Occupations That See the WORST in People? (1 Viewer)

[General Malaise]

Was thinking about this on Saturday as my wife and I waited 2.5 hours in the ER for a room to open up for her (strep throat, swollen/infected tonsils that needed to be drained, no beuno) - the staff that works the ER, specifically the registration nurses have to see some of the absolute worst in people. Nobody coming in wants to be there, everybody's emergency is pressing, people coming in are scared, hurt, suffering, etc and the steady stream of new patients is never ending. Can't imagine the stress that causes.

I worked as a waiter for about a year or so in my early 20s and I actually liked the job - good money made in short bursts. I worked in both Jackson, MS and Dallas and I think my conclusions about the public were the same and that is I think roughly 85% of the public is made up of normal, nice, decent folks. 10% are just unhappy jerks and 5% are completely insane. Now, that might not be a ratio that's steeped in any scientific sauce, but I think I'm close there. My son worked at Jersey Mike's during the pandemic and I think he'd lean more towards a higher number of unhappy jerks/insanity but a lot of his customers were angry about mask mandates, which skews his numbers I'm sure. But I don't think food servers get the very worst of people. I will say that I don't remember many of the wonderful people I waited on, but I sure as hell remember the folks that were awful to me.

Tow truck drivers? They gotta see some real S going down.

How about the poor souls that work the airline counters when planes are affected by weather or whatever? Woooof, that HAS to suck. Whatcha got? Any good stories?

 

[McBokonon]

Anyone in a call center.

 

[Jayrod]

Police easily are first place with inner city teachers and social workers in second. Family court lawyers and officials probably see some despicable people on the regular.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Proctologist

 

[otb_lifer]

Proctologist

great to sit next to at parties, tho

 

[James Bond]

Family law court

 

[General Malaise]

Police easily are first place with inner city teachers and social workers in second. Family court lawyers and officials probably see some despicable people on the regular.

Those are good. My best friend's wife was a social worker for a couple of years and quit due to some of the awful things she had to witness and deal with. Kids' suffering in the worst of conditions nearly broke her. She's now a pre-school teacher and loves it, but she had to take a lot of time off.

 

[ghostguy123]

High acuity inpatient adult psych unit.
The police see them first, emergency room second, then we have the privilege of their presence for days/weeks.
Some of the most ridiculous people/behavior you could even imagine.

 

[otb2huffing]

Oral Surgeons/Endodontists

 

[Osaurus]

Librarians

 

[Ron Swanson]

EMT/Paramedic. 50% of the job is administering Narcan these days from what I understand.

 

[foxco]

Probably ain't a picnic being a prostitute.

 

[Keerock]

Anyone in a call center.

And IT. There are a lot of people that just shouldn't be allowed to use a computer.

Granted... it's not worse than people that serve the public, but it hits close to home

 

[General Malaise]

High acuity inpatient adult psych unit.
The police see them first, emergency room second, then we have the privilege of their presence for days/weeks.
Some of the most ridiculous people/behavior you could even imagine.

Oh man, that's rough. I bet you've got some stories.....

 

[General Malaise]

Oral Surgeons/Endodontists

You're getting paid well, though, right?

 

[General Malaise]

Probably ain't a picnic being a prostitute.

I wonder what a prostitute would charge me just to have a picnic with her?

 

[gianmarco]

I mean....

 

[otb2huffing]

Oral Surgeons/Endodontists

You're getting paid well, though, right?

highest suicide rate amongst the medical professionals spectrum

 

[General Malaise]

Anyone in a call center.

And IT. There are a lot of people that just shouldn't be allowed to use a computer.

Granted... it's not worse than people that serve the public, but it hits close to home

Our IT guy had some awesome stories about some of the stuff he'd found on computers. My god, if you KNOW an IT guy is coming to look at your box, don't you want to, you know, clean up a little?

 

[General Malaise]

Oral Surgeons/Endodontists

You're getting paid well, though, right?

highest suicide rate amongst the medical professionals spectrum

Well this took me down a dark hole....god, look at this:

A 2019 study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association looked at suicide rates for veterinarians from 1979-2015 in the U.S. The researchers collected their data from life insurance claims with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), as well as obituary databases.

