To think that these people have got it all wrong!

[Yesornono]

Two ppl today!!
Person 1 on Facebook: oh I am just so happy to have started my new teaching job!#officiallyateacher

Me (to myself) eeehhhh... you are not a teacher you are a teaching assistant (not putting down TA’s (as I know they are a godsend) but... there is a difference between teacher training and TA training 🤔

Person 2: in the supermarket, I bumped into an old friend. Having a catch up and she tells me her daughter is in college, I say fantastic etc what is she studying? Answer: Law, ooh fantastic etc etc then she says “ I know just think in 3 and a half years (she’s half way through 1st year) she will be a solicitor!! Me (to myself) eeeehhh NO in 3 and a half years she will have a law degree 🤦‍♀️

AIBU to think these ladies have got it all wrong!!??

A former neighbour once told me that he was a paramedic. He actually was a driver on the patient service bus. The mini bus type vehicles that take patients to and from hospital appointments.
An acquaintance of my OH made out that he was a fireman, when he was actually an admin clerk in the office of the fire station.

Like some others have pointed out, why do it? No decent person is going to sneer at your job and if they do then it says more about them than about you.

Now where did that Butler place my tiara? Jeeves....Jeeeeves.

Red, I was about to say a TA is to teachers what a nurse is to a dr. They are both very important jobs but the TA and the nurse do not have the same training as the teacher/doctor so no it is absolutely not ok for them to make out they have. There is so much nore to teaching than standing up and explaining something then setting homework, and the attitude that teachers are no more then the TAs is exhausting to be frank.

I have the opposite problem - I am a school secretary and I described myself as exactly that. However, the amount of people who come and ask me questions about police matters is ridiculous because apparently I am "ex police". I'm not, my DH is a retired copper as was my dad and many moons ago I worked for the police in a civilian role. I don't have a clue about criminal law and have never said that I do!

As funny as some of these are I couldn't bring myself to be annoyed. If they feel the need to bolster their own or loved ones job title, then that is their issue. It doesn't demean or affect my job (or job title). I'll still be doing the same job with same title for the same money.

I do feel genuine sympathy for the plight of hoi polloi, as I realise that only a very few select individuals can ever hope to soar up to the apogee of the elite, as I have; however, if I can take advantage of my position as President of the FBI to help anybody climb another rung or two, pull a few strings, call in a few favours (IYKWIM) I'm very happy to do what I can.

Feel free to contact me at any time - [email protected]

I'm an advanced nurse practitioner in the NHS, but DM insists on telling everyone i'm a doctor. It generally doesn't cause any problems if she's just talking to her friends but I hate the idea someone will think I have directed her to this or misled her in some way! I know 100% I am not a doctor nor do I want to be. But try explaining that to her! Especially considering a lot of my role is traditional 'doctor duties'.

Great thread

I think a lot of people just don’t understand how the legal profession works. They’ll see someone doing a training contract at a magic circle firm and think that means that they are a solicitor for example. I’ve had to explain process to a lot of people. A lot of people also seem to think that passing medical school makes you a doctor.

I'm a Carer and my mam goes on like I'm a doctor. I had a family member ask for advice on something bloody and I passed clean out

She's not even a snob she's just proud I think.

My old school friend did really well and became the reservations manager of an enormous five star hotel at 20. Perfectly decent job and a great achievement at her age. Her mother would tell everyone she was the hotel manager. Such a silly lie. Anyone hearing that would know that it would be highly unlikely that someone her daughter’s age with no hotel management training would hold that role. Her mother was like that though. She was never satisfied with her children’s perfectly decent achievements and would exaggerate them to the point of unbelievability.

My ex sil was like this.

We were out one day in town shopping and a little boy said to her " hello Mrs blah blah " and she said " oh I love seeing it when my pupils say hello to me "

She's a dinner lady
She likes to be mistaken as a teacher.

OP

My son is in university doing the LLP(Hons) Legal Practice so when he graduates he can go straight in as a trainee solicitor. Is this the course your friend was referring too? And she got a little mixed up?

Lighthearted thread and all but it's illegal to claim to be certain professions and for good reasons!

Crookedme - it matters with some professions as it can put people at risk. If someone follows medical advice given to them by someone not properly medically trained and the advice is wrong it could result in harm. And it doesn't just apply to graduate professions either.

If I'm wanting advice on an electrical problem or am hiring an electrician I want them to be properly trained and qualified so I don't end up electrocuted!

I know of someone who was advised they were fine to remove a wall in their home by an "architect" (cad operator in an architects office but defo Walter Mitty type) and it turned out to be a load bearing wall! Luckily persons wife wasn't convinced and checked with an ACTUAL architect - result could well have been death!

