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work from home

Dog groomer, librarian and knight.

Blink 182 said it best: Work sucks, I know.

When we're kids, we dream of becoming astronauts, marine biologists, firefighters … only to discover that these jobs are nowhere near what we imagined them to be. As it turns out, all jobs require work, sadly.

A recent Reddit thread asked: "What is an overly romanticized job?" And though the answers are blunt, they do reveal another side of these so-called "dream jobs."


Working With Animals

vets, dog groomers, zookeepers, lame jobsAce Ventura Movie GIF by MANGOTEETHGiphy

"You spend most of your time cleaning poop and you're paid like shit." – Coc0tte


FBI Agent

fbi, field work

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"I dated a woman who was with the FBI and she enjoyed what she did most of the time but wow was it dry. Imagine sitting in a car watching a house for 6 hours then going back to the office and spending a few hours writing a report. Or looking through 10 years of purchase records and receipts that you pulled out of the trash to build a case. Or sitting in a room at midnight listening in on a dude having phone sex with his mistress.The overwhelming majority of her job was writing reports, status updates, and reviewing financial documents in an office. The hours were terrible, the work seemed boring, and the bureaucracy was thick." – L_Bart0

Video Game Testing

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"I had a boyfriend who did it for several years… You play the same five minutes of game over and over again, hundreds of times (sometimes thousands). The job kinda killed his passion for gaming, and as far as I know, he still doesn't play anything for fun." – QuinnRMonroe

Knight at Medieval Times

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"Those guys start as squires and deal with tons of grunt work and when they become knights, hours are still terrible but now you risk very serious injuries during practice or during a show. All of my friends that have worked or work there have had multiple surgeries, broken bones, you name it. They do like having the spotlight on them and they're like brothers but usually hate it after a while." – Linas416

Traveling Sales

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"For some reason some of my old coworkers got it in their heads that my traveling sales job was whisking me away to exotic places and gourmet meals on the company dime. No. No no no. Unless you think Syracuse is basically Paris and eating a poorly wrapped burrito while driving because you don't have time to stop for lunch between appointments is fine dining, sales is not sexy." – FistedTate

"Saddest part for me was on the road one time going out to a solo dinner (as usual) and being sat with a candle and rose in the middle of the table. I looked around and saw every other table was a couple and only then did it hit me it was Valentine's Day." – rocket-guy-12

Academia

reddit, reddit hot

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"If you get offered a professorship in Boise Idaho you have to take it, because you almost certainly will not be offered another one." – workacct1999

Architect

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"Seems like lots of good romcom boyfriends are architects. In reality, the hours are long, the stress is extremely high, and pay is really poor for a skilled profession.Edit: I'm an interior designer, and it never stops surprising me that I make FAR more money than architects, with far less training." – RandomRavenclaw87

"There's a great essay that's titled something along the lines of 'the best time to be an architect is at a cocktail party.' I'm lucky. I genuinely love architecture and design and didn't really mind the killer hours and stupid tests when I was younger, and I have mostly worked for firms that ask me do quality work most of the time. But man oh man do the general public have no idea how cutthroat and fragmented the business side of it is." – Bulloak

Humanitarian Work

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"People imagine you selflessly save starving babies. In reality it's a commute to a desk job and staring at a computer all day." – DJRoone

The Film Industry

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"I'm currently on a show I love with people I love and it's the weirdest mix of dream job and ruining my life. I get to make incredible things but the deadlines are unreasonable, I haven't had a weekend in months and neither have my coworkers. I feel like I'm in a suicide cult where we are all too afraid to let each other down, meanwhile we are just lining the pockets of the CEO of Netflix." – jerisad

"Other people: "Do you ever get to meet {insert famous performer} ?

Me: "Sadly, yes." – Wuz314159

Lawyer

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"Working as a lawyer isn't anything like on TV." – Grapezard

"I'm a lawyer and most of my friends are lawyers and I know very, very few who enjoy their jobs. The disconnect between what people think lawyers do and what lawyering is actually like on a day to day basis is massive." – _Doctor_Teeth_

Chef

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"It's not all creativity and celebrity. It's almost entirely grunt work, danger, injury, and long hours resulting in missed time with family." – tamiraisredditing

Fashion

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"People have big dreams, but most people end up working positions similar to quality control assistant at a random industrial uniform company rather than a designer at Forever 21, let alone Dior. Reality is quite brutal. Even if you do make it into the mainstream side of things, be prepared for all the negative stereotypes. It's pretty much true that it's filled with toxic, judgmental, superficial people who are also kinda racist…And those ethically sourced, made by women in developing countries, feel good brands? You'll be shocked by how morally questionable it gets behind the scenes.I left the industry kind of by accident due to life circumstances, but I always knew I was never going to be happy in that environment. Nor would I have made as much money or have any semblance of a work life balance." – lithelylove

