To ask whether you judge someone based on their occupation?

[lushilaoshi]

I am sometimes judged (I think) a bit harshly based on my occupation. It can be a bit of a conversation killer, sometimes.

So without revealing yet what I actually do, if I were to say (for instance) that I am a City lawyer, what assumptions would you make about me? Would you take an instant dislike? Versus if I were to tell you that I am, for example, a languages teacher?

I think I can predict some answers, but I am curious about what characteristics are attributed to certain occupations, and whether justified. And in particular, whether gender makes any difference to your judgement?

I'm a doctor, but I look a scruff, live in a poor area and have a strong regional accent. I get the worst of both worlds - snooty posh types of people judge me on appearance and don't speak to me and then do that double take thing of suddenly being interested in being friends when they figure out that I'm not actually thick, and some people (like half the mums at my kids school) go all weird on me when they find out what I do. The worst is any kind of tradesmen, I get lower quotes from people if they think I am a SAHM. If I say doctor they suddenly assume I have loads of money (err, no, I earn less than most of my friends who are not NHS workers). When asked now I just say I work in healthcare and people assume that I'm a nurse or a care assistant or HCA or something. Much easier.

Well, I can't avoid the 'middle class' tag, but I'm not judgy at all. I give not a fuck what anyone else does. Bit of a lazy generalisation IMO.

People get chippy when they think you earn more than them - regardless of how the money is made or what it's used for...

And yes, I also get annoyed when 'creative' types look down on me. I know some people who are artists/journalists/publishers etc., who accuse people like me of 'selling out' to a corporate job. Well screw you: I actually like my job, and even if I wanted to pursue a more creative career (which I could have done, as I have a degree in English literature and history) the fact that I was up to my neck in debt when I graduated led me to choose a career that, while considered 'boring', is stable and well-paid. I'm afraid I don't have the financial backing to do something like writing or painting as a career... Not that everyone who does it comes from money by any means - but they're often not stable jobs with a steady income, and so people can be taking a risk when they decide to embark on such a career.

In fact, come to think of it, those I know who are successful artists/journalists/publishers come from very well-to-do backgrounds indeed - much more so than a lot of the other lawyers I know. I strongly suspect that they have the advantage significant financial 'cushioning' from the bank of mum and dad (although I also know that most of them would consider themselves to be 'socialists' as well!). So all the more kudos to those do this kind of career without someone else's money to fall back on.

'Middle class people are incredibly judgey'

ODFOD.

Rooner - you are quite right, the Sick Kids hasn't moved. DS's last appointment with cardiology was as an adult for the first time - got completely confused there over who he was seen by. Whoops!
No, parking for the Sick Kids won't be free at Little France - it's pay on exit there (I said that in my earlier post )

DH works a lot in IT - he occasionally builds laptops when he has some spare time. Everyone asks him to fix their computers and I swear he's in speed dial for mobile phones and iPads.
Except that he can barely use his own smart phone - I had to show him how to get to grips with it. In fact I can do basic fixes to most smart tech and games consoles and know my way round them rather well. There are very few people who ask me to have a look at their phones because he's the techie one
It drives him nuts - every so often when he's on the phone I hear "no idea, ask Idont" and then a minute of him reassuring whoever he's speaking to that yes actually I can fix a Blackberry better than he could!

I'm a nursing assistant in a psychiatric hospital. Yesterday one of the psychologists was surprised I could spell 'pseudo-dementia symptoms' all by myself and even commented "You have nice writing actually". She missed out "for a nursing assistant" I think!

I get fed up of people thinking I'm thick because I did not go to uni. People need to realise not all registered nurses went to uni, they learnt on the job the same as what nursing assistants do now except we will never be recognised for it with a recognised qualification.

A new doctor started on the ward last week, walked into the office and introduced himself to everyone except me! My boss (lovely woman) made a point of introducing me to him but he barely looked at me. The only reason I can think of was that I was the only non-registered nurse in the room, easily identifiable by the colour of my uniform.

My partner has a degree but works as an HCA for a private company. He loves it and is thinking of going to uni to train as a registered nurse. people are always shocked to learn he already has a degree because HCA's are thick don't ya know!

lushalaoshi, that's a rather disingenuous post, given that in most project financing operations in developing countries, the govt of the host country is the main buyer, and they buy at an inflated price because the borrowing to finance the project is set at an inflated rate in order to protect the backers' interests. Like I said, it's a racket. And I really am not remotely envious of you - I just feel sorry that companies and govts in developing countries are being used by people like you and the people you work for in order for you to make money for things like provision of water.

Oh and having a degree in English Lit doesn't mean you are capable of being a writer.

Primary teacher.

I get 'Oh God, I don't know people do that job, I couldn't STAND it'.

Erm...cheers?