"It’s more fun the other way round." Definitely! And less harmful.

I've friends who variously describe themselves as

"Works in IT" (sounds fairly basic and boring yes?) - actually travels the world designing, setting up and maintaining/monitoring IT systems for international companies.

"Mechanic" - retired now but they actually worked on racing teams including in the pits doing that super fast repair and replace stuff.

"Teacher" - actually a very well regarded lecturer at a prestigious university (but got fed up with people asking her to "put in a good word" for their kids applying there. Uses married name outside work, maiden name in for same reasons).

"Telephone engineer" - which gives the impression that he's one of the chaps that comes round to turn your landline on when you move in. Actually senior design engineer for major telecoms company.

BEST one is: "wee job in media" - very successful ad creator. (Again got sick of getting asked for favours!)

This one is a bit the reverse, but a relative is a practice manager at a big GP surgery. She often has to explain to patients that she is a senior medical practitioner, who happens to be in charge of the other practitioners, and not the office manager when they turn up for appointments and demand to see a “proper doctor or nurse, not a receptionist”.

It can work in reverse too. I've had loads of people say 'treacle is an accountant'. No, I'm not, and have never claimed to be. I have some professional exams but I am not a chartered accountant.

I have the issue that i am a qualified level 3 nursery practitioner which is very different to a TA in terms of early years education , so i have refured to my self as a nursery teacher as that is a more accurate description of my role .

A friend of mine’s husband was featured in a national newspaper once. She was mentioned as being a ‘travel blogger’. Yes, she has an Instagram account with 15k followers about travel. She’s a chartered surveyor, chartered arbitrator, and has a masters in construction law. She was rather pissed off!

I also have two friends who are ‘teachers’.

One who has been working at a nursery, unqualified, for 6 months, in their 12-24 months room. Essentially just changing nappies. She’s a teacher, refers to ‘her class’ a lot, and is hilarious to listen to.

Another at least has TA qualifications and has been doing it for 20 years. Still not a teacher. Her daughter (actual teacher) gets mightily pissed off with her for it.

I also know someone who refers to herself as a teacher but isn't but no point trying to pull her up on it as this particular delusion is by no means the largest in her life

My sister used to work as a receptionist at a vets (for about six months), she told everyone she was a veterinary nurse! Then when she worked as a receptionist at a dentists (for even less time) she then said she was a dental nurse. She recently has got a job as housekeeper in a spa, I'm sure she's going to say she's a beauty therapist soon 😂

I know a nurse who passes himself off as a doctor because he has a PhD.

He is, of course, titled ‘Dr.’

However, in a healthcare setting this is misleading. People fall for it, too. He has a twitter account under the name DrAndrew or some such. He gives advice that I think is beyond his remit or competence.

@namechangeforthiscancershit
"I am (actually) a solicitor and if people actually spent a day with me I suspect they’d realise it’s nothing whatsoever to boast about."

Exactly this. Except my mum still does more from the point of view that she is so proud of it. It took a few more years than initially planned.
If anyone asks me I work at a law firm. I.e. please don't ask me anything about your divorce/will/house purchase.

I used to get very cross when I was a qualified librarian at the very start of my career and working as a library assistant, when the other library assistants would call themselves librarians.

It’s ok if a member of the public says it as they don’t understand, surely you can’t correct anyone but when they tried to put down my chartership “as they never needed it” it really annoyed me.

They’d be signing passport applications etc as they were ‘professionals’, damn, they weren’t even professional in the manner in which they worked.

Very glad I left that job when I got a librarians role, however they still acted confused and angry when they saw the grade I was on (as they saw it advertised) as “it’s exactly the same as I’m doing” no, it’s not. If I could earn this doing what you do why would I have got to uni, done post grad and got chartered?

My PIL tell people that I'm a cardiologist because it "sounds nicer" than my real job (I'm a consultant physician in what is clearly a non-U field).

Meh don't see the issue, at my DC's school (primary) the TA's spend all their time teaching. They don't have to do lesson planning, admin or parents evening etc of course but I can see why they'd say they're teachers.
They didn't plan the lessons, so they haven't tailored the info to the pupils. They are basically doing the same as a cover teacher, but only to individuals or small groups not the whole class. So not much like a teacher at all. Didn't do anywhere near the work a teacher did in order to qualify. TAs who don't have a hand in the lesson planning etc (esp those who started before those pesky qualifications were needed) are doing less than a parent who home tutors. Lovely ppl on the whole, but it winds me up when TAs go round telling others they are teachers. I've known quite a few who subsequently trained to be a teacher, thinking they could do it all already, and hated it, as it was so much more work than they expected.