What careers sound good on paper nightmare in reality and what sounds nightmare on paper good in reality.

[Cupcakeicecream]

On paper teaching sounds great, all those weeks off. Weekends off working in primary schools sounds fun secondary schools you can specialise in a subject you prefer. Reality grading lesson plans admin alot of work not enough pay.
Firefighters and police sounds fun reality dangerous.
In paper admin or reception jobs sounds boring and tedious paper work. But some have great hours and good work life balance.
In your opinion what jobs aren't worth the hype?

A friend worked for the UK Border Force and absolutely hated it on TV, as he said that 99% of the job was sitting around and most migrants were entirely legal. He also said with customs officers find nothing in the vast majority of bags they search. This wouldn't make for good TV, so they only show the "exciting bits"

Travel agent sounded fantastic to me. Talking about holidays all day, selling amazing trips and sampling a few yourself for research purposes 🤣
In reality it was day in day out hard sell, constantly expanding targets and spending most of my time pricing up holidays for people who at the end of it all were 'just looking'.

I now have an interview on Monday so we'll see how that goes.

Working in a call centre.

Sounds awful and I find that it's the main job people in general have no problem at openly sneering at and looking down on those that work in one.

In reality, starting on the bottom rung in a call centre for a good company - for example a bank - can be excellent in terms of opportunities, work/life balance and benefits.

For someone who is intelligent, motivated and driven you can scale your way up at lightening speed. There are so many opportunities for progression and free qualifications and lots of companies that have a fantastic benefits package.

I work in a call centre for a bank - well technically now, I WFH and don't do anything linked to incoming calls - but my base is still the centre.

I started 15 years ago with GCSEs as my only qualification, earning £15k. Taking incoming calls about accounts. I learnt my job inside out, I made myself indispensable to my department and I completed every NVQ and professional banking qualification they offered (for free, mainly in work time). Applied for other roles, had some promotions.

I now still work 'in a call centre', working 35 hours for £50k plus bonus but in a specialised project team. I could have pushed further and could probably be earning more but I've found my sweet spot where I am - I don't do a minute of overtime, I have free private healthcare, I WFH, I'm a management grade which means a higher annual bonus but I have no downline responsibilities and I have a fairly straightforward, interesting role. Great benefits, generous pension, totally flexible hours.

I'm pitied often by people who know where I work but not my salary or role. People who I know earn far less than me, just with a more respected job title...it tickles me to see the pity and vague smug look of superiority I sometimes catch. I feel like saying 'I'm OK hun, really' 😂😂

I'm by no means unique. I have lots of colleagues that started 3 or 4 years ago taking inbound calls for £20k and they're now on their way up and earning £35k plus in other roles.

There are also people who do 6 months, can't deal with being told to fuck off by a dick customer, leave before they get any chance to progress and then tell everyone else how awful all call centres are. It's not for snowflakes and you need a thick skin in the beginning.

Good luck 🤞

I’m glad you’re having a good experience, and I’d never look down on someone who worked in a call centre, because I did the job myself for around four years.

I’m definitely not a ‘snowflake’ and consider myself pretty good at rolling with the punches.

That being said, I found the office politics toxic, petty tyrant team managers who seemed to get their jobs based on their ability to suck up, favoured call handlers who never got monitored, people being dragged into rooms because their face didn’t fit. The day I left (after working my notice) was one of the best in my life

Self-employed gardener - amazing job!

Flexible hours, lovely customers, good exercise and good for mental health too. The weather is not as much of an issue as you'd think - most days I'd rather be outdoors than sat in an office. Love seeing the difference I've made, feels like a really helpful and wholesome sort of thing to be spending my time on. And there's always loads to learn. Huge demand for my services. And was very easy to get into.

Downsides - I won't be able to do this forever, it takes its toll on back/knees! Never going to make a fortune, no sick/holiday pay. Little work in Jan/Feb.

Canine Arborist - turns out one has to remove bags of dog poo that have been hung on trees.

