, so I have to ask you. I would LOVE to not have to ask and have this same conversation 10 times a day!

Also, I have to check your date of birth and if you have any allergies each time before giving you any medication. Yes, it is all in front of me, but I still have to double check with your wristband and yourself, as it is hospital policy. It also ensures that I don't give you Mrs Brown's warfarin by mistake.

Absolutely, even when we do have access to the records we can’t possibly read them in their entirety for each patient and the information on the records we do have access might be incomplete so I’ll still ask medical history in many circumstances. Plus usually ask on every clinical contact about medication, much as I may have a computer screen or piece of paper front of me telling me your on xyz, it might be that your not any more or didn’t realise you’d been prescribed it or that your also on abc etc. Much as people may want their records, the system and the humans caring for them to be perfect at all times, it makes the care safer relying on a combination of the records and actually asking the patient.
Those failsafe checks when giving medications are very important, 99.99% of the time the nurse will get it right but sure most nurses have had at least once or twice in their career when such checks have saved them giving medication to the wrong patient.

Lacoeur · 06/06/2023 18:13

I wfh for my no. and often get grumbles from my father in particular, about how I should go back to the office and how am I motivated/ not bored etc. What he fails to see is this working arrangement allows me more time with my children- to drop and pick up my dc from school and work around them. I’d be a lot more reliant on family / child care if I went back to the office and tbh the work/ life balance is fab. I wish he could see that wfh isn’t sitting watching day time tv all day I am actually working and feel very lucky to be able to do what I do!

purplesparklydinosaur · 06/06/2023 18:24

Midwife.

Whenever you see me chances are I haven’t had a wee, a drink or any food for hours. Unless it’s the start of my shift!

Toomuchmarking · 07/06/2023 00:54

That university lecturers DO NOT get the same holidays as students. Nor do we get the same holidays as schoolteachers. I get 6 weeks which I know is good but we don't get anywhere near what most people think we do. So please stop the comments about having it so cushy and being on holiday for most of the year.

GinIsIt · 07/06/2023 01:09

(Wine professional) When I go to a trade tasting and taste 100+ wines and some spirits and beers, I'm TASTING them, not drinking them (and I'm writing notes on them). That means I swirl them in my mouth and spit them out. It's an enjoyable day, professionally and personally (I get to network and meet old colleagues), and I might post it on social media.
Please don't comment "easy life, pisshead" or "take me with you next time" - it's not a jolly, it's an actual job and I'm not there to get pissed, nor can I take non-trade people.

coxesorangepippin · 07/06/2023 02:01

I work in insurance

People seem surprised how important things like the Life insurance rates are

😂🤔

AlphaAlpha · 07/06/2023 02:41

Paramedic.

I guess everyone has a pretty good idea about what we do.

But the thing that grates?

When someone asks "oooh, what's the worst thing you ever seen?"
It's such a thoughtless question.

The worst thing(s) I've seen? Well it would give you nightmares for eternity, it would make you question your faiths and beliefs.
I've compartmentalised so much that my head feels like it's full of tiny corn kernels ready to pop. I'm the master of suppression but it does sometimes bite me on the arse.

JennyWren87 · 07/06/2023 05:20

That a healthcare assistants job role in the NHS includes so much more than personal care. I also want people to know that thanks to Agenda for Change we are paid the same as cleaners and porters in most NHS Trusts.

Parkandpicnic · 07/06/2023 07:36

JennyWren87 · 07/06/2023 05:20

That a healthcare assistants job role in the NHS includes so much more than personal care. I also want people to know that thanks to Agenda for Change we are paid the same as cleaners and porters in most NHS Trusts.

It is shocking what very experienced longstanding healthcare assistants and receptionists/admin staff who are really key people within a department are actually paid, now only around minimum wage. When 20 years ago, even at entry level it was a reasonably well paid position and the pay significantly above minimum wage

PurpleChrayne · 07/06/2023 07:40

That I'm not a free service to edit your shitty "book"!

ByeByeMr · 07/06/2023 08:01

Bumdealoftheweek · 01/06/2023 19:18

My job doesn't get vilified on here very often but certainly does in the press. Like all public services we get blamed when things go wrong and yet we are chronically underfunded, understaffed and working within a system that has no cohesiveness, is utterly inefficient and constantly changing on the whim of whoever is in Government or appointed minister.

For every one thing that goes wrong there are thousands that walk away absolutely fine and with no issues but we never get to hear about that.

Agree with this

Leapintothelightning · 07/06/2023 08:38

I work in early years... We don't just "play with kids all day"!

onefinemess · 07/06/2023 10:47

That Net Zero, the push to "Decarbonise" the economy, has very little hard facts to back anything up with.

Please stop demanding to know how much cleaner the air will be after the installation of a "Low Traffic Neighbourhood", we don't know, nobody knows, there's no answer to it. Your local council isn't being awkward, nobody there knows either, the local authority HAVE to do it because the Government signed a legally binding agreement to reduce emissions. There is no oversight to the measures being taken, Bristol has no clue what Bath are doing, and don't care, it's a free for all, please stop having a go at your local councils.

Even at the very top, Government wise, nobody knows either. There is not a single scientist who can tell us/you how much cleaner things will be after all of this. Its just too big an issue for any local authority to know anything about. Please stop complaining about the "green stuff", we agree with you, and demanding answers we can't give you isn't helping anybody.

question 1

Mrs Jones drives a 12 year old estate with 120,000 miles on it, she's owned it for 4 years and has driven 54,000 miles. Her car was built in Germany, the wing mirrors were manufactured in Tiwan, the stereo doesn't work. Most of her driving is motorway, the she lives half a mile from the M4 slip road, she occasionally drives into the city centre. She has replaced 2 tyres.

Mr Smith ownes a new EV. He has driven 18000 miles, mostly city commuting to his office in the center of town. He charges at home from a regular socket because he doesn't have a driveway. The car was built in Korea, the lithium for the battery was mined in China, the battery itself was manufactured in Japan. He has replaced 4 tyres.

Which vehicle has a higher carbon footprint?

Answer

Nobody knows. Please stop asking. We don't know. You don't know. Nobody knows. It's just the Government telling us we have to do something. They don't know either.

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