MalletsMallet

It's shite isn't it, but FWIW I think the NAs are the people who have the hardest job and the biggest impact on the experience of SU in MH settings.

Nanny.
I've worked in all forms of childcare in 36 years, gaining a degree and many other qualifications in those years.

I usually get judged as a saint or ' Staff' ????????????

S

Well said cruikshank

Oh interesting thread!

What do people think of an Insurance Underwriter?

I think of someone who works for an organisation which makes money out of people's misery, making as difficult as possible for those affected to claim what they are owed in as short a time as possible. Someone whose corporate values are probably very different from mine.

Well, you did ask

Nothing- genuinely. I have no idea who the 'you' is from that.

(I am very zen this evening. Might be the weather/wine)

DP is an insurance underwriter. He writes language schools and commercial premises. He points out lorries on the motorway that are carrying various building materials and tells me about the different levels of risk involved. It's very, very tedious. So tedious.
I like to get him back with gross nursing stories.

I don't judge on a job, it doesn't bother me really. I work in a call centre, and I do get judged. My dad is always really surprised by the amount of work I do (I'm an assistant manager for the team) and how late I can be doing work emails etc. I love my job and the company I work for. I've been there for 7 years and they are genuinely fantastic!

No

I do judge them on their taste

We make assumptions on our knowledge and experience it's natural to

Is that so different to making judgements

People are either very interested in what I do or very guarded either of course is fine

Thats nice gruffalo, you don't often hear about people in call centres enjoying their jobs. It tends to focus on negativity

GrumpyOldBiddy2 I work on a functional older adults ward. It's only us and the organic older adults ward that wear uniform the rest of the hospital wear civvies!

I would assume that an insurance underwriter is great at statistics and understanding risk. I also have the idea that it's a rather dull job, but I could be completely wrong about that.

OK cruikshank, of course someone has to pay for the output of the project at the end of it - the power, water, use of the road or whatever and that will be one of (a) the government of the host country,(b) end users such as households or (c) a private offtaker such as an industrial complex. Governments do often pay a premium for the end product in order to ensure that it's worth the developer's and the lenders' while to invest the project in the first place - but that's the same in developed countries as well. Just look at Hinkley Point C, the world's first RBL project financed nuclear power station. That is not coming cheap to the people of the UK - it would be much cheaper to continue to use our coal fired power stations, but then that would pollute the atmosphere. You can't have it both ways. And in the very poorest countries the governments may not be paying much of a premium at all, as guarantees are provided by institutions such as the World Bank, which provides sufficient comfort to the lenders to lend more cheaply and therefore keep the development and end use costs down. And don't forget that many of these projects are structured as 'build, own, operate, transfer', which means that the host country gets to keep the project at the end of a certain term (usually 20 years) for (usually) no transfer costs.

Anyway, how else would you have infrastructure projects built in developing countries? These are unstable jurisdictions where the developers themselves are at significant risk of expropriation (look at what happened in Argentina for example). They need a guarantee of some kind of income in at the end of it because they have to service their own debts, but a balance has to be struck because if you set the offtake price too high that would make expropriation almost inevitable - so costs can't be vastly inflated. I don't see very many developed countries donating money for this kind of thing. You have to incentivise developers to go to these countries somehow and if they are not going to make anything out of them then they just won't do it. It's not a 'racket' as you call it, it's simply the way projects have to be built until there is some incredible philanthropic revolution where all the developed countries in the world suddenly realise that they should be sharing their wealth and paying for these projects to be developed for free. Not gonna happen. So in the meantime, project financing is the most cost-effective way in which developing countries can fund their infrastructure.

And as for your rather blatant implication that I am being greedy: I am the sole earner in my family and I am paying for my husband to take a degree in an arts subject, because he was unable to in the very authoritarian developing country he comes from. I am also paying for my parents-in-law's medical care, as well as trying to pay off my student debts and save for our first home (not a BTL property in the States - read my posts more carefully). I don't think I'm being greedy: I am trying to support a whole load of people who haven't had the advantages I've had, so having a lower paid job is not an option.

And as for your snarky comment about the English degree - I'm not saying that it automatically leads to a career as a writer. I am saying that I am not an 'uncreative' person and could have followed a more creative career path had I wanted to. A deliberate misinterpretation of my words on your own part.

ttwk that was chris martin's dad (him from Coldplay) It was on the south bank show done on the band. I love that and remember it well

I think we all label people first then, assuming we are not stupidly prejudiced, spend time to qualify and test our assumptions. I find myself often being surprised by how different people are, especially my lawyer friends who are generally softer than I expected. Often people don't 'do exactly what it says on the tin' and that's why I love meeting new people. It's just so fascinating. Labels and assumptions are useful and we all do it, but you need to be prepared to change and nuance your opinion.

I even found myself actually liking ex Tory MP Portillo when I met him. And I never thought that would possible. Ever. Ever. Ever.