Librarian

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"It's not quiet, we don't read all day, we clean up our fair share of bodily fluids, plunge many toilets, and interact with homeless/mentally ill patrons fairly regularly depending on our location. Sure a bulk of our job is recommending books to readers and coming up with fun programs, but sometimes I feel like a community secretary…Or a social worker, which I did not sign up for. I love my job, but it is absolutely exhausting and gross and stressful and scary sometimes." – _s_p_q_r

Writer

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"You picture yourself at a typewriter in a cabin by a lake, crackling fire in the fireplace, a golden retriever asleep at your feet and a glass of lagavulin in your hand dreaming up the next great American novel. Contrast that to reality where the writing jobs that actually pay the bills usually involve long nights and weekends sitting in a cube farm writing the instructions that come with a toaster that nobody will ever read." – capn_gingerbeard

Airline Pilot

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"People think you are like Leonardo Dicaprio in Catch Me if You Can; swaggering through the airport, wearing sunglasses, surrounded by hot flight attendants. In reality, we're like glorified bus drivers whose job is 1% excitement and 99% absolute boredom just sitting in a cockpit waiting for life to pass by." – Essex1820

By this point, you might be wondering, IS there a job that's as romantic as it sounds? One user provided a humorous answer:

"IT is exactly as romantic as it sounds. It really is a bunch of nerdy guys in a basement spending most of the day on Reddit and acting like we're swamped with work."

And a delivery driver came in to offer the thread a different perspective:

"I work at a Dominos delivering pizza and everybody acts as if it is the most embarrassing job but I love it! I basically get paid 20 bucks an hour on average… and honestly I like it a lot more than my graphic design job."

Though maybe no job is as glamorous as it looks on paper, hopefully we can all find that sweet spot where even the less-than-ideal working conditions are still workable.


This article originally appeared on 11.24.21

Dan Price on Twitter.

Dan Price is the go-to example for business done right. No doubt you’ve heard of the CEO made famous by going against the corporate grain, giving every employee a base annual salary of $70K, which—despite criticism—led to soaring profits (six years and counting).

So it’s probably no surprise that on Giving Tuesday, the business owner with a compassionate vision once again chose people over profit. Doesn’t make the idea any less genius though.

The Gravity Payments CEO announced on Twitter that every employee receives $500 dollars a year to donate to the nonprofit of their choice. With at least 200 employees, that is no small sum. But then again, Dan Price has made a name for himself pairing ambition with altruism.


His tweet also read:

“Our employees are collectively way smarter than I ever could be as CEO. So instead of making top-down decisions on how to spend our money, we try to make bottom-up decisions.”

Price came to the base wage of $70K idea after an agitated worker told him that entry-level salary was, to put it bluntly, a rip-off. After realizing that the employee was right, Price was inspired to make a change for good, literally. To make this happen, he would have to slash his nearly million dollar annual income by 90%.

The decision was met with heavy criticism, but how can you argue with tripled revenue and a doubled customer base? These were the reported companywide transformations posted to Twitter after only six years.

Even during the pandemic, when revenue dropped by 55%, employees were so loyal to Price that they voluntarily took pay cuts to make it through the tough time. Those employees were then paid back, even receiving raises after the company earned profits again.

Bottom line: Price continues to live by his mission to “invest in people,” and it just works.

Since becoming the “CEO just trying to stand up for the underdog,” Price regularly tweets about injustices created by corporations, busting myths and making public call-outs.

Like this one, where Price pointed out that keeping stores open on Thanksgiving doesn’t actually help anyone. Least of all the workers forced to leave their families.

Or when he gave some staggering numbers to show the ridiculousness of “idolizing the rich.”

In regards to Price’s Giving Tuesday tweet, people were generally moved at how this empowered employees. Many people commented, “where can I apply?” Which is funny, yes, but also a testament to how (sadly) radical a move this is.

Business models that actually embody shared values are not only possible, they’re necessary. Though we are far from finishing, society has made major steps reevaluating work-life balance, living wages and fairer working conditions. This is in part because of people like Dan Price, true leaders who understand that power grows when it is shared.

Gravity Payments, Dan’s company, says on it’s website “we’re changing the way the industry operates. The world is taking notice.”

It certainly is. Hopefully the world not only takes notice, but follows the example as well.

More

A mom writes 2 raw letters to herself about the 2 lives she's led at home and work.

'I just wanted to let you know that I see you, and I recognize the sacrifices you’re making for your family.'

Read them both, all the way through. You'll thank us later.