Phlebotomist - just bloody awful, you'd be a clot to even consider it.

Pirate - the Jolly Roger is not as much fun as it sounds

I considered going into Phlembotomy (but doesnt currently fit with my preexisting responsabilities so on hold, it is on my list for future jobs though), wondering if your just making a pun or if you have a reason why its terrible?

It was just a pun - I hope it wasn't in-vein.

People do look at me and do a shudder when I say I am a receptionist in a Mental Health Unit.

It is fine most of the time, but obviously some of the clients are difficult/their families are and we get individuals who come in with conspiracy theories and expect me to agree with them all. Did you know you could cure Covid by putting a spoon in a glass and stirring backwards???.

We never get involved with agreeing with anyone on the state of a patients' care as it is not our business and we are not qualified.

Worse are the ones that keep wanting to chat to you about rubbish!

Also some come in with a bee in their bonnet about various things.

On the whole though it can be enjoyable and most of the patients/visitors are lovely!

I think I would love your job are you a specialised health secretary or can you get receptionist job in mental health without that? This sounds ideal for me.

Crew in Live Music industry. Everyone thinks it’s a non stop party full of groupies and drugs but in reality it’s 20 hour shifts, lots of sitting around waiting and terrible job security.

you do get to travel a lot but usually too tired to enjoy it much.

How did you get into this? As someone who works in financial services (but nowhere close to the tech side of things!) I wouldn't have a clue what these tech roles involve, what they're called, which sort of companies provide them or how to get into it! Very interested to know what's out there, though!

Teaching has never looked good on paper to me. By the time you add up all the extra hours you’re pretty much forced to work you’re earning a whole lot less. Lots of other jobs that pay better and a whole lot stress

That should say ‘whole lot less stress’

I work in care and you wouldn't believe the amount of people who think it's just sitting with residents having a cup of tea!

This is SO true!!🙄

I'm a jeweller and I (mostly) like it
Pros : creative, variety, making things that people are going to keep for a long time, repurposing and restoring old jewellery, buying/making my own jewellery at cost price, love my work colleagues

Cons : hands and nails get wrecked, pay is rubbish below average, working for clients who haven't got the faintest clue how long it takes to create something from scratch!!

@Oysterbabe I hope your chat goes well. Strangely I had a colleague (a solicitor) say almost the identical thing to me about 10 years ago - she hated the firm we worked at. So did I and we both left. Long story short she now works as a self employed consultant (think Setfords/Keystone etc) and is 100% happier, fulfilled and really enjoys it.

I had an interview this morning and a call with a job offer this afternoon. I could tell that the woman interviewing me was very keen during the interview. The offer is a slightly lower salary, which is fair enough. It's an area I've never worked in before whereas I have 20 years experience in my current field, I can't really expect them to match. I can afford the drop in salary. I said I'd give it some thought and call her tomorrow.
I'm very nervous about leaving after so long, even though I hate it. I think I have Stockholm syndrome. No guarantee I'll like the new job either and I'll have less money. It's a risk worth taking though isn't it?

Well done Oysterbabe on the job offer!! It's always scary to take the plunge with a new job but sometimes it is worth a salary sacrifice to get yourself to a happier place. Is the new job offer in a different area of law or a non law job?😀When I left my previous job (which featured a bullying alcoholic for a boss) I felt such relief and I was earning less for a bit. Looking back it was absolutely the right thing to do. So I would say take the risk, you are very very unlikely to regret it.

@Oysterbabe it absolutely is. Can you say what area without being too outing? I’m close to giving up law altogether.

I gave up 17 years in law earlier this year and currently re-training as a train driver. I love it, so different and freeing - don’t even have an email address or number. Wage is a drop but better pension, and mental health. Wish I’d done it sooner.

Fantastic news. Definitely worth the risk. I was 16 years in my old firm and 20 years in that area of law. 2 years in new area of law no regrets. All your skills transfer. Good luck.