About 80 percent of the suicides were men, and the majority of the vets who committed suicide were younger than age 65. The study found that female veterinarians in clinical roles were 3.4 times more likely to die of suicide than the general population. Women in non-clinical roles were five times more likely to commit suicide compared to the general population.

The study also found that 39 percent of veterinarian suicides were due to intentional poisoning, which was 2.5 times greater than the general population.

 

[Manster]

Cops would be #1 I think based on their interaction with lots of ****ty people, and you add the fact that theres a good percentage of people who hate them whether deserved or not.......until they need them.

You can see how they get really bitter, and jaded.

#2 would be corrections.....dealing with hardened criminals daily who are trying to manipulate anything and anyone they can would be very mentally taxing.

 

[belljr]

I was going to say lawyer but realize i misread the title......

Gynecologists' has to be up there....

 

[General Malaise]

I mean....

The fact that you knew about this disturbs me greatly.

 

[otb_lifer]

Oral Surgeons/Endodontists

You're getting paid well, though, right?

highest suicide rate amongst the medical professionals spectrum

Well this took me down a dark hole....god, look at this:

A 2019 study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association looked at suicide rates for veterinarians from 1979-2015 in the U.S. The researchers collected their data from life insurance claims with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), as well as obituary databases.

About 80 percent of the suicides were men, and the majority of the vets who committed suicide were younger than age 65. The study found that female veterinarians in clinical roles were 3.4 times more likely to die of suicide than the general population. Women in non-clinical roles were five times more likely to commit suicide compared to the general population.

The study also found that 39 percent of veterinarian suicides were due to intentional poisoning, which was 2.5 times greater than the general population.

well, yeah ... tough putting down Spot or Fido or Fluffy while a devestated owner/family are overwhelmed by grief.

 

[massraider]

TSA/Airport personnel.

Probably not the WORST, but bad enough that if you are decent to them, you can really benefit.

 

[zamboni]

Professional umpires/referees

Few fans/coaches/players ever say “I love that call you made”

 

[Dezbelief]

My best friend's wife was a social worker for a couple of years and quit due to some of the awful things she had to witness and deal with. Kids' suffering in the worst of conditions nearly broke her

I came in here to post anyone providing services to addicts, but yes anyone having to deal with addicts who have kids see horrible situations. It's especially heartbreaking when the kid has a brilliant mind that's being wasted by a terrible childhood.

 

[bigbottom]

Whoever is manning the lost luggage desk at the airport.

 

[Jayrod]

Professional umpires/referees

Few fans/coaches/players ever say “I love that call you made”

I'm not a pro but I work HS basketball and college FB. I complain about this a lot around here, but in the grand scheme I don't think it is that bad when compared to some of the other careers in here.

I get a "good game, ref" and "appreciate you" probably a couple dozen times/year from fans. We hear some stupid stuff and I've been yelled at by irrational moms and dads while walking off the floor many times. Ignorant/jerk coaches really piss me off, but we have the ultimate veto power there if needed.

The place I'd say being a ref is most difficult is in social media. Everybody is an expert when officiating multiple replays in slow motion with the rulebook at your fingertips. Online, refs are constantly referred to as morons or idiots or incompetent despite having to do the job at real speed while running with the players with no do-overs (instant replay aside). It's a lot harder than people think, but the interactions with other people are pleasant a good 90-95% of the time. Definitely not the worst of society.

I just think being a police officer would be brutal. You are despised, feared, hated, lied to and have to go TO the people that are acting the worst every single day. Crazy people? Call the cops. Violent and dangerous people? Call the cops. Drunk or high out of their mind? Call the cops. Abusive or negligent parents? Call the cops. Plus the actual stress/fear of being attacked or shot at every day.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Website Forum Moderators

 

[-fish-]

Whoever is manning the lost luggage desk at the airport.

I'm sure they take a bunch of abuse, but last time I flew to NYC we went through Newark and Alaska Airlines lost my luggage. Lady dealing with it was incredibly friendly, they credited us a decent amount of money and they had the luggage delivered to our hotel later that evening.

 

[foxco]

Probably ain't a picnic being a prostitute.

I wonder what a prostitute would charge me just to have a picnic with her?

I'd assume she'd cut you a break, but in the middle of biting into your pastrami sandwich she'd slice your throat wide open and pilfer whatever she could from your corpse.