Dear Stay-at-Home Mom,

Can I be honest? Sometimes, I get jealous of you.


Like, when I picture your mornings minus the chaos of hustling kids out the door to day care. I picture breakfasts eaten without staring at the clock, maybe a morning kids’ show, everyone still in PJs. I see you taking the kids to the zoo or the park or the lake mid-morning, snapping selfies with them and texting your husband the funny thing your oldest said. I see you throwing a load of laundry in the dryer when you get home (or whenever you WANT!), playing goofy games with the kids over lunch, eating food you didn’t have to pack at 11 p.m. the night before.

When the youngest goes down for a nap, I see you getting things done around the house or working on your in-home business or bonding with your oldest over a craft project.

I see you witnessing every milestone and every funny moment, amassing memories that will make you smile years from now.

Image via iStock.

I see you, glowing and healthy from days spent outside, chatting up the other moms at the park or the library or the gym, wearing whatever the heck you want, never going to boring department meetings, never realizing mid-day that you forgot to put deodorant on and can’t do a thing about it.

It all seems so nice as I sit in my cramped, sunless office, stressing about the project I’m way over my head in and wondering what my kids are doing right now (that I’m missing).

But don’t worry. I know there’s more to it than that.

I know you also deal with meltdowns and picky eaters and fighting over toys (over everything) and long, lonely days where you’re way over-touched and you don’t talk to a single person over the age of 4. I know there are rainy days, snowy days, teething days, and inexplicably-crazy-kids days. I know you go to the same park a bazillion times a week, repeat the same phrases to your kids all day, play the same games over and over, and prepare and clean up SO MUCH food.

I know you’re desperate for alone time and adult time, and I know you feel guilty when you take that out on the kids.

I know you think about your education and your pre-kids career, and you wonder if you’re doing the right thing. I know you wish you could contribute more financially. I know you worry that you’re pouring so much of yourself into your kids that you might lose sight of who you are.

I guess I just wanted to let you know that I see you, and I recognize the sacrifices you’re making for your family. It’s easy for me to focus on the highlights of your life — the things I’m personally missing out on — but I know that’s not the full picture.

The truth is, neither of our lives is perfect or easy, but they’re both pretty dang awesome — just in slightly different ways.

I see you, and I support you. Keep it up, girl!

Love,

Working Mom

Dear Working Mom,

Can I be honest? Sometimes, I get jealous of you.

Image via iStock.

Like, when I picture your mornings, sipping a still-hot latte alone at your quiet desk. I see you going to important meetings, talking to important people about important things (or at least, talking to adults about adult things). I see you grabbing lunch with your coworkers, gossiping about the office, maybe on an outdoor patio, maybe over some giant salads and still-cold iced teas. I see you giving presentations in that cute tailored blazer you have, speaking eloquently and confidently to a room of people who respect your ideas.

I see you planning out your days (and having that actually be a useful endeavor), working on projects that interest and challenge you, getting recognized for your hard work from your peers and superiors.

I see you traveling for work — sitting on a plane (ALONE!), staying in a nice hotel room, eating dinner on someone else’s dime. I see how proud you are of your career, how good it makes you feel. I see how extra special the time you spend with your kids is — the way you’re eager to pour into them in the evenings and on weekends, the way you treasure every minute.

It all seems so nice as I sit here eating leftover cold chicken nugget bits off my son’s plate, half-heartedly yelling at the kids to stop tackling each other and preemptively beating myself up for all the TV I know I’m going to let them watch later.

But don’t worry. I know there’s more to it than that.

I know that you still feel guilty sometimes after dropping off your kids, especially when they cling to you and cry. I know you envy the person who gets to spend their days with your children, seeing the funny things they do and hearing the funny things they say. I know you hate being stuck in your office on a beautiful day, wondering what your kids are up to and wishing you could be part of it.


Image via iStock.

I know it’s hard at the end of the day, when everyone’s tired and hungry and cranky, and you’re desperately cobbling dinner together before the frantic rush of baths and bedtime, and you SO wish it could be different because those are the only precious hours you get together as a family. I know it sucks to have to cram all the housework and errands into the weekends. I know you get lonely when you travel, and all the nice dinners and hotel rooms in the world can’t compete with those little faces at home that you can’t kiss goodnight. I know you miss your kids, and you wonder if you’re doing the right thing.

I guess I just wanted to let you know that I see you, and I recognize the sacrifices you’re making for your family.

It’s easy for me to focus on the highlights of your life — the things I’m personally missing out on — but I know that’s not the full picture.

The truth is, neither of our lives is perfect or easy, but they’re both pretty dang awesome — just in slightly different ways.

I see you, and I support you. Keep it up, girl!

Love,

Stay-at-Home Mom