People Share The Jobs They'd Never Do But Have Total Respect For

Ashley Hunte
An office full of people working at rows of computer desks.
Unsplash | Alex Kotliarskyi

Some may say that if you enjoy your job, you'll never work a day in your life. But let's face it, every job has its hardships and challenges that some people will never want to deal with.

But the most difficult jobs tend to be the most necessary. That's why, while these Reddit users could never work in these professions, they have nothing but respect for the people who do.

"The guys that pump out the porta-potties on construction sites..." - Draisaitl

A line of purple and blue portable toilets beneath a purple sky.
Unsplash | Julien Maculan

"Holy [expletive] do I have respect for them but you couldn't pay me enough to do that job."

And yet, where would we be without those guys?

"Garbage collectors and waste management, imagine how would be our cities without it." - Javeslein

The waste collection industry is so valuable, but a difficult job indeed.
Unsplash | Carl Campbell

"No need to imagine. Just look at the pictures from the recent strike in Edinburgh," another user added, referring to the sanitation strike that affected the Scottish city this past August.

Really any kind of job in the medical industry.

A medical professional decked out in scrubs and a mask.
Unsplash | MedicAlert UK

"Mad respect for the nurses that actually enjoy working on the painful boil that grew on my ass and had to be lanced, drained, and treated several times," user kuahara said about the nursing profession.

And not just because of the gross amounts of human waste.

A doctor wearing a lab coat and holding a phone.
Unsplash | National Cancer Institute

User shaddupsevenup added, "I'd like to add abuse to your list of job perks for nurses," while Wigglytufff said, "yeah… I work psych and forgot that abuse from patients isn’t like… supposed to be a normal and expected part of one’s job."

And along the same line, paramedics.

You have to hand it to the people who drive ambulances and save lives.
Unsplash | Michel E

User noice1mate_ said, "people in that line of work deal with situations of true horror that none of us would have imagined of facing, but they bear & cope with it in their daily lives & face the next day without a flinch. I admire those who work as paramedics & hope I can be strong as they are in my line."

Many also said hospice.

A hospital bed made and ready for its next patient.
Unsplash | Bret Kavanaugh

But for SeaJay1187, "Hospice is arguably the most rewarding nursing job out there. Allowing people the ability to die in peace around loved ones is an amazing feeling tbh. Death is a part of life we need to accept so it can be as peaceful as possible."

911/emergency service operators.

The lit sirens of various emergency first response vehicles.
Unsplash | Nate Isaac

"As someone who actually did this (not 911 but the equivalent in my country) I believe police operators need mandatory daily psychological sessions," user ComfortablyBalanced said. "Sometimes pain is too much for the person."

"Rescue diving… Pretty much anything underwater in the ocean. The unknown down below scares me." - flashpoint_55

A diver swimming down to the sea floor.
Unsplash | Joseph Northcutt

The ocean is big and deep and dark, and I have a lot of respect for people who aren't freaked out by that.

"Most any job dealing with customers/the general public." - Knotical_MK6

A busy mall full of different shoppers.
Unsplash | Anna Dziubinska

"Talking to people you don't know all the time, every day? I couldn't handle it."

Retail and service industries definitely aren't for everyone, especially if you can't handle incredibly rude people.

"People in animal care." - Warp-n-weft

The people who save the lives of pets and other animals are true heroes.
Unsplash | Andrew S

"It’s a brutal profession with some of the highest suicide rates since the people who choose the profession do so because they are deeply empathetic, and then see animals in distress all day."

"Teacher/instructor of any sort." - Move_In_Waves

Being a teacher in the United States is truly thankless.
Unsplash | Kenny Eliason

"I genuinely feel teachers have a calling to it and have the patience of saints but are drastically underpaid, under-supported, persecuted by the public for things they don’t understand (here in the USA, anyway), and I fear for their safety."

"I imagine working in social services would be incredibly draining emotionally." - OverLurking

Two people having a conversation on a couch.
Unsplash | Phillip Goldsberry

Dealing with the trauma associated with social work is pretty rough, and it's one job that most people probably couldn't do for very long.

"Kitchen and waitstaff at restaurants. I did it for five years and made a pact with myself to never go back." - right_behindyou

It's a wonder why the restaurant industry has such high turnover rates.
Unsplash | shawnanggg

The hours are terrible, the work is stressful, and the pay isn't nearly as much as you'd think.

"Plumbers I know that they make much bigger differences in people’s lives than I ever will and I respect the hell put of them but it couldn’t be me." - Backpack_anatomy

Plumbers help to make sure that our sinks, toilets, showers, and other waterways work how they should.
Unsplash | PAN XIAOZHEN

Plumbers probably see a lot of gross stuff, but their jobs are so incredibly important.

"Truck drivers, nothing else would exist without them. I would still love to be one but can't pass the medical, so won't happen unfortunately." - SakaYeen6

A large transport truck driving down a highway.
Unsplash | Gabriel Santos

Truck drivers spend hours sitting in one place, making them at high risk for blood clots (which can be deadly, by the way).

"Construction, it’s such a tough job and the workers are criminally underpaid and overworked (at least in my country)." - Little-Buy-4964

Construction workers are literally the reason why we have warm, safe houses and other buildings.
Unsplash | Nathan Waters

These people are responsible for our houses, stores, schools and public buildings, and even our roads. They do a lot of stuff that most of us would never want to.

"Can't believe nobody is saying farmer. That [expletive] is a 24/7 job and someone's gotta do it, and it certainly ain't me." - unforgivablecrust

A farmer digging up crops in the field.
Unsplash | Heather Gill

These our the people who provide us with most of our food, and yet never get a thank-you.

"Coroner. I couldn’t do it because you have to work on abused children and neglected seniors." - Redmudgirl

There's a difference between a coroner and a mortician, but both deal with the dead.
Unsplash | The Good Funeral Guide

Abuse and murder victims aside, having to find out someone's cause of death seems really soul-sucking and difficult in general.

"Bee keeper." - biomech36

Beekeeping is a little dangerous, but bees are important for all plants (plus honey is great).
Unsplash | REVOLT

"There are a lot of safety measures and science and stuff. I don't like bees or wasps or hornets. They can serve their purpose somewhere away from me. It isn't an allergy thing, just a TOTALLY HEALTHY fear."

"Starbucks baristas. They're constantly moving, taking orders, filling drinks, walking from here to there to here...I could never do it. I'd be exhausted after 15 minutes." - amagra11

Starbucks baristas do so much, and yet still manage to be friendly.
Unsplash | Asael Peña

Plus they get made fun of for "not making real coffee" or whatever.