 

[higgins]

Website Political Forum Moderators

 

[zamboni]

Professional umpires/referees

Few fans/coaches/players ever say “I love that call you made”

I'm not a pro but I work HS basketball and college FB. I complain about this a lot around here, but in the grand scheme I don't think it is that bad when compared to some of the other careers in here.

I get a "good game, ref" and "appreciate you" probably a couple dozen times/year from fans. We hear some stupid stuff and I've been yelled at by irrational moms and dads while walking off the floor many times. Ignorant/jerk coaches really piss me off, but we have the ultimate veto power there if needed.

Fair enough - as a HS or travel ref, I'd like to think there are several rational souls to offset the knuckleheads. Not sure the professionals get that kind of balance though because they're pretty distant from the fans.

 

[Cjw_55106]

Anyone in a call center.

And IT. There are a lot of people that just shouldn't be allowed to use a computer.

Granted... it's not worse than people that serve the public, but it hits close to home

My god, if you KNOW an IT guy is coming to look at your box, don't you want to, you know, clean up a little?

Sometimes you dont have time for a trim.

 

[psychobillies]

Anybody in the wedding industry. You couldn't pay me enough to deal with first time brides and/or their mothers.

 

[otb2huffing]

Anybody in the wedding industry. You couldn't pay me enough to deal with first time brides and/or their mothers.

Sometimes you dont have time for trim.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Dentists. I heard they get dumped on all the time.

 

[gianmarco]

I mean....

The fact that you knew about this disturbs me greatly.

So, believe it or not, this was on some TV show a long time ago. Something about the world's worst jobs. Didn't take long to do a search and find something about it, but this seriously a thing and apparently pays decently.

 

[General Malaise]

Probably ain't a picnic being a prostitute.

I wonder what a prostitute would charge me just to have a picnic with her?

I'd assume she'd cut you a break, but in the middle of biting into your pastrami sandwich she'd slice your throat wide open and pilfer whatever she could from your corpse.

I mean....I'm willing to just give her the money. No need to ruin a pastrami sandwich a few bucks.

 

[General Malaise]

Anybody in the wedding industry. You couldn't pay me enough to deal with first time brides and/or their mothers.

Yeah, this is good. My wife is a former photographer. She did one wedding. One. That basically says it all right there.

 

[Phil Elliott]

Anyone in a call center.

And IT. There are a lot of people that just shouldn't be allowed to use a computer.

Granted... it's not worse than people that serve the public, but it hits close to home

Your Company's Computer Guy"

 

[mr. furley]

had a few friends that worked together at a boy's home. tough, tough neighborhood. harder job.

essentially this boy's home was an adolescent prison without bars. kids that had got in serious enough trouble to be incarcerated in some form, but that were too young for prison could sometimes go to court and be assigned to this boy's home.

there was essentially no behavior (short of murder) that would result in any more punishment.

so the system handed them kids from horribly broken homes, that had been abused, maybe were homeless, maybe bouncing between relatives, etc. whose actions found them in state custody, separated from any support system & often whatever family they did have never communicated with them or visited.


the thing was prison in all but name and cell bars. just a wild place. constant fights. other kids coming from outside to start fights. they had gets get shot and stabbed INSIDE the building. horrible.

these guys were tasked with being security, counselor, parent, confidant all while trying not to get too close because 50% of the kids would be dead in a year anyways and forming bonds would have destroyed them.


one of the guys stuck with the profession/career and still works in a related occupation helping troubled kids. the other two tapped out long ago. these are three guys who, prior to working at this boy's home, had been through the ****ing wringer in life and thought they could relate/handle the job but it just wrecked them. the people who do these jobs are absolute saints. the pay is trash. the kids are ****ed beyond belief. the families don't care. the state doesn't care. people want the kids to just disappear.. and unfortunately a lot of them do.

just an absolutely soul-sucking job with very little positive outcome.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Probably ain't a picnic being a prostitute.

Waking up every morning knowing x, y and/or z is on your plate as your occupation has to be a tough pill to swallow.

