Secrets of your trade.

[Confusedfornow]

I have worked in my current area of expertise for the last 20 years or so. It's in Aviation, can't say exactly what or for who as it's a relatively small community (for my role) and it would be VERY outing. Before this, my only other "job" that I did for a few years was dancing (yes, that kind ). So I don't have massive experience of the world of work.

But I was chatting with some people in a bar over the weekend and conversation turned to jobs and then to my role. I was telling them about some stuff which is perfectly normal to me, but was absolutely news to them.

For instance . .

When a plane is "parked" and everything is switched off, the aircraft is referred to as being "Cold and dark".

If a helicopter has engine failure, it won't just fall out of the sky. The pilots are trained in a procedure called "autorotation" and can usually land safely even if the engine isn't running at all.

All British Airways flights use the call sign "Speed Bird". It's unique and no other airline in the world uses it.

Last one . .

Pilots can't wear polarised sunglasses. They make the electronic displays on the flight deck appear black, and you can't read any information from them.

So, what do you know from your jobs that is mundane for you but which most people wouldn't have a clue/be surprised by?

Been in HR for 20 years.
People are weird. I should write a book!

Yes, crosser’s post has just made me cry too.

FE tutor here

The disruptive kids are most certainly not my favourite and I really do not love them a little big more. Sorry.

I have also never falsified any results or documents.

We rarely judge parents but we do judge the kids if they don't put the effort into their course work, we kick them off the course.

You definetly can fail BTEC, happens all the time, although we may pass units and not the whole qualification.

My trade secret, we always focus on the wellbeing of the kids, never of the staff, we work ourselves to the bone to do the best for each and every kid, but in reality we cannot make them pass, they need to do their bit too i.e study at home and put the effort in. I really do wish more parents woukd realise that.

I used to be a librarian. We don’t care or judge what you read, and we don’t care why your library materials are late. Most people forget to return items sometimes, most have guilty pleasure reads, ‘naughty’ books or adults reading children’s books as a trip down memory lane. We’re just happy you add to our statistics by checking items out.

Ok, petrol related. Premium fuel is often made in part of gas in its liquefied state using a special process. This makes it cleaner with fewer impurities. It also means that while a tank of regular fuel is cheaper and might take you 300 miles, the premium one will take you 350 or more so actually is the cheaper option.

Supermarket fuel is cheap because it doesn't contain additives to keep your engine clean so your fuel economy will drop and you're more likely to have engine trouble. Regular fuel contains the additives so will keep your engine in better condition.

Crosser62 you have made me cry. My dad died in hospital and I didn't want to leave him but knowing you amazing angels looked after him, even in death, has made me SO happy.

Also I have been in hospital a few times and always gave my nurses a thank you card.

I loved sending in compliments too. You nurses don't get the recognition you so rightfully deserve so it's only right that when we receive care that is second to none then it's only right that you should be thanked for it.

canadianbanana, can I ask about the 'flip side' of what you say? Do librarians feel happy/satisfied to see people obviously enjoying books?

You probably all know this but...

Having worked in an independent fashion shop, the mark ups are as follows. If we sell a dress for £100, it has been bought for £25 so everything is priced X 4.

If you buy a pair of earrings for £25, they cost the retailer £6.25. So that's why you see sales for 25% off, or end of season 50% off but rarely 75% off because the retailer will make absolutely no money on that whatsoever.

I will add I have no idea if this applies to large fashion chains, their mark ups could be greater!

I work with addicts, mentally unwell, the unemployable (due to their past). Please know we are all rooting for you. We desperately want to you to get better and get back on your feet. We do care

DarlingNikita : Absolutely, love to see people enjoying reading. We sometimes had parents complain about the quality of the books their children enjoyed reading, and my response was always the same, that it’s great that their children are reading books and their tastes would probably change. Or not, but either way, it’s wonderful that they’re reading.

I work in a call centre for a high street bank.

• most agents will have a refund/gesture of goodwill limit they can give to you without having to refer to a manager. It's normally £250 or below as I think that's the amount it costs to refer to Financial Ombudsman. So if you are clear about what you want as a GOGW and are pleasant the agent will probably give it quite readily
• I know it's annoying that the telephone system tells you 'we're busier than normal'. It's because the industry standard is for calls to be answered in 20 seconds or less - so this will kick in even if the wait is only 25 seconds. It doesn't necessarily mean we're shit at managing capacity and staffing levels!
• please don't get upset with people if you call outside of normal 9-5 working hours and/or weekend or bank holidays and we can't fix an issue immediately. Most of the time, all the back office functions shut down at this time and only frontline staff are available. Plus, a lot of older systems physically don't work on non-working days.

Ginburee that post is so true.I remember a incident when i was working on the wards and we were trying to arrange a Nursing Home for this patient
The relative said to me how about Rose Cottage you are often talking about it and it sounds lovely.My friend who was a nurse said i am afraid its full.She than asked me when they would be a vacancy.

Dunno about the premium fuel thing, i didnt get anywhere near that amount extra when i tested it, the extra money certainly outweighed the extra mileage i got!

