The most unhappy occupation

[Hermit]

The guy who drives around and pumps out the outhouses

The guy that comes around to do my "portable restroom" has a beard that is about 2 1/2 feet long.

Its not the times he comes out to do the normal service. Its the times I have him come out because the wind blew it over. Then he has a real mess to clean up.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I was a CPS SW for 4 years and then could not take it any longer. One of the county SWer's made good $ but could not move to a different position because of a lack of openings. Private SW jobs paid very little and he had a family. One day he hung himself. That started a conversation about rotating county SWer's so they would not spend forever doing that. I don't know if they ever did that or not.

 

[Walt34]

I always thought law enforcement would be an awful job. You see the worst in our society. Pretty hard to not become cynical. Marriages often don't last, alcohol abuse common. Also agree that child protective services would be heart breaking.

I was in law enforcement for a bit over 29 years. I think it more depends on the type of people were you work, both the citizenry and coworkers. The area I worked in was fairly wealthy and for the most part the police were respected and appreciated. And there were many instances where I was able to make a positive difference to other people. The agency I worked for had, and still has, high standards and an excellent reputation among other agencies. That said, yes there were definitely some very bad days.

In a post-retirement security job I worked with a guy who had retired from Baltimore City PD in Maryland. He had an entirely different experience and outlook.

 

[Walt34]

I have done some volunteer work with CASA (helping kids in state custody) and most of the cases are absolutely heartbreaking.

One SIL, a retired nurse, volunteers with CASA too. Yep, she's got some awful stories to tell. I don't know how she stands it but she is doing something positive about some awful situations so I suppose that's the motivation.

 

[kgtest]

The Sandy Hook coroner. I would have quit.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

One SIL, a retired nurse, volunteers with CASA too. Yep, she's got some awful stories to tell. I don't know how she stands it but she is doing something positive about some awful situations so I suppose that's the motivation.

It is tough, but with the overworked caseworkers and appointed attorneys who don't really work the cases results in kids that are perpetually in the system. CASA makes a huge difference in many of these kids lives...I know that I have made a positive impact on several kids and when I get to talk to some of them now (and most are doing well), it helps you deal with the misfortune that landed them there in the first place. Nonetheless, I have said that if I was ever diagnosed with a terminal condition, there are some "parents" I would like to have a "one on one" with about what they did to their children. Being terminal and all...my jail sentence would be worth it.

 

[kcowan]

I thought this thread would be about personal experiences.

I have known many workers in what I thought were crap jobs but they did not!

 

[ponyboy]

So 9 out of 10 responses are peoples opinions without actually working "worst job." Thats cool.

My worst job was working in a factory. I only worked summer help during college (3 months at a time.) Temps did reach over 100 on the warmer days...and I was on the first floor/concrete floor. The 2nd and 3rd floors were around 110+. I stacked wood all day. Pallets of wood would be delivered and I would have to unload them and stack them on metal racks.

Factory work is tough but tbh I would rather have a conversation with one of those rednecks I worked with than the people I work with now who freak out when their email goes down.

 

[jollystomper]

"Worst job" is in the eye of the beholder. I know folks who have worked, or are working in, some of the "worst job" mentioned who enjoyed the job. For example, for CPS while the public only hears about the "horrors", a relative has related the many great outcomes that never end up in the news that keeps her motivated... such as seeing past victims overcome their situation with support, grow up to become productive citizens, and reach back to help others. Or a friend who a a lot of the septic/porta potty work, but since he also owned the company enjoyed the fact that it was profitable, ended up selling out to a larger waste management company and enabled him to get wealthy, retire early, and now chooses to run a brewery as (he puts it) a "paid hobby".

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

So 9 out of 10 responses are peoples opinions without actually working "worst job." Thats cool.

I thought this thread would be about personal experiences.

I have known many workers in what I thought were crap jobs but they did not!

Well, the original post did ask...

What do you think is the most unhappy occupation? The one people are most anxious to escape from...

