To feel embarrassed about your occupation?

[Poppets14]

I’ve been a medical receptionist for 14 years. I really enjoy my job and consider some people I work with as friends.
It’s super flexible around childcare. I can also do my job blind folded.
The money is crap! Minimum wage.

Ive not got any skills or any qualifications to write home about so it’s not like I can just do something much different. I’m not the bread winner - it’s a part time job that fits in with the school run!

When people ask what I do I suddenly start feeling really embarrassed to tell them. Almost ashamed I’m not a’professional’
Some of my mum friends have been to uni and seem to have super flash jobs and I’m worried people look down on me for having a job so simple.

Anyone else feel embarrassed by their job? AIBU?

@PurpleEchoLamp

I have a flash corporate job and I'm always impressed when people tell me they're administrator or receptionist, I don't have those skills. I'd be really impressed by medical secretary it sounds difficult!

I have an enviable job on paper. I definitely wouldn’t even inwardly think anything negative about you being a medical receptionist. It is a responsible, respectable job and very worthwhile. I am surprised you don’t think this yourself.

I think the Dr who won’t socialise with anyone below her intelligence would be like that whatever her job was! My husband is a high up hospital consultant and he would absolutely hate that snobbery !! Your job plays a big part in running the hospital you should be proud of yourself not ashamed 💐

OP, you do a valuable and important job. It's a role I could never successfully do as I lack the people skills.

Be proud of your skills and your contributions!

I'm a nurse. Those in administrative roles are often the heart of a clinical team. I am absolutely shit with computers, and couldn't get by without our team receptionist, who literally keeps everything running and keeps me on track. Those in administrative roles also often feel like the stable backbone of a team where clinical staff are running in and out like headless chickens.

Your job is very important and you should never ever feel ashamed.

I feel sad reading your op because the receptionists at my GP surgery are worth their weight in gold. They go the extra mile to help and have been excellent with me regarding appointments for my many ailments and breast cancer. I always take in chocolates at Christmas to say thanks. You do an incredibly important job, be proud.

I think anything with word medical in front makes you sound important! You should be proud of yourself!.......unless you're one of those really miserable, horrible receptionists that think it's up to them to decide who deserves an appointment and who doesn't......but I'm sure you're not!

Don’t be ashamed of your job, OP. It’s hard work and invaluable to the NHS and patients.

My job is better paid, but society could definitely function without me. Without medical receptionists, we’d all be screwed.

@Labracadabradoodle

I'm a cleaner and have got used to people thinking I'm some sort of failure.. I'm not and neither are you. Job snobs are awful.

Same here, cleaner in a care home. Money is good actually and all staff are very friendly towards me even though I am at the bottom of the pile. I won't tell people what I do specifically and I think many assume I'm a carer.

@Jenster03

I'm a teacher and I feel quite embarrassed about it sometimes. There's a lot of hurtful comments not necessarily aimed at me personally but in the press and overhearing things like 'those who can, do, those who can't, teach'.

I was never embarrassed about being a teacher but being told how little we work got a bit boring! 'Gosh I've never heard that before' was one of my standard responses. It once came from a vicar's wife who didn't like the comparison being made to her husband's job, an hour on Sunday with a few hatched, matched and dispatched events.

First job when I left school in the 1970's....local hmrc office...was just called tax office then...i was then transferred to the ' black economy / fraud unit '....lasted a few months and then left to go to uni...i never told anyone where i worked....lots of unpleasant comments about snooping on tax evaders etc which i didnt do...was interesting to read all the letters from envious and bitter people trying to shop their neighbours for cash work or fraud as they couldnt possibly afford new cars etc with the jobs they had !!

You don't have to have money or high social status to have a good life. It's such as shame it's embedded in our culture - particulary in the South East of England.

I work in the NHS and I think being a medical receptionist is an awesome and very important job. My only guidance in life would be to never do a job that you couldn't afford to support yourself on. Never rely on anyone else for money, just make sure you earn enough yourself. Other than that, just do want you enjoy!

I think that's a job to be proud of @Poppets14 . Pretty shocked it only pays NMW.

I can't work due to a severe mental health disability- imagine how embarrassing it is when the subject of work comes up. It's particularly difficult when dating.

When anyone asks I tend to lie and invent a job or I would never get a date, or conversations with anyone would feel awkward.

I wouldn't be embarrassed about any job. Everyone is a cog in the wheel and has an important part to play, and if everyone was a "professional" the wheels would soon start falling off.

Hold your head up high and be proud - and if anyone looks down on you that says more about them than you. I really can't stand snobs!

You enjoy your job, you are happy, it fits around the rest of your life, not vice versa, and it is a vital role. What’s not to like? Frankly, if some people waste their time looking down on others, it’s likely to be because their own lives don’t actually live up to their own hopes and dreams - eg they have the career they think others should aspire to, but at the expense of an awful lot else that they might secretly have liked.

Shocked your job is minimum wage. It’s an important, responsible, keyworker role. Do it well and be proud.

my sister gave up running a riding school on top of specialist nurse trying to become a cleaner at a local hospital. She had her reasons, I suppose, and took a lofty income drop, but has never been happier.

However, she never lost her confidence, and this carries over in that she couldn't give a shit how that might be perceived. She's doing well for herself regardless, but I admit she is lucky.

I think a sense of insecurity about job status is often born of not having a choice, or perhaps stemming from awareness of class divisions. It sucks that it works this way.

Nobody should ever feel shamed of making a contribution in life, regardless the income bracket. Far, far too much concern about financial appearances on MN anyway, perhaps best to count blessings and not read such threads.

Nah, I had a flash sounding job (international animal welfare lobbyist, get me) and actually it was a lot of stress and a lot of office politics for not a lot of money, and not much chance of career progression either. I did a lot of the legwork and the higher ups got the credit. Now I’m retraining as a sports massage therapist which sounds a lot less flash but is a lot more satisfying. There’s more to life than a flash job title.

I have what people consider a good job, it is a good job for some. I’ve worked my way up, worked stupid hours and sacrificed time with my daughter. The end result is not a lovely home that I own and a typically happy household.
My daughter misses spending time with me, my mental health is shocking after years of putting my work before myself and I’m on waiting lists for all sorts of mental health assistance.

“Good” jobs are over rated, often with it comes more stress and to be honest I’d give it all up in heart beat. I certainly wouldn’t look down on anyone. The measure of success in life is not your bank balance or professional title… the only measure of success in life is the happiness of you and your family.

I think you should feel very proud of yourself and hold your head high when telling your profession to people.
If they look down their noses at you, it says more about them then you! X

@Supermum29

Hopefully we all do what we can. In my early career I was asked what my husband did (nosey feckers). I used to say neuroscience, then nude model - he was once asked! Now I get arsey and say, why?
I love my staff, my industry but the big cheeses need a good slap. I will retire in the next few years and after that I will be a free. My children had a privileged education. I am just knackered. We make our choices.

I can’t believe that absolute cuntbadger of a doctor behaves like that OP :O surely nobody socialises with her anyway?!

I have a good degree and am currently in a well paid career/job but I have worked in shops, pubs, factories, as a receptionist, as a medical/legal/general secretary, stuffed envelopes, been a tea lady, the list goes on! I kind of assume I will likely go back to something like that when my luck runs out in my current place, just because I will need something more casual with the kids being small.

Hold your head high! You probably have a much better life than the doctors that feel they need to be sniffy to make themselves feel superior.

I once overheard one of my employers tell a young engineer about to start with him "to never, ever get on the wrong side of your admin team - otherwise life will become very hard"