 

[General Malaise]

had a few friends that worked together at a boy's home. tough, tough neighborhood. harder job.

essentially this boy's home was an adolescent prison without bars. kids that had got in serious enough trouble to be incarcerated in some form, but that were too young for prison could sometimes go to court and be assigned to this boy's home.

there was essentially no behavior (short of murder) that would result in any more punishment.

so the system handed them kids from horribly broken homes, that had been abused, maybe were homeless, maybe bouncing between relatives, etc. whose actions found them in state custody, separated from any support system & often whatever family they did have never communicated with them or visited.


the thing was prison in all but name and cell bars. just a wild place. constant fights. other kids coming from outside to start fights. they had gets get shot and stabbed INSIDE the building. horrible.

these guys were tasked with being security, counselor, parent, confidant all while trying not to get too close because 50% of the kids would be dead in a year anyways and forming bonds would have destroyed them.


one of the guys stuck with the profession/career and still works in a related occupation helping troubled kids. the other two tapped out long ago. these are three guys who, prior to working at this boy's home, had been through the ****ing wringer in life and thought they could relate/handle the job but it just wrecked them. the people who do these jobs are absolute saints. the pay is trash. the kids are ****ed beyond belief. the families don't care. the state doesn't care. people want the kids to just disappear.. and unfortunately a lot of them do.

just an absolutely soul-sucking job with very little positive outcome.

This one of the more depressing things I've ever read. Damn. :(

 

[3C's]

Police easily are first place with inner city teachers and social workers in second. Family court lawyers and officials probably see some despicable people on the regular.

Not exactly inner city but my daughter taught at a title 1 school. Some horror stories for sure but the rewards generally outweighed all that. I think she was a saint for taking that on given the fact that a brand new "fancy" school wanted her and it was closer to her house.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Website Forum Moderators

Come on now. Who wouldn't want to go around saying " you get a ban, and you get a ban, and you get a ban". Plus you get to tell people to have a great season.
Compared to working in the morgue it sounds ok

 

[mr. furley]

had a few friends that worked together at a boy's home. tough, tough neighborhood. harder job.

essentially this boy's home was an adolescent prison without bars. kids that had got in serious enough trouble to be incarcerated in some form, but that were too young for prison could sometimes go to court and be assigned to this boy's home.

there was essentially no behavior (short of murder) that would result in any more punishment.

so the system handed them kids from horribly broken homes, that had been abused, maybe were homeless, maybe bouncing between relatives, etc. whose actions found them in state custody, separated from any support system & often whatever family they did have never communicated with them or visited.


the thing was prison in all but name and cell bars. just a wild place. constant fights. other kids coming from outside to start fights. they had gets get shot and stabbed INSIDE the building. horrible.

these guys were tasked with being security, counselor, parent, confidant all while trying not to get too close because 50% of the kids would be dead in a year anyways and forming bonds would have destroyed them.


one of the guys stuck with the profession/career and still works in a related occupation helping troubled kids. the other two tapped out long ago. these are three guys who, prior to working at this boy's home, had been through the ****ing wringer in life and thought they could relate/handle the job but it just wrecked them. the people who do these jobs are absolute saints. the pay is trash. the kids are ****ed beyond belief. the families don't care. the state doesn't care. people want the kids to just disappear.. and unfortunately a lot of them do.

just an absolutely soul-sucking job with very little positive outcome.

This one of the more depressing things I've ever read. Damn. :(

these guys.. tough, tough guys. really when i say they had been through the wringer, i mean.. you name it.

but to hear them commiserating about work and seeing/hearing how it affected them every day. yikes.


popped in there one night with one of my friends to get his check and met a few of the kids. couldn't tell you names or whatever anymore.. it was 20+ years ago. it was clear there were some kids who didn't fit/didn't belong/weren't street tough who were close(r) to the workers. kids that lashed out maybe one unfortunate time at school, or home, whatever and they paid the price of being locked away.

met a couple of those boys that night. they seemed like regular, sweet, 12/13 year old kids. just normal tween/teens in the wrong environment. they stood out to me because they madea point of talking with me whereas the others didn't seem interested.. normal kid stuff...they were shooting paper balls off one of those mini-hoops and just being goofy kids, hanging out with my friends during a little free time.

within maybe a few months both those kids were dead. they never got to go home. prey in a predator's environment.

that has stuck with me all these years. can't imagine how it must have been being around those kids every day knowing their likely fate and just waiting for the inevitable.

 

[massraider]

Anybody in the wedding industry. You couldn't pay me enough to deal with first time brides and/or their mothers.by ripping

They cushion the blow by robbing the brides and their families blind.

 

[Penguin]

Retail workers, especially Walmart