 

[kerik68]

I was a CPS SW for 4 years and then could not take it any longer. One of the county SWer's made good $ but could not move to a different position because of a lack of openings. Private SW jobs paid very little and he had a family. One day he hung himself. That started a conversation about rotating county SWer's so they would not spend forever doing that. I don't know if they ever did that or not.

I only lasted a year. Social work can be so heartbreaking and compassion fatigue is such a real thing and the reason I retired at 47.

 

[Koogie]

A poop truck operator. They used to come to the back side of my house with a hose when I was little, and the smell was just so overwhelming that it made me gag every time.

Actually, the father of a high school friend of mine had the septic tank "honey wagon" business in our rural area growing up. They made a ton of money. Could charge what they liked since there was almost no competition and it was almost without exception a cash business. And all their trucks had rear bumper stickers that read: "That isn't mud on your windshield"

Worst job I think I've had personally was working summers at an abattoir as a kid. As a farm kid, you get used to the smell of blood and the stink from offal pretty quick but I hated the actual killing part. Nothing pleasant in seeing the light go out in the animals eyes and then the legs collapsing and them hitting the floor. After that they are just a carcass and no big deal to process but I tended to stay in the cutting room instead of at the unloading docks.

 

[aja8888]

I did a stint on a garbage truck for a while. Lousy, smelly job, but interesting as to what people put in those cans.

 

[MRG]

I lost my sense of smell for walnut lumber after several years in the mill. I would hope other smells would become less odorous to those around them. If the kids I grew up next to on the dairy and hog farms were an example, they did.

I have had a few really bad jobs. I remember losing brakes on a log truck on top of a mountain in PA. there was a danger sign about trucks reduce gears and a truck stop on top of the mountain. I thought my DB was going to stop, he didn't! Saying "we don't have tools to fix the brakes with us", and "these brakes wouldn't stop anything if someone pulled out(true).

I hated some of what we did. There's a lot of tales that are true insanity. I look around frequently and wonder why I am still here.

I can whine a lot about working 100 hour weeks in IT. I hated getting sent off to some idiots data center because they didn't have qualified people to operate systems. Least they didn't try to kill me.

 

[frank2009]

Not speaking from experience but the guy that euthanizes dogs in overcrowded shelters has my vote for the worst job.

 

[Taxman59]

A friend has a business operating sewage plants. He helps businesses set-up treatment plants and then he maintains them. He tells stories of when he slipped into one of the untreated vats, and went completely under! Another time the pump was blocked, so he reversed the pump. Unfortunately, he failed to secure the control room door. The s#!t nearly filled the control room where he was standing. He said that after he took the first shower with clothes on, he could taste the waste as the water ran down his face.

 

[imoldernu]

One of the most fun things to do here on ER, is to relive some of the highs and lows of a long life, especially when you're near the end of a thread where you won't bother too many people. So, to the story...

It was after a 6 week training period to become a store manager of a Sears Catalog Store,. It was back in 1958... 22 years old, and assigned to a store in Chelsea, Mass. , which, at the time was very poor, and generally known as "the armpit of the east coast". Six employees including a credit manager (we had 1200 accounts twice the normal number for a store our size).
She was a very busy gal, and for years had been giving out credit to the poorest people in town. Credit was a rating factor, and "red tab" bad accounts (over two months past due) normally averaged less than 1% ... in our case "12". In fact, we had about 90 to 100 "red tabs".
One of the jobs of being store manager was to collect, or make current the bad accounts... normally a one day job of going out to collect.... for a normal store.
So, for me it was a week of late night phone calls and visits to the poorest homes/apartments in a very poor town. Only had to collect $2 on an account to keep it active.
Many memorable moments of misery and fear... So, to relate just one:

The address was an old brick apartment house. Elevator didn't work, so it was a walk up. A gang of six guys, playing cards and drinking beer on the dark third floor landing... "Where does Ms. Fields live?"
"Fifth floor."
"But there are only four floors."
"Fifth floor."

