Unless you’ve worked a certain job, you probably won’t know as much about it as you think you do. On the flip side, working in a certain profession makes you all too familiar with it.
Meaning, you’ll know which parts of the job are real, and which are nothing but myths. This list shows the myths Reddit users are constantly correcting people about their jobs.
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Child welfare investigators go through a lot.
“My job isn’t ‘hard’ for the reasons most people think: constantly being exposed to and interviewing abused children.
“It’s hard because 90% of the time, it’s just disgruntled exes calling on each other over nothing… and dealing with grown adults’ drama is exhausting af.”
Working in a hardware store (or retail in general, really).
“I work in a hardware store and apparently people think we have a huge underground storage big enough to hide every product in existence. No, I can’t just go and fetch a part for your 20-year-old fireplace or power tool from the backroom.”
Immunologists and medical professionals really have their work cut out for them.
“Antibiotics don’t work on viral diseases.”
Another user added an important PSA: “take your prescribed antibiotics the FULL course. Don’t quit just because you feel better.
“Under use of antibiotics is the #1 reason for antibiotic resistant bacteria.”
“You’re basically giving the bacteria that isn’t dead a vaccine to make them stronger.”
At this point, it should be common knowledge, but some people still don’t get it.
People who work in physics-based jobs:
“As an engineer, I have to explain a lot of time that the law of energy and mass conservation can’t be broken.”
No, you can’t just change scientific constants to suit your whims, people!
Non-governmental organization workers don’t hate you, probably.
“There aren’t just buckets of grant money available for your wacky idea. You have to have a track record, an organization, a plan and a budget. It’s highly competitive.”
No matter how good your wacky idea might be, you still have to present a solid plan.
Construction workers and their worst enemy: building codes.
“When I was building decks I remember a lot of people asked for shorter railings because it’d look nicer. I totally agree, but if 42″ is the minimum in this state we’re gonna do 42″.”
You can’t mess with codes.
Accounting is actually a lot more than taxes.
“When someone finds out you’re an accountant 90% of the time they will say ‘great, so you can help with my taxes haha.’
“There are loads of accountants who may never see taxes in their day-to-day and have minimal knowledge from their certification only.”
Bank workers aren’t trying to put targets on your back.
“As a bank teller. I don’t give two f***s about what you do with that 10k in cash, but the government does and I’m literally just doing my job by asking.”
“If you’re running a business that routinely handles large amounts of cash you should do your [expletive] research on how the bank MUST track it.”
But also, how can you expect to go to a bank and deal with large sums of money and not think the teller is going to ask questions?
Archeologists also don’t live like Indiana Jones, by the way.
“It’s not dinosaurs we’re looking for, it’s the remains of human activity. No, we didn’t find any gold.”
If you want to talk to a dinosaur professional, you’re probably thinking of a paleontologist. Big difference.
Arborists exist, don’t worry.
“Putting an angled back cut when felling a tree against the lean does absolutely nothing and will result in a tree falling on your house. Just pay us to do the job.”
Why try to cut a tree down with no experience when arborists exist?
Being a chef is far from glamorous.
“Former pastry chef, and still work in a hotel. No I do not make amazing food at home. I barely survive on a diet of cereal, sandwiches and chocolate bars. Pot noodles if I’m feeling fancy.”
“Also most people in the industry are either junkies or alcoholics to cope with the brutal schedule.”
“My extended family still can’t fathom me working the amount out of hours a week I work.
“Also we do not enjoy weddings, they are fun to attend, but nothing but a headache to run.”
Retail once again, because there’s nothing like actually having to work it.
“The worst part of retail isn’t bad customers it’s bad management. You only have to be with the customers .005% of the time, you have to be with the management almost your entire shift. A good boss can make even the worst customer not a big deal.”
Psychologists need therapy just as much as anyone else.
“Just because I’m a psychologist doesn’t mean I’m immune to psychological disorders or distress.”
Other psychologists in the thread admitted that they use different self care methods to cope with the weight of their jobs.
Journalism doesn’t work the way it does on TV.
“Something being ‘off the record.’ If you’re speaking to a journalist, you can’t just say ‘off the record’ and then spill your guts. You need to have agreed with the journalist beforehand that you will not be quoted.”
The job of a lawyer is long, and often kind of boring.
“Being a lawyer is not like what you see on Suits. It’s all the stuff they cut away from otherwise viewers would be too bored to watch it.”
Factory jobs sound pretty tough.
“Factory worker here.. Once a machine is set up, it can run all day, perfectly, without adjustment. Nope. Steel can vary in hardness, even within a continuous coil of wire. Humidity, ambient temperature, tooling wear can also spoil parts.”
Professors have a lot of work to do.
“University prof. I do not get summers off. Teaching in front of classes is only about 30% of my job.
“The rest is one-on-one supervision of graduate students. Doing research, writing grant applications, writing research papers. Summer is the time of year when I finally have the time to do all that other stuff.”
