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

Omg 3 posters agree with mps! You could knock me down with a feather!

Redexpat that surprised me too!
I'm married to an MP and family life... Well we don't really have that any more!

There are so many people who are unsung heroes IMO. Bin men, receptionists, HCAs, nurses, people who make traffic lights work (when they go out its chaos!) people who work in hospices...
I always try to say thank you to people- for whatever it is. Yes- they're 'just doing their job' but it costs me nothing to be nice.

Haven't rtft fully but I'd like to thank health visitors. In 2011 I phoned mine because I was concerned about my 17 month old son and she listened and then acted.

Because of her wonderfulness, we got grommets for glue ear and a diagnosis of autism by the time my son was 2.5 years, saving us years of agonising waiting.

Because she didn't say 'let's wait and see', my son had a statement by 3.5 and a place at a great SN school by 4 years old.

She basically made a really hard thing a bit more bearable and I will be forever grateful.

Private detectives. My husband is one and I know it is a profession that is looked down upon by many. Some think it is a sleazy profession but my husband has never done anything illegal. He works hard to try and help people and has turned down work if he thinks it is illegal / unethical. He has reunited estranged families, helped get justice for people who have been conned out of money / property.

He has been punched, sworn at, had things thrown at him and been bitten by dogs on several occasions, all just for doing his job.

Care assistant
I am one, we work for minimum wage with very little recognision. We look after your family when you are not There, hold their hand when they are scared, sit with them when they take their last breath, feed them, shave them, treat them like family, work over Christmas and new year for very little extra pay. Care homes and care assistants get such bad press but I'd like to say.. we're not all the same

I think care workers. Amazing people. Horrible job, low pay.

I also agree that prison officers (and any staff who work in prisons) are amazing.

Can I offer a pat on the back to all those mental health nurses and care assistants who look after adults with Downs and epilepsy and autism in small homes? My mum was one, trained as a paediatric nurse, and retired at 77 (from PT hours) because the lifting had become too much. They cook and clean and drive and care for those adults whose own families cannot manage, with dignity and respect.

Private detectives

I know it's not but it sounds really glamorous and exciting.

Police officers! My husband works killer shifts and everyone victims and criminals alike don't appreciate the time and effort!

Clearly none of you traffic warden lovers have lived in Camden. Fuckers had a whole host of tricks. One favourite was writing out the ticket and the second a visitor voucher or pay and display was up hitting the car with it.

Or the plain all 'I didn't see your ticket displayed' when it was clearly displayed.

Call Centre workers

Amen and thank you. As one, cannot tell you the abuse I have had for things I have no control over :)

Health and safety professionals. Get a lot of stick for enforcing 'rules and regulations', but without them our workforces would be suffering far more injuries and illnesses.

Am on my 4th or 5th Dr's surgery (as an adult) and have nothing but praise for the receptionists!!! Never had a bad experience.

Lawyers. Nobody loves a lawyer :(

My GP surgery too. The receptionists are all lovely, bend over backwards to help, and always manage to fit me in. The Nurse Practitioner, who is fab, and the nurses. And my GP, who did a phone consult this evening, within 20 minutes of me ringing, so I didn't have to sit with all the germy people. Love the lot of them, they make a real difference in my life

Another vote for lawyers! They work really long hours and most of the ones I know really go out of their way to help people.
Family law cases can be really emotional and I've seen some complex cases taken on a pro-bono basis, as well as the lawyers involved being extremely compassionate and offering a lot of practical help.

Paramedics are seriously underrated. I have no idea how they do their job; it is such a skill as you never know what the next run is going to bring and the ones I've met have been amazing. They're hardly ever thanked or even noticed.

A vote for hospital consultants as well as nurses and HCAs. Consultants are vilified for everything under the sun; the ones I've met have been really helpful, informative, imaginative and made a big effort to fight their patient's corner.

NHS middle managers - the public perception seems to be that they make up a big proportion of the NHS workforce (they don't) and that they are pen pushers who don't care about people, only rules and money (generally they aren't and they do care, lots of them have been clinical themselves). The pressure on budgets is getting impossible and they are between a rock and a hard place with people above them making demands and people below them struggling and making their own demands.

I'm not a manager myself by the way, but I have met a lot of dedicated and lovely ones who don't deserve their bad press.

Many of theses. It is nice to read.

Yes to carers who look after my MUm when I can't - and she is not easy. Agree about dementia not being fashionable and care for the elderly being looked down on.

My health visitor did wonders for me and got my son assessed and set us on the road to diagnosis and support.

Childminders. Often slagged off as being this or that but I couldn't have worked without mine and my kids still love them. Hardjob. Everyone's child is perfect to them and it is very hard to balance the conflicting needs of all kids.

Anyone really who works hard, does the job they are paid for to the best of their ability and has enough humanity and often humour to do something special to help someone out.

GP receptionists - I know there are some horror stories but the ones at our practice are absolutely amazing! They go the extra mile and are brilliant!

Journalists. It's a hard job and people think it's a doss.

Council employees and government workers generally they run all sorts of things we expect to be there but only notice when they are absent. Postmen, carers of any type paid or unpaid. The people in tithe transport who make sure we get what we need or get us to where we need to go.
Any one who does shift work. Anybody who maintains or repairs systems or things.

Can i ask some advice if there are any doctors receptionists reading this thread. The queue for checking in when you get to our surgery is sometimes a 15 min wait Elderly/infirm ppl cant stand for these long periods and are near to collapse or swaying by the time they get to the front of the queue A relative of mine has an appointment next week and i dont want him collapsing while made to wait and wait. What can be done to prevent this.

Traffic wardens - a friend of mine is one and gets dogs abuse pretty much daily. People don't realise there are sometimes safety reasons why you're not allowed to park in certain places. Where she works is an old town with narrow streets and an elderly population the roads need kept clear so emergency vehicles can get through

police definitely get a hard time. My brothers an officer and I don't know how he does it! To keep your temper and not react when being abused or dealing with the worst kind of abusers of women/children I could not do it. To go knowingly into dangerous situations, go from dealing with drunken idiots on a night out to someone sweetish mentally ill and acting dangerously... That's tough going.

Dentists - I was massively dental phobic until I met my current dentist he's been so patient and understanding and worked with me to get me to where I am (much improved oral health which was complicated not only due to lack of treatment but because I have a slightly weird jaw). Sadly he's emigrating

Health visitors - mine was fab. I was a very anxious new mum yet she helped and dissipated that without making me feel I was wrong or causing a problem. Helped a great deal when dd experience some feeding issues as a toddler.

All hail the unsung heroes

Sweetish! Bloody autocorrect seriously that should say

Recruitment consultants... everyone hates them yet the ones I've worked with have always went out of their way to find me a position, usually ones I would never have had the confidence to apply for that have resulted in huge steps forward in my career.