Civil servants don't have trolleys delivering their free tea and biscuits to their desks. In fact they have to buy their own tea making stuff including milk & sugar and their own mugs & spoons, the only things provided are the kettle/water boiler, and the fridge. Mostly they can only get catering (i.e. drinks & biscuits) for meetings if they have non-civil servants (e.g. suppliers) attending.

Don't know about these days, but it used to be that the space for a staff member was directly related to grade and not need, so a clerk with responsibility for 10 filing cabinets and a cupboard would in theory have less space than their manager who had 1 filing cabinet & no cupboards. And things as insignificant as the colour of furnishings was covered by the official secrets act.

One of the reasons civil servants have so much annual leave is that on a number of occasions leave allowances were increased in return for much reduced pay rises e.g. if annual inflation was at 8%, you would have a pay increase of 2% and an extra day holiday.

There’s a lot more to a legal arrest than the caution. Missing any part of it makes it illegal. If you’re kicking off it’s just done once you’ve stopped being silly. Don’t swear at the copper who nicks you, you’ll be arrested for public order as well as whatever else you’re being lifted for.

When I did some temp work in a department store if you heard an announcement saying "The time is now..." it meant you needed to search your area for anything suspicious (bomb).

One from hotel work - I once shadowed housekeeping for a morning and discovered that the water glasses and tea cups didn't go for a spin in the dishwasher each day, but instead had a quick wipe 'round with the same cloth that had done the rest of the room

Current jobs isn't all that interesting in terms of secrets, though we do an awful lot of "cut and paste" ing in reports (consulting).

Mental health nurse here. Symptoms of mental illness can be really challenging, and when caring for patients we might not be safe, we don't always know what to say... And it is very difficult when we are depriving someone of their liberty. But patience, compassion and love are what we can give. Some express it with brews or a room tidy, some with hugs, handholds and hours of listening. I've worked in psychiatry 28 years and am still blown away sometimes by the commitment and love shown by clinical staff and by the reciprocal love shown by our patients often in deep, unknowable distress.
Bit of an earnest post

I have been a nurse for over 20 years (and a midwife for 17yrs). As a nurse I wholeheartedly agree with all the other nurse comments on here. I still tell porters we have a patient needing to go to Rose cottage, and open a window (when possible) to give the soul of the departed freedom to leave. We used to lay a flower on the chest of our patients who had passed away, but this is not allowed now. I always spend as much time as I can with all my patients, but more so with those who are nearing the end of their life. I have spent many a night with a dying person, whether they be conscious and needing reassurance or peacefully sleeping, I talk to them in the same way. I hold their hand or stroke their hair, apologise for not being able to give them as much time as I would like to, I always tell them when I am leaving the room and when I will be back. I make sure their tables are clean and tidy, and any photos or cards they have with them are neatly arranged near to them. I have always felt it to be a great privilege to be with somebody as they leave this life, just as much a privilege as when bringing a new life into this world. I missed my Dad’s passing by 5 minutes, and will never get over that, he was not alone in any way, but I deeply regret not being there soon enough. I really do care for all of my patients as if they were my relative, not sure if student nurses are still taught to do that, but they should be.

If you’re kicking off it’s just done once you’ve stopped being silly.

Can you explain that a bit?

.....and I have kept every card & note I ever received from a patient. My favourite is a little message written across the top of a newspaper page and then torn off in to a long strip. These things mean the world to me.

I work as a primary school TA, I have absolutely no teaching, childcare, education related qualifications, my degree is in something entirely different. I am regularly left solely in charge of a class of 30 children teaching phonics, maths, whatever. If the teacher is doing PPA or off sick I cover, when I first started 6 years ago a qualified teacher would cover. I get paid £9 an hour for this. Our schools are in a funding crisis that has got notably worse in the 6 years I have been doing the job.

Tearing up reading the posts from you amazing nurses and carers - thank you so much for everythingyou do, you're all absoloute superheros.

I just don’t know where to start. I know so much about marketing it makes my brain hurt.

I used to work for a large opticians company. I had no idea how complex being an optical assistant was until I got the job.
It's not just about helping someone chose glasses and booking appointments, it's also fitting glasses, which can be complex, dispensing glasses, which can also be very complex depending on the person's prescription, head size and choice of glasses; doing repairs and adjustments, teaching people how to put contact lenses in and out, doing delegated 'pre-screening' for optometrists who don't often know how to use the machines themselves and get stroppy about having to do their own pre-screening if you're juggling 15 other jobs and they're just sat playing on their phone waiting for the next patient...
You need quite a good grasp of what prescriptions mean and it can get quite complicated. The fit of your glasses can have a massive effect on if you're able to see properly out of them. I am genuinely baffled how people get away with buying glasses online unless they have a very small prescription...

The main trade secret I'll tell is that if you're a nice customer and have been a bit clumsy with your glasses staff will bend over backwards to try and get them sorted out at as little cost as possible. If you're rude, a solution may not be found and you might have to buy a whole new pair of glasses (sadly, sometimes this is the only option even if you're nice though).

Oh, and sometimes people's glasses get broken when trying to adjust them... they might just be replaced by an identical pair off the shelf rather than tell you yours got broken... Although I always fessed up.

Oh and I worked in a community mental health team before and if someone is in trouble at a community appointment they call us and ask for 'the blue book'