Page 11 | Annoyed by my friends comment tonight...

sheenapunk · 02/12/2021 18:09

Discourage hospitality careers, too! Hard, responsible, multi tasking work that's poorly paid and stressful. And nowadays no tips. Unappreciated!

IT and STEM!

JoeAl · 02/12/2021 18:15

Happened to me once when my daughter wanted to be a postman when she grows up. My aunt found her idea very funny and told her to aim higher. So she was very upset for a while. So I said, "there is nothing wrong with being e postman, I think it is a lovely job. You get to travel a lot and see lots of different streets and people every day. If you want to be a postman, be a postman. And, if one day, you want to "aim higher", find an original idea around posting and start a company about it." The same goes with the bins I guess. Be the person who does the job, and one day, if you want something "higher", be innovative and build a business around bins, why not. I don't think being "higher" is about the job, but about the mindset. If you love what you do, you are in a better position than 90% of the population. And if you want to try something new, you can always change it or build a business around it.

cherish123 · 02/12/2021 18:16

YABU

JonSnowIsALoser · 02/12/2021 18:19

I'd rather my child was a happy binman than a high-flying banker living in constant stress and snorting coke, regardless of their education.

LoisLane66 · 02/12/2021 18:21

Personally, I think bin collection and driving the lorries is a stress free job. Our binnies are great, never miss a collection and are always joking or whistling. They always look smart too in their reflective orange outfits which has an alternative according to winter/summer. They get free drinks from Costa on their round and it's well deserved. Mind you. There are no overflowing or split bags. Only one bin per household depending on 1-2 people or family sized bin. Others are commercial sized bins on different day of the week and a different crew.
Birmingham...now that's another kettle of fish as there have been strikes and rubbish piled up plus rats. We don't have that here and we do have twice weekly public bin emptying, more often in summer.
They all do a great job.

Bangolads · 02/12/2021 18:25

I don’t think she looks down on bin men per se - she’s just hoping her child might do something else. Lots of parents feel the same way when their kids are young - their expectations change as the kids grow. I agree that people do look down on some jobs, jobs that keep this country running- but I actually don’t think that’s what this was. I think you’re being pretty harsh in your judgement of her. Maybe she can be a bit of a snob but I’m assuming as she’s your best friends she’s got lots going for her too. Coming here to complain about her seems pretty odd to me.

angielou791417 · 02/12/2021 18:30

I'm shocked at all the negative comments on here! I have four children and all I wish for them work wise is to do a job that makes them happy and able to live the life they wish to. I'd rather one be a binman if it made them happy, then have a high powered stressful job they couldn't cope with, even if some people would see this as "aiming higher "! I think you friend needs to think of her children's job satisfaction rather than what others might think

thenewduchessofhastings · 02/12/2021 18:32

If you need a job to put a roof over your head and food on the table then a job is a job.I hate it when people look down their nose's at manual labour;if it wasn't for people prepared to do it then the economy would collapse and people would soon be moaning about not getting x,y&z.

My son wants to join army in an entry level position without a degree;would there be something wrong with that too?

linsey2581 · 02/12/2021 18:32

Lots of snooty bitches on this thread. So what if the kid wants to be a bin man, good for him that he wants a proper job rather than an overpaid footballer or one of those stupid online influencers.
Good for him and if that’s what he wants to do then his family should support him and not look down on him.

calvados · 02/12/2021 18:33

Don’t be too sensitive as she only wants the best for her kid. I’d be more worried if drones replace bin men and the choice to be one is actually off the table and replaced with something far more menial and with less pay.

Mandyjack · 02/12/2021 18:38

Totally agree with you and I hate this sort of snobbery. I used to be a carer and would get comments from people like well someone's got to do it. My main concern for my child whose now grown up is their happiness not getting a job to use as bragging rights. Parents are fixated on their kids going to uni and it's often not what the kids want.

takenforgrantednana · 02/12/2021 18:38

@Tomato345

My best friend of 11 years and I occasionally have our disagreements but I love her like a sister, however a comment she made tonight has really pissed me off and has made her look like a snob imo.

We were with our kids, talking about different careers as we've both recently changed jobs, when her eldest son announced that he wanted to be a bin man when he's older. Friend turned to him and said "aim a little higher please" and started laughing. I made a comment about how bin men earn a pretty decent wage (in our area at least) and that the perks of working for the council, such as weekends off/decent pension etc are good. She was adamant that it's a shit job and that the only reason someone would do it is if they didn't have any qualifications. It certainly came across that she would be embarrassed if her son ever becomes one.

Her reaction was the same last year when her partner showed an interest in becoming a HGV driver, so it's not the first time this has happened. I'm not sure why it's got my back up, maybe because I use to be a delivery driver and now I work for a cleaning company, so I'm wondering what she thinks of me as I would say those types of jobs are linked. We both only want the best for our kids at the end of the day, but what's wrong with it if it makes someone happy and provides them a living? Perhaps I could understand her point if she was earning mega bucks herself, but she earns minimum wage, which is actually less than what a bin man earns...