Okay... On the fourth floor there was a door that led to stair the went up to the 12' X 12' space that had housed the elevator mechanism. Knock on the door... No kidding... what a sight... boards spaced about 3 inches apart that covered the empty elevator shaft 4 floors below. A one-eyed Lady of maybe 35 years, about 7 months pregnant dressed only in a slip, holding a crying baby in her arms, and two more little kids playing on the floor in the corner. One light bulb, a small sink, and a toilet in another corner, a twin mattress and... a brand new Sears gas stove. Ours.

"Sorry, no money at all".
"Not even $2 to keep your account active?"
"All I have is this pin my old boyfriend gave me. Could you take that?"
"No, Sorry..."
"Could you buy it from me for $2, so I can pay you?

Jeez... so i bought the pin, and made the account active. What's a guy supposed to do?

The question was "The most unhappy occupation"... For me it was the year I spent there as a "manager/collector"... with a hundred stories similar to, or much worse than this one.

 

[outdoorgirl02]

For me, jobs like cleaning up crime scenes or being a coroner would be my worst nightmare.

 

[Meadbh]

For me, jobs like cleaning up crime scenes or being a coroner would be my worst nightmare.

I have a friend who is a forensic pathologist. She was doing a residency in pathology and had a once in a lifetime opportunity to work on identifying and diagnosing the victims of a major airline disaster. Because of the scale of the disaster, the best forensic pathologists were flown in from around the world. She worked directly with them and became fascinated with the specialty. To this day, I see her name come up when there is a juicy murder. As far as I know she loves her work. But it wouldn't be for me.

Being a coroner is not that bad. Some coroners are lawyers, some are physicians. They don't usually dissect the body, but they direct the investigation, communicate with the family and the police, and make recommendations. It's detective work, really.

 

[travelover]

For me, jobs like cleaning up crime scenes or being a coroner would be my worst nightmare.

My xDW worked with a nurse that had a moonlighting business with her husband cleaning up crime scenes. Ironically the husband ended up murdering the wife / nurse creating their own crime scene. I always wondered if the gruesome job contributed to the ugly ending.

 

[Hermit]

One of the most fun things to do here on ER, is to relive some of the highs and lows of a long life, especially when you're near the end of a thread where you won't bother too many people. So, to the story...

It was after a 6 week training period to become a store manager of a Sears Catalog Store,. It was back in 1958... 22 years old, and assigned to a store in Chelsea, Mass. , which, at the time was very poor, and generally known as "the armpit of the east coast". Six employees including a credit manager (we had 1200 accounts twice the normal number for a store our size).
She was a very busy gal, and for years had been giving out credit to the poorest people in town. Credit was a rating factor, and "red tab" bad accounts (over two months past due) normally averaged less than 1% ... in our case "12". In fact, we had about 90 to 100 "red tabs".
One of the jobs of being store manager was to collect, or make current the bad accounts... normally a one day job of going out to collect.... for a normal store.
So, for me it was a week of late night phone calls and visits to the poorest homes/apartments in a very poor town. Only had to collect $2 on an account to keep it active.
Many memorable moments of misery and fear... So, to relate just one:

The address was an old brick apartment house. Elevator didn't work, so it was a walk up. A gang of six guys, playing cards and drinking beer on the dark third floor landing... "Where does Ms. Fields live?"
"Fifth floor."
"But there are only four floors."
"Fifth floor."

Okay... On the fourth floor there was a door that led to stair the went up to the 12' X 12' space that had housed the elevator mechanism. Knock on the door... No kidding... what a sight... boards spaced about 3 inches apart that covered the empty elevator shaft 4 floors below. A one-eyed Lady of maybe 35 years, about 7 months pregnant dressed only in a slip, holding a crying baby in her arms, and two more little kids playing on the floor in the corner. One light bulb, a small sink, and a toilet in another corner, a twin mattress and... a brand new Sears gas stove. Ours.

"Sorry, no money at all".
"Not even $2 to keep your account active?"
"All I have is this pin my old boyfriend gave me. Could you take that?"
"No, Sorry..."
"Could you buy it from me for $2, so I can pay you?

