To start a thread to praise professions that usually get panned

[PlayOnWurtz]

So here it is. The thread for the rejects of the working world. Come along and praise the unpraisable

Traffic Wardens

An algorithym that I helped create in my corporate job has been used to facilitate a very unpopular welfare reform. I cringe every time I think about it. I am nice really and very good at my IT job

Prison officers!

They are completely normal, like most professions most of them care about their job and the people they are responsible for. They are even more short staffed than nurses, with 29% loss of staff since 2006. Their pay is very poor too.

So to any reading this, thank you for doing the best you can with the incredibly crap resources you have.

The estate agent who found our last place was astonishing - she seemed to magic a three-bed house out of thin air, got me in before it hit the market, dealt with an alcoholic vendor to agree a sale and was generally prompt, courteous, honest and helpful.

Hospital Laboratory Staff. Hospital doctors and GP surgeries often blame the labs to the patients for lack of results when it's really that the doctors haven't had time to review the results yet.

I know this because I work in one of the labs that processed my sample, I handed it for reporting personally, knew the result was typed up and available to my GP, but the receptionist claimed the lab hadn't processed it yet.

I shit you not I was going to start a similar thread

The MHz frequently gets bashed in media, news the lot

I'm nearly 39 weeks pregnant and my consultant has taken my birthing anxieties very seriously and has agreed to an ELCS

he has made me feel so calm and relaxed and even accompanied me on a tour of the birthing centre/delivery suite as I have bad flashbacks of when I was there having my son

He is an absolute star, I don't really know how to thank him to be honest

I can totally get on board with the traffic wardens thing... Why can't people see that if you DIDN'T park illegally you WOULDN'T get a ticket?!!

MHz?! NHS!!!!

Naughty autocorrect

Social workers do a fucking impossible job in really challenging circumstances and just get slated all the time, they can't do right for everyone and they can't justify themselves because it would be unprofessional / break confidentiality if they did.

But they make a massive difference to people's lives every day

Never understood the ridiculous level of hatred for Traffic Wardens. Never had a single issue - I have had a couple of tickets, including one where the warden was still writing it - I politely told him it was a fair cop and paid up later - my error. Another job I'm glad I don't have to do.

All the social workers I have met have been incredibly caring people who do an increasingly stressful job for frankly an astonishingly small amount of money. Their case loads are crazy, they work outrageous hours, it is frankly amazing how much they achieve that goes largely unnoticed.

The servitors and cleaners at the University where I work are so courteous, hardworking and helpful. They are the unsung heroes of academia

As a Child Protection Social Worker you saying that is amazing, thank you x

I can totally get on board with the traffic wardens thing... Why can't people see that if you DIDN'T park illegally you WOULDN'T get a ticket

I agree. Parking restrictions are mostly in place for a reason. In fact, I really wish there were more traffic wardens where I live, because people park like cunts.

Civil servants. I have to declare a vested interest here, but they (we) do an increasingly difficult job which can challenge our principles and scruples, get worked to the bone, and all for a measly 1% pay increment if you're lucky (if you are in the random 10% of box 3 markings, getting no pay increment).

Funny how most of these professions listed are public sector. Shows how much the media campaign to divide the private and public sectors and turn them against each other has been a success.

Thank you Hack - my kids are adopted and they and their sisters would probably either be dead or in some sort of barbaric cycle of abuse and neglect if it weren't for people like you.

As someone who works in one of the above professions, I truly thank you

I agree with pp re Prison Officers. A close relative was in prison, and they were fantastic. He has many MH issues and I believe thay kept him alive whilst he was there. He has also been supported by the police. Not a bad bunch really.

hack I work in local gov and helped support some project work with social workers. We did workshops with social workers, foster carers and children in care. After some of them i had to go have a little cry. Some of the situations they dealt with just broke my heart. It completely transformed my view of the profession. You are awesome, don't let anyone tell you otherwise :)

I'll second University cleaners and catering staff. Our library is open 24/7 and they have to cope with the most horrendous mess from students who obviously have never had to clear up after themselves. And as for the state of the toilets they have to deal with....
We (the library staff) really appreciate them and let them know they're valued.

I agree on traffic wardens. Most parking restrictions are there for good reasons - time limits are there so you don't selfishly hog a space all day when there are other people who need to do their shopping too. Some places are double yellow lines because it will cause people inconvenience if that bit of read is used as parking. Traffic wardens are ace.

I feel we should shout out appreciation of teachers - who often get bad press in the wider media although they generally receive more support on mumsnet. I am in awe of their ability to tolerate 30 kids at a time and force occasional bits of knowledge into their brains.

Debt collectors also get bad press. It's awful to be in the situation of having stuff reposessed obviously, but equally it isn't wrong for lenders to have a court agree that they have a right to be paid what they are owed. Without debt collectors people would be free to acquire stuff and choose to never pay for it which is effectively theft.

Going back a few years, the classic example was the hangman. Viewed by the public as twisted and treated as outcasts, they were highly skilled in their trade, poorly-paid and required to travel the length and breadth of the country to practise their art. All for the purpose of seeing justice brought to its natural conclusion. Many people supported capital punishment, they just didn't like the people who actually carried it out!

These days? People who invent things like the automatic checkout in supermarkets. Yes they are incredibly annoying and I really don't need to be told to remember to take my change, especially notes, but anything that means I avoid an encounter with the at the checkout gets the thumbs-up from me. (The dashes fit in with the hangman theme, in case you are wondering. Fill out the words as you see fit.)

I work in a profession mentioned above and I have had a terrible day. Although most of us quickly become incredibly thick skinned, the vilification and verbal abuse for simply doing our job gets to us all at times. So thank you for this thread, it really does mean a lot!

Receptionists - I was waiting in a Local Authority reception recently and could hear the huge range of queries the receptionist was dealing with. Seriously impressed by how much she had to know to do her job well.

There were also some right arseholes who were being incredibly rude to her (about things that couldn't conceivably be her fault, and wouldn't be in her power to change) and her people skills were spectacular.

Teachers and police for me.