A job is a job in my eyes, but I'm not sure if I'm being sensitive or not. After all, we're all allowed to have an opinion... so AIBU?

i totally agree with you, i even once said to my kids that i couldnt care less what job they decided they wanted to do, it would change how i felt about them, even if that included being a bin man as long as they where happy in the job and it provided enough for them to pay the bills and do what they wanted in life, and once you have the required hgv licence to drive the vehicle then you have the chance of being able to do extra work to suppliment your wage if you ever needed too by doing agency work too.

my approach seemed to work in taking the pressure of the kids doing their exams thus acheiving better grades and non have gone into bin wagon driving!

LadyFlumpalot · 02/12/2021 18:53

@SturminsterNewton - nowt to do with the thread, but assuming you are in Stur... hi from just over the Somerset border

SturminsterNewton · 02/12/2021 18:57

[quote LadyFlumpalot]@SturminsterNewton - nowt to do with the thread, but assuming you are in Stur... hi from just over the Somerset border [/quote]
Hi Flumps! Dorset has loads of brilliant place names, I was spoilt for choice.

ancientgran · 02/12/2021 18:58

Look at the chaos when the bin men go on strike. Shows how important they are.

neveradullmoment99 · 02/12/2021 19:01

She is a snob.

BooneyBeautiful · 02/12/2021 19:05

@worriedatthemoment

People always don't want their kids to do it but want someone elses Personally I just want my kids to do a jib they enjoy as your a long time working and money isn't everything My brother gave up a well paid skilled job to become a bin man a couple years ago and he loves it , my h more than his old career and my mums happy for him as he's happier ( also just bought his first house so not doing too bad as a bin man )

This is so refreshing to read. I think the bin men do an amazing job! I try to catch each crew (four of them) every Christmas and give them a box of biscuits. I know it's not a lot, but it's a way of showing my appreciation. Ditto the postman. Our regular one has recently left and he was extremely popular! So much so, that everyone started praising him on our local FB page because none of us wanted him to leave!

Frazzledmummy123 · 02/12/2021 19:05

It would irk me a comment like that as I can't stand people who look down on 'not considered good jobs'. While I can kind of see the reasoning behind what she said, surely all parents want for their kids is for them to be happy and do what they want (or are able to) as long as they make a decent, honest living?

How many people are in 'good jobs' yet are deeply unhappy and/or suffer from drink problems/depression/etc? I would rather my child was happy and in a job that isn't considered great, than a child who ticks all the boxes for 'career success' but isn't happy.

enjoyitwhileitlasts · 02/12/2021 19:12

Its a good honest job. Early finish and well paid, company pension decent holidays. Just because someone is a bin man doesn't mean they are not academically able. I bet there are plenty of bin men with degrees. I would far rather my grandson be a happy bin man than unhappy in a job he hates.

Bellyups · 02/12/2021 19:16

YABU and taking it overly personally

PrivateHall · 02/12/2021 19:24

Surely it is more that generally kids have high aspirations, like racing car driver, princess, singer etc. It probably just took her by surprise that her young DC aspires to do a fairly 'ordinary' job. In nursery, we were presented at the end of the year with a DVD with clips from throughout the year, one was all the DC (age 3-4) in turn stating what job they would like to do in the future. Most suggested things like I previously stated, along with teacher, doctor, actor etc. My eldest DC stated she wants to work in a chip shop. I was a little surprised to be honest I guess we all just want our children to aim high.

That DC is now training to be a hairdresser and I couldn't be prouder by the way, though I would also be proud of her if she had stuck with the chip shop idea.

BiscuitLover3679 · 02/12/2021 19:40

But why does her son have to aim higher? All this job shaming already, no wonder so many grads are anxious and depressed.

It's ok to have a non "elitist' job. Life is worth more than that.

Frazzledmummy123 · 02/12/2021 19:40

@angielou791417

I'm shocked at all the negative comments on here! I have four children and all I wish for them work wise is to do a job that makes them happy and able to live the life they wish to. I'd rather one be a binman if it made them happy, then have a high powered stressful job they couldn't cope with, even if some people would see this as "aiming higher "! I think you friend needs to think of her children's job satisfaction rather than what others might think

100% agree with every word!

BiscuitLover3679 · 02/12/2021 19:42

@JoeAl

Happened to me once when my daughter wanted to be a postman when she grows up. My aunt found her idea very funny and told her to aim higher. So she was very upset for a while. So I said, "there is nothing wrong with being e postman, I think it is a lovely job. You get to travel a lot and see lots of different streets and people every day. If you want to be a postman, be a postman. And, if one day, you want to "aim higher", find an original idea around posting and start a company about it." The same goes with the bins I guess. Be the person who does the job, and one day, if you want something "higher", be innovative and build a business around bins, why not. I don't think being "higher" is about the job, but about the mindset. If you love what you do, you are in a better position than 90% of the population. And if you want to try something new, you can always change it or build a business around it.

Love this post.

Strangeways19 · 02/12/2021 19:45

I don't think YABU, your sister has shown before that comment and now that she looks down on certain occupations, I used to want to be a lorry driver as a child, I never was but I don't think making judgements about what people do is very cool