Jeez... so i bought the pin, and made the account active. What's a guy supposed to do?

The question was "The most unhappy occupation"... For me it was the year I spent there as a "manager/collector"... with a hundred stories similar to, or much worse than this one.

I think I can almost relate. At 20 DW was a newly minted "manager" at the security company she worked for. She managed the monitoring station crew. The owner and higher managers were playing games with the books and screwed things up so badly they decided to fire about half the folks that worked there. You guessed it. DW had to tell the folks they no longer had a job. Of course this was mid-December. That was a real struggle for her. She never had a desire to be a manager again after that.

 

[Walt34]

I remember walking up a residential sidewalk to a house and thinking "What's a nice way to tell some guy you know nothing about that his wife died in a car accident?" That's a bad day at work. He had two kids, about 8 and 10 or so.

Actually it turned out that there were things I could do for him. He was a physician from Russia, was Jewish (this gets relevant later) and had been in the U.S. for about six months and had no idea what to do next. So I think getting a Rabbi there would be helpful to him and start making phone calls. Turns out it is some major Jewish holiday (I forget which one) but finding an available Rabbi is not going to be easy today, they're all in services. Finally I get someone to agree to come over and help this guy out.

The guy was amazed that a police officer would spend four hours with him for this. Apparently in Russia maybe a week or three later someone would let you know where to pick up the body.

I think it was about an hour after I arrived that a Lt. at the station called and wanted to know why I was still there. I explained, and the response was "Okay, take all the time you need".

 

[outdoorgirl02]

My xDW worked with a nurse that had a moonlighting business with her husband cleaning up crime scenes. Ironically the husband ended up murdering the wife / nurse creating their own crime scene. I always wondered if the gruesome job contributed to ugly ending.

Sounds like a bad movie plot. How awful!

 

[Amethyst]

Wow. What a description! John Grisham couldn't have done any better. You should write period novels.

It was after a 6 week training period to become a store manager of a Sears Catalog Store,. It was back in 1958... 22 years old, and assigned to a store in Chelsea, Mass. , which, at the time was very poor, and generally known as "the armpit of the east coast". Six employees including a credit manager (we had 1200 accounts twice the normal number for a store our size).
She was a very busy gal, and for years had been giving out credit to the poorest people in town. Credit was a rating factor, and "red tab" bad accounts (over two months past due) normally averaged less than 1% ... in our case "12". In fact, we had about 90 to 100 "red tabs".
One of the jobs of being store manager was to collect, or make current the bad accounts... normally a one day job of going out to collect.... for a normal store.
So, for me it was a week of late night phone calls and visits to the poorest homes/apartments in a very poor town. Only had to collect $2 on an account to keep it active.
Many memorable moments of misery and fear... So, to relate just one:

The address was an old brick apartment house. Elevator didn't work, so it was a walk up. A gang of six guys, playing cards and drinking beer on the dark third floor landing... "Where does Ms. Fields live?"
"Fifth floor."
"But there are only four floors."
"Fifth floor."

Okay... On the fourth floor there was a door that led to stair the went up to the 12' X 12' space that had housed the elevator mechanism. Knock on the door... No kidding... what a sight... boards spaced about 3 inches apart that covered the empty elevator shaft 4 floors below. A one-eyed Lady of maybe 35 years, about 7 months pregnant dressed only in a slip, holding a crying baby in her arms, and two more little kids playing on the floor in the corner. One light bulb, a small sink, and a toilet in another corner, a twin mattress and... a brand new Sears gas stove. Ours.

"Sorry, no money at all".
"Not even $2 to keep your account active?"
"All I have is this pin my old boyfriend gave me. Could you take that?"
"No, Sorry..."
"Could you buy it from me for $2, so I can pay you?

Jeez... so i bought the pin, and made the account active. What's a guy supposed to do?

The question was "The most unhappy occupation"... For me it was the year I spent there as a "manager/collector"... with a hundred stories similar to, or much worse than this one.

 

[Milton]

No need to guess, when government has done the research on job satisfaction: Best and Worst Jobs.