What do the regulars here do for a living?

[LostAllMySocks]

Hi,

I wondered if I could ask what the regulars on Pedant's Corner do for a living?

I'm just wondering because my DS is an unstoppable force when it comes to nitpicking grammar, and I feel as though this must be a skill that someone wants.

In additon to nitpicking grammer, he also loves long dry texts, like the online copy of the Highway Code. He also really likes any rule-based systems. The larger and more complex they are, the happier he is. I think law is out because crime gives him the heebie jeebies.

I would be really glad to know which career paths are open to people who have this laser vison for typos and grammatical slips.

Thanks!

To be fair there are virtually no fields of employment where you can get away with getting grumpy at people who don't understand the topic as well as you do/do understand it but differ in their interpretation. That's a character trait he's going to need to work on whatever he does.

Seconded (or thirded).

Is he autistic? Sounds like a textbook case. There are loads of jobs in government - local and national - that involve writing/ understanding documents. Maybe something in policy?

Is he technically proficient? Doing something like an engineering degree with the aim of getting into a policies and procedures department might work for him. Or even working for British Standards (although most of their standards are written by volunteer committee from industry, led by an employed chair)

QA is also an option, but it sounds like he may have to improve his people skills to be truly successful there

Is he good with numbers and investigating? If so, forensic accountancy might be a good route to go down - it involves finding irregularities in documents and reports etc.

To be fair there are virtually no fields of employment where you can get away with getting grumpy at people who don't understand the topic as well as you do/do understand it but differ in their interpretation. That's a character trait he's going to need to work on whatever he does.

Tax Inspectors at HMRC often fit this description!

I was an accountant working in banking who ended up in policy / compliance / interpretation of regulations. (I like accurate numbers as well as accurate words).
I agree that noone likes a pedant in the workplace so learning when and how to communicate and edit problems noted is pretty key to success, as well as how to complete a task on time even if it's imperfect.

I am an author. My editor (particularly my proof editor) is pedantic to a fault! Editors don't just nitpick grammar, they sift through timelines to make sure they are accurate (am still traumatised by a book I wrote where two Fridays happened in one week) and tiny details to make sure that all facts are correct.

R v Brown is something everyone should know about though.

As is R v R re marital rape.

It's a huge part of social history.

OP, even if he does a conversion (in my day it was the GDL. Who knows what it is now), he'll have to do the Criminal module.

I am a medical proof reader permanently from home, I look through hundreds of lines of AI written medical text for the many errors that AI is capable of. While I find it fairly easy it seems to be quite a niche job and is well paid.

I get grumpy and irritated with my (excellent) boss so I don't think it is a flaw just a sign of dedication and needing to get things right.

Thank you this is all fantastically helpful.

Yes DS is working on being patient. He's only 14. Yes he is also very much ASD, and struggles with social stuff. But he knows that and is working on it.

I'm chucking at the HMRS tax inspector comment.

DS is very sensitive, and I'm sure will grow up to be very good at being kind to others too.

The medical proof reader job sounds really interesting for me actually. I'd enjoy that.

@Vroomfondleswaistcoat's comment really feels like DS's skill.

I think the thing I'm getting from this thread is that DS's skill is something that would be useful in any area (accountancy, computing, law, medicine etc). So he could do whichever degree he is most interested in and then move to a specific job that requires lots of reading and understanding and also checking grammar. That is really encouraging. Thanks so much for your help.

Studied Biochem, Immunology and Biotech. Three degrees later am an external QA head for immunooncology drugs in large pharmaceutical companies.

Attention to detail, including grammar, is useful in audits, mathematical, medical and chemical disciplines. In the case of the latter two, it is also expected to be possessive of a Type A personality if you don’t want to be stuck in the lab your whole life aka lab rat.

If he's very sensitive I wouldn't recommend a career in law. It's usually pretty high pressure, even at regional firms, with high caseloads and stretching chargeable hours targets.

I, too, immediately thought of something in the tax world. It is the ultimate "rule based system" although the rules change all the time, just to keep you on your toes.
In my day you would have a Partner, who was the public face of the company and good at schmoozing clients, but they relied on their back-office nerds who could argue about definitions or quote Section numbers & case law.
The nerds didn't need people skills; all they needed was to know how to save clients shed-loads of money. Many tax people start work with HMRC (apprentice or graduate) but then change from gamekeeper to poacher.

This is a 14 year old who memorises game card rules and gets angry at people who don't want to hear the minutae of it all.

I think mum is over estimating how useful this is in a career.

Wait until he's 17/18 to gauge it maybe.

I'm listening to the Grenfell podcast and huge emphasis on those in the building industry not understanding different building regulations/ certifications and test reports .

Working for the BRE might suit him ... my neighbour works for BRE and I have no idea what he is talking about half the time as he is incredibly detail orientated .

He is great for washing machine recommendations as he reads all the test data etc

Patent attorney! Attention to detail, reading long complex texts and application of rules are all very important skills. You need to have a STEM degree then you do the legal qualification (IP and contract law only) on the job. Interesting work and pays well!

Health and safety is a good career for a pedant who likes process.

Patent Attorney needs a stem degree but Trademark Attorney doesn't.

Thanks! This is great. :-)

I'm in pharma industry mostly, but am also actively involved in local community events and Women's Institute.

MFL teacher

Clerk in crown court, does not require a law degree. Lots of document/attention to detail etc..

Uni academic, poet, and professional performer.