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?

We're not all bankrupt yet.... 😆

Carer, poorly paid with some eye wateringly long shifts. Although the pay and shifts statement is very true the reality is it's a beautiful job where you can form really strong bonds with your clients. Sometimes I can't believe I actually get paid to do something I love so much. I really get to make a difference to people's well-being and that's such a privilege.

My DP is an architect which on paper (and for a very very small number) sounds glamorous and like you get to shape the world we live in.
In reality, takes ages to qualify, the pay given how qualified you have to be is shocking, and most of the work is pretty dull.

I also agree with running a pub, tiny margins and long hours.

Dentistry.
Sounds well-paid, flexible, rewarding and respected.
In reality; everyone wants to sue you; they don't respect your clinical opinion; your back and neck are ruined from the nature of the job and the costs of keeping a practice running mean it's not even well paid any more.

This is such an interesting thread!
I agree with secondary school teaching. You see yourself as in Dead Poets Society but it's not quite like that!

Academia for sure: you're so smart, cutting edge research, bringing out exciting papers, getting to explore your own ideas, everyone very impressed, interesting job, work with like minded intelligent people, inspire, passion!
Reality: publish or perish, get grants or get out, late nights, work weekends, no work life balance, poor pay, burn out, getting scooped, short fixed term contracts, no job stability, can't get mortgage, competitive, evil group leaders, mental breakdown. Less than 1% of all PhDs make it to group leader.

Copywriter. Sometimes you get to work on something interesting but most of the time it's trying to make something quite boring sound good, with tough deadlines and clients who want miracles.

Events organiser - I enjoyed it overall but lots of admin, budget crunching, dealing with problems all the time, held accountable for shit ultimately not under your control, and very stressful.

Accounting and tax roles are regarded as boring but actually:

• can pay very very well (6 figs)
• often have reasonable/predictable hours
• have lots of scope to work part time/from home
• often involve lots of interesting work
• are quite accessible with more and more routes straight from school/on funded apprentice type routes even with big four

Lastqueenofscotland2 all the architects i know make great money - 100k plus after a few years experience.

I'm an editor. I was really good at spelling when I was a child, and I always thought a job "correcting people's spelling" would be perfect for me.
I was in my 20s before I found out it actually was a job!
It's not the perfect job but it gives me a lot of what I want from employment (I work alone).

Civil servant- everyone thinks it’s an easy job, boozy lunches, completely unsackable, low stress,

Reality- underpaid, high stress, politicians interfering, no private life, austerity/budget cuts mean rounds of sackings in which seniority matter more than performance for being kept on, a do more with less constant pressure until you shit diamonds. Scoffing food on the run (no lunches), lots of unpaid overtime and being on call. The feeling that the public hates you as incompetent and lazy when you’re neither.

Thread summary - all jobs are shit.

Being a midwife has many good points but the constant threat of being hauled over the coals as some kind of evil baby-murderer if you make a mistake or even if things just go wrong (as they sometimes do with the best will in the world) is absolutely destroying the mental health of a lot of our midwives. Most of the time when things go wrong there are multiple complex factors in play, but one individual is often made to carry the can. If I could go back I would chose a different path, midwifery hasn’t wrecked me yet but I’m sure it’ll get me one day.

Museum curator. In theory you spend your time researching and looking after fascinating objects and putting on exhibitions for the public. Everyone you work with is fascinating and intelligent.

In reality most job are working with volunteers - some lovely but mainly difficult and unreliable at best. Everything happens incredibly slowly, every job is insecure/shirt fixed term contrasts and the aim of the game is to squeeze as much woke out of everything as you possibly can. I was so bored.

TA... theory... little/no responsibility, pot washing and skipping round the playground with cute kids and lovely long holidays.
Reality... unbelievably shit pay, dealing with challenging behaviour and/or standing in for the class teacher.

I agree with secondary school teaching. You see yourself as in Dead Poets Society but it's not quite like that

Yep that and Dangerous Minds have alot to answer for lol-highly misleading.

Funeral director, sounds terrible but for the right person it's a really good job, always in need too - like many occupations it's a real calling type job not for everyone

I’d love to be an editor. It’s probably too late for me now, at 48.

Bank manager

Thought: well paid, high status, intellectually difficult, respected

Reality: competitive ruthless unethical colleagues and management, relentless sexism, men paid more whatever you do, tallest man always given highest status. Depressing.

Acting especially if you are not a character type actor/actress who gets roles with looks. I recall the actress Saam Womack saying she spent her life starving as if she put on any weight she couldn't get any acting work. Julianna Moore has said the same. It's a very brutal industry.

Accountant sounds good, but a hairdresser can earn more.

Writer. Lonely isolating job for almost no money. You spend 4 yrs working on a book then a teenager will spend £2.99 on it, reckon they’ve been ripped off and return it for a refund - after leaving bad reviews on loads of sites because it’s a romance and they don’t like romance books. 🤷‍♀️

My friend works in marketing for a pharmaceutical company and she loves her job.

As others have said - lawyer.

Not glamorous or necessarily well paid, demanding clients who don’t see you as human. Heavily regulated.

Came in to say HR! I hear a lot of people say they're thinking of retraining in it because they're a "people-person" and I just think "noooooo, don't do it! You won't be a people person by the time they're finished with you, you'll be a raging misanthrope."