To feel embarassed/ashamed of what I do for a living?

[Exvagabond]

I'm currently working as a cleaner at £10/hour with an agency in London. I've never cleaned professionally until a few months ago, but I was desperate to find work to support my family.

Whenever someone asks me what I'm doing, I tell them and you can just tell by the look on their face that they don't approve almost as if they feel sorry for me. Why does my job make people uncomfortable?

I dont have to work, my partner supports me but I see it like this;

-My DD (4) gets 30 hours at nursery, socialising with other children and learning what I don't have the time to teach her at home

• I'm bringing money in to the household so that we can put money away for emergencies, a holiday, days out etc.

• I'm putting money in to a private pension

• I'm paying tax

• On top of this I'm a part time student, so I won't do this forever

Why am I scum to some people?

Sorry, NPO should be "NPO". It was f'in sanctimonious hypocritical self funding fraud and the children knew it.

I was vaguely left wing up to that point. Mrs Thatcher and her message of self reliance from the State made complete sense after this experience. The manipulation of vulnerable people for state funding was shocking.

And whether people like it or not, Boris has appealed to the exact same urge in enterprising, proud, working class.

No. You should never be embarrassed of your employment unless unethical in some way. Lots of my friends are cleaners, it fits around their partners work and family of course. Most of the time you get more money ph than working in retail or hospitality.
Well done. You have a job. Many people don't x

Nothing to be ashamed of at all?! Your job pays more than my part time admin job and more than a lot of other jobs tbh!

If these people look down on you for what you do for a living , it says more about them than you. Jumped up snobby idiots.
Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed by what you do, you are working legally so hold your head up. NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS!!!
Their problem not yours.

I thought you were going to say you worked at an abattoir like in a recent BBC article (no time to link, sorry).

I see posts on cleaning threads a lot where people say they're awful at cleaning and thank god for their cleaner.
I can't comprehend this.
Anyone can clean, you just roll up your sleeves and get on with it really. I get people don't have the time or energy but it baffles me when my clients tell me I'm so good at cleaning as if it's a rare talent. (although I thank them politely).

I also see a lot of posters comparing the hourly rate of cleaning to other less physical jobs. I clean houses and find it impossible to clean to a high standard for more than 5-6 hours a day. Despite being fit I am on my knees with tiredness after that!
Therefore the daily rate is limited by how much a cleaner can physically do and can't be compared to a 9-5 role for example.

To echo what others said. An honest job for honest pay. Thought you were going to say you were an estate agent or investment banker

YABU to think that people think you are ‘scum’ because you’re a cleaner.
You say you’re a student and ‘I won’t be doing this forever’ - this says more about YOUR attitude to this work than anyone else’s. You are ashamed, that’s your issue.

It does say more about them than you if they are really looking down their noses at you.

Round here admin work pays NWM-£9ph, whilst cleaners generally charge £10-£12 an hour.

A lot of my friends did cleaning temporarily around school hours, yet held previous jobs as bank clerks, legal secretaries etc.

I would think up a new line to come out with, my friend who works for me tells people that she is PA to the CEO. . It is almost true but much grander than my 1.5 man band business really is .

So tell people that whilst your husband could easily afford to support you, you are temporarily working as a domestic technician to top up your pension and pay for a fortnight in the Seychelles, whilst studying to become a insert here..

Seeing as MN usually advises women to retain their independence and keep their pensions going, I would say that you have got it spot on .

not quite the point... but you would be paid more if you could find work privately. In my patch of London cleaners earn at least £12ph privately. Next Door is a good place to advertise

Nobody has the right to judge you. Whether you are a cleaner or a brain surgeon, you have as much worth as a human being. You are doing a job that others don't have time for, don't want to do or can't do - what's scum of the earth about that? Hold your head up high when you tell people what you do. I hate cleaning, fair play to you!

You have nothing to be ashamed of. I have both been a cleaner and employed a cleaner. My Nan was also a cleaner and it can be good honest work and I quite enjoyed it. Now that I work in a different sector and my partner also works I am afforded the luxury of being able to employ a cleaner. She is my godsend. A good cleaner is hard to find I have had a few and a lot just couldn’t give a shit drag a feather duster round and call it done. My cleaner is a marvel, I don’t have to tell her she has usually already done it. I think at the moment I would be more upset if my cleaner left than my husband he he he only joking!

I would say i get some hours from a cleaning company rather than i am a cleaner. Silly but we cannot control others' perceptions of us and i wouldnt want to shoot myself in the foot.

In 1985 with 3 children under 12 I got a job as a hospital cleaner. Two years later I applied in the same hospital for a job as a care assistant. I did that for another 2 years and then decided to train as a nurse and qualified in 1993.
I’m now retired with a decent pension.
Hold your head up high whether you stay a cleaner or whether it leads into other things. Cleaning is a very necessary job , just as necessary as many others.

I always stick with this philosophy;
‘Those that know me need no explanation, those that don’t, don’t matter’!!

@ken1976 i bet your colleagues had a lot of respect for you!

i agree with Myself2020
"you are awesome, mum, working and student! Their expression might be more directed at their own (real or imagined) failings than at you."

What a lot of judgemental people don't realise is that cleaners are vital to human existence. The best health workers in the country are emptying bins and clearing the sewers, and in my opinion probably save the country millions by their efforts, but are usually treated shamefully by the general public because of ignorance and an “I’m more important than you attitude”. We should all be thankful for all cleaners wherever they Work.

Because some people are dicks, frankly. They shouldn't sneer at you at all; it's a perfectly good living that I respect a lot, not least because I have a cleaner who brings me sanity.

I'm a bit crap tidying my own home but actually love doing a good clean - I have seen quite a few times beautifully clear homes that have things like filthy cutlery drawers, which takes me aback as my home is the opposite - point is, I would quite like to be a cleaner earning £10-£12/hr for doing something really satisfying. It's what I get working in childcare, as I do.

If you have to say your profession again say it with no sign of abashment and perhaps it will send a subtle message to the hearer not to let it alter their opinion of you.

You aren't scum - those who look down on you are.

You are working to have a comfortable life. Feel proud of that!

I would say though, £10 seems pretty low. I'm outside of London and the going rate here is £15 per hour. Would you consider starting up on your own?

Screw them. You are awesome. Some wives sit around and complain and their lack of pocket money from their husbands at least you're contributing. They're snobs. Ignore and move on.

Cleaning jobs is the one thing I have been looking at in terms of changing my work because the hours work so much better for me to arrange childcare.

No you shouldn't be ashamed.. you're doing right for you and your family.

drumandthebrass where on earth would we all be if people didn't choose to work in warehouses... How would all the online shoppers get their Amazon deliveries......We are all cogs that keep the wheels of this country turning! RESPECT.
I was a ward sister and my cleaner was an integral part of my team. We couldn't safely have done our jobs without her. The worst thing that ever happened was when Management outsourced the ward cleaning to a
(profits driven) contractor.
Management know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

During the 2008 crash we personally suffered huge financial loss, we bought a 2nd hand van and became couriers in our 50's driving 60,000 miles per year to pay off debts.
Do what you need to and hold your head up high! We need everyone at the coalface. The people of Britain are good at just getting on with it. It's our leaders at the top that let us down.

@cuparfull is right, @drumandthebass - you deserve respect for the job you were doing in that warehouse. Society needs people in all the jobs, otherwise it all grinds to a halt.

I had cleaners when my children were young and many of them were highly educated and had previously worked in high flying professions. One cleaner was a physicist and another an ex computer programmer. Life circumstances change. I never look down at any profession or assume things about anyone.