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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think job titles have become very complicated

132 replies

user1485342611 · 20/06/2018 18:53

I was watching an old episode of a quiz from the 1980s and when the contestants were asked what they did for a living I understood immediately what their jobs were: an electrician, a librarian, a nurse and an chef.

Nowadays, on programmes like Location or Eggheads I haven't a clue half the time what the participants do: 'A customer service analyst', 'a retail designer', 'a systems co-ordinator'.

Nope. No idea. What do you actually do?

AIBU to wish we could do away with these silly job titles?

OP posts:

Thisnamechanger · 20/06/2018 20:12

There's an event company I work with where the project managers call themselves "Event Possibler". Barf.

Myotherusernameisbest · 20/06/2018 20:29

I was recently looking at changing jobs and looking through job adverts at all these things I had no clue what they actually were. I kept thinking, don't know what that is so can't do that. It was only after reading a few descriptions of what the job entails I realised that actually, I could do that.

I hate fancy job titles. I have one. It's ridiculous.

EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard · 20/06/2018 20:36

The increasing aggrandisement of job titles drives me mad. YANBU OP.

Yes there are new sectors in the job market, but nothing that defies an explanation of what the work actually entails.

RailReplacementBusService · 20/06/2018 20:39

Oh yes. My current employer has an internal arms race of job titles. I’m convinced there will be a Global Head Of Paperclips if I look hard enough.

rosesandflowers1 · 20/06/2018 20:40

Lots of jobs are incredibly broad nowadays. I think it can be difficult to label them very simply. Jobs aren't really titled to be easy reading for people who might watch them on a quiz show in any case

Definitely agree that part of the reason is a lot of jobs now didn't exist a few decades ago.

Fairyliz · 20/06/2018 20:44

Agree with you op.
My daughter has just finished her degree and looking for her first job. Unfortunately most of the jobs advertised have grandiose job titles and the job description is no help. Most of them don't even explain what field you will be working in e.g. finance/HR/ IT etc.

Camomila · 20/06/2018 20:46

DHs job title before his current one was 'centurian administrator'

WatcherintheRye · 20/06/2018 20:54

I contacted my GP surgery today and was told the 'Triage
Practitioner' would call me back. I think she used to be the Practice Nurse.

ThePants999 · 20/06/2018 22:40

A few years back I wandered past an Iceland that was advertising in the window for a Customer Services Expert.

A week later, I wandered past again and it was still there, only now someone had handwritten on "(Driver)" underneath.

Semster · 21/06/2018 00:45

Yes there are new sectors in the job market, but nothing that defies an explanation of what the work actually entails.

You have a good job title for me then?

Cos I'm really struggling...

bananafish81 · 21/06/2018 00:59

Yes there are new sectors in the job market, but nothing that defies an explanation of what the work actually entails.

Yes but the point is whether they're immediately perceptible to what the job is or not to the average person on the street

SCRUM master - not really a project manager, though you could call it that at a push

QA tester - couldn't really call this computer programmer as there's no programming

Product manager / owner / director / head of product - immediately understandable if you work in digital what a product owner is, but if someone said that on Pointless (as in the OP), it's not likely to be blindingly obvious to the average person at home what that person actually does (unlike librarian, teacher etc)

KC225 · 21/06/2018 01:21

A horticultural earth moving implement is a shovel

TheOriginalEmu · 21/06/2018 04:34

YANBU. And on a sort of, but not really, related note; I bloody hate when a job is described as a ‘role’. You’re not doing Am Dram, stop it.

junebirthdaygirl · 21/06/2018 05:12

First travelled to the US in 1982. Kept meeting people with these real fancy job titles. After a discussion realised that in lreland you would be called a shop assistant or a bin man. Now those titles have come here. It is scary when you look at vacancy ads ..my dc are at that stage..as job titled sounds like you have to be highly qualified. But read further down and you discover..hey l could do that. Drives me mad.

PremierNaps · 21/06/2018 05:15

Hospitality specialist = Door Supervisor

Weezol · 21/06/2018 05:26

This first happened to me in 2001 or thereabouts, on Friday I was a Senior Personnel Officer. On the Monday morning (after the 'new structure' came 'onstream' - or was it 'upstream' or 'online'? Who fucking knows.), I was a Human Resources Sevice Centre Team Leader (Regulated Financial Advice, South East Region (9) ).

Same desk, same files, same job. Nightmare formatting letters and templates back to a single page because of all the stupid job titles.

Weezol · 21/06/2018 05:29

June Are they advertising for 'Peripatetic Environmental Enhancement Operators' in Ireland yet?

BristolThenSome · 21/06/2018 05:38

YANBU
Territory manager / Account Manager / Business Development Exevutive / Brand Ambassador - all code for sales rep (urgh)

In my 20s I didnt apply for some vacanies as assumed I was under qualified, not experienced. I now realise it was exact job i was doing under a bizarre title!
The job descriptions also bare no link to the reality of the role these days. Very inventive ways to avoid saying cold-calling. I've read job descriptions and couldn't make sense of what they actually wanted, only to realise I do exactly that same job. It's bizarre

BristolThenSome · 21/06/2018 05:40

Project manager - what does that actually mean/do? It's worst culprit imo. can mean diff things depending on the industry

ifeelsoextraordinary · 21/06/2018 05:46

Everyone is a “Vice President in US banks. Seems to cover everything from 2-40 years experience . I’m not sure how there can be more than one VP!

My current job title is 9 words long. It makes no sense. I’m a Head Of which sounds very important however there are 4 other people that have the same title. We like to argue over who is the head of the head ofs.

ifeelsoextraordinary · 21/06/2018 05:47

I was at a conference a couple of years ago and one of the things that the presenter said was that 80% of the jobs that our children will do,

ifeelsoextraordinary · 21/06/2018 05:49

Oops posted too soon... 80% of the jobs that our children will do have not yet been invented. I predict more silly job names to come....

Skiiltan · 21/06/2018 07:04

SCRUM master - not really a project manager, though you could call it that at a push

Wouldn't a scrum master be a hooker?

Fflamingo · 21/06/2018 07:11

I think the formerly common but now old fashioned title Salesman/woman/person is not acceptable nowadays, so all the client facing jobs now have new titles.
In the past it probably required little training and no degree, but a good salesman could make a good wage.

bananafish81 · 21/06/2018 07:30

Wouldn't a scrum master be a hooker

Don't think there's many scrum masters moonlighting as hookers (there are many many female scrum masters FWIW as well)

If you work in digital you'll know exactly what a scrum master does. Otherwise 'facilitator for an agile delivery team' is a crap explanation and requires explanation of agile methodology for technical development. Which still makes no sense to the uninitiated!

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