Most under appreciated occupations?

I know very intimately a dancer/pianist/teacher/author/choreographer. She has to claim all those titles so she can get close to eking out the equivalent of an actual job. Overqualified and underpaid for all she does, she works hours and hours and hours ..... and is paid ...... not much. Yet she cares more about her work than any human I know. Her joyful practice of her art(s) has literally touched thousands of children who have been her students over the years. Teachers and musicians around the world have praised her writings and continue to buy her books year after year after year. And yet she remains that artist who works away unsung, gaining only from the sheer joy of her art.

I put 'artist' at the top of the list of the under appreciated. Not the 0.001% of those who achieve commercial success, but those who toil at their craft for the sake of the craft and the betterment of others.

I'm biased to 'artist' but am quick to acknowledge that many other occupations are under appreciated.

What occupation is on your list?

They work very hard and do majority of the dirty work. Majority of them work in the nursing homes caring for the elderly. Very under appreciated.

exclusive of management, are underappreciated. All have had to face steep staffing cuts as their work load has increased by faster patient turnover and sicker and more contagious patients.

I know when I worked, nursing assistants could make or break a floor, and I made sure the ones I worked with knew how important they were.

All hospital employees are seen simply as drags on the profit of for profit health care and are treated accordingly.

as we called it...sounded more professional :::nod nod::: Worked that job for 13 yrs. Have to do it because you love those you care for, certainly not for the money, or being appreciated.

yet appreciate them only when the pain is gone.

... under everything.

they are priceless

So much in nursing is paperwork, documentation, smoothing over issues, discharge planning, and all sorts of things that minimize our actual ability to provide as much direct care as we sometimes wish we could. The good nursing assistants are our eyes, ears, and muscle! You are very appreciated! :loveya:

"Tested by Inspector Number 12"...

the bigger the city, the more important the job.

group home staff and managers, CNA's, LPN's and even to an extent RN's. I worked in the field for 11 years before I finally decided to go back to school, it wasn't the residents/clients/patients that make people feel under appreciated, but the shitty pay, long hours and broken system. If I were independantly wealthy, I would volunteer my time working with the TBI or CDMR popultions any day of the week, but if you are trying to support a family, even though the work is intrinsically rewarding, the crap pay makes it impossible... :rant:

No respect!

Septic tanks and porta johns.

Cher

They do so much and get paid so little.

especially those in low income areas.

and other cleaners.

That would be my pick :hi:

we put a roof over everyones head and we are thought of as a bunch of lazy drunks. Most of us are hard working, sober, dependable people who work much too hard for too little pay. Building a staircase or framing a roof might as well be rocket science to most but it gets me very little respect.

they provide us the building blocks for our bodies to run....

yeah, i know, not exactly a core of society, but think about it. Everywhere you go, and whatever you do, you have to buy things, and you buy those things from retail clerks. They put up with people treating them like dirt, get paid a barely living wage, and are still expected to be bright and cheerful, or else they have "bad customer service."

Everyone at least pays lip service to teachers, artists, etc. But what was the last time someone said, "thank god for the guy working at kroger?"

Not paid at all
Responsible for one of the most important jobs in the world - raising future generations
A tremendous variety of skills needed

I'll volunteer for the booze taster <hiccup>.

Most here wouldn't even have thought of this line of work; we never do until we lose someone close and have to deal with a funeral. Most here probably don't know anyone in this line of work; they probably aren't very popular at parties; they probably don't receive many invites to Sunday dinner.

It's not a line of work your school career counselor is likely to recommend. I have no idea what kind of pay they make.

A good one can help ease a traumatic time for the living while giving dignity to the deceased.

And it's the oldest profession, too. That is being under appreciated.

:hide: :pals:

Where I live, it's a mostly wooded area. We have moths and other insects flying around outside at night. Every once in a while one gets inside and makes a beeline for my computer monitor. When I saw your avatar, I reached to shoo it away. :rofl:

Btw, I do think hookers are under appreciated, for real.

:shrug:

But you couldn't prove it by me.

:)

;)

Ugly and dangerous work.

music at the same time.

And walk and chew bubble gum too!

What is artist? - in music it is a technical skill to read and play - inflection - all that - If I can play a fuge or anything - just means I can read the music and play it -right? Little artistry in that.

Now if I could write it - that is different.

Joe

I never thought much of my ability to play a horn and read the music to know what I was suuposed to play. It is just what you are supposed to play.

Personally - I see ability - but not art.
I have meant artists that that could never read a note - but they were artists.

I am a "technician" in a way.

Music - is something you feel - not execution of notes on a page.

Maybe I never had that - maybe I was always a technician - but I can read and play and inflect. In every cleff.


I guess that is sad.

the Occupation of Iraq is?

Would that make it an under appreciated occupation? :shrug:

Sid

We praise the colorectal surgeon
Misunderstood and much maligned
Slaving away in the heart of darkness
Working where the sun don't shine

Respect the colorectal surgeon
It's a calling few would crave
Lift up your hands and join us
Let's all do the finger wave

When it comes to spreading joy
There are many techniques
Some spread joy to the world
And others just spread cheeks
Some may think the cardiologist
Is their best friend
But the colorectal surgeon knows...
He'll get you in the end!

Why be a colorectal surgeon?
It's one of those mysterious things.
Is it because in that profession
There are always openings?

When I first met a colorectal surgeon
He did not quite understand;
I said, "Hey nice to meet you
But do you mind? We don't shake hands."

He sailed right through medical school
Because he was a whiz
Oh but he never thought of psychology
Though he read passages.
A doctor he wanted to be
For golf he loved to play,
But this is not quite what he meant...
By eighteen holes a day!

Praise the colorectal surgeon
Misunderstood and much maligned
Slaving away in the heart of darkness
Working where the sun don't shine!

Bowser & Blue

doesn't pay shit either.


but I'd have to say nurses and med techs and cleaning people

Despite all the negative press they receive, I personally know many who are men & women of integrity who put their life on the line each and every day. The good ones far outweigh the bad apples.

I know three who lost their jobs and were prosecuted in my area for three separate incidents...no shit.

1) At least you admit that not all you know are good apples, but you do know some "bad apples"

2) nice dodge of my original question.

the bad apples were prosecuted by the good guys...who do yo think put them in jail?

They are treated like gold. IMHO They get the best pay, best benefits, best retirement. Most of them ride around, take reports and hassel innocent people. When cops get to the scene of a crime, they will always arrest the easiest, closest person left at the scene (with very little investigation.) Just grab somebody, make an arrest and get out of there. Want to remain crime free? Get a Concealed Weapons Permit, put an alarm on your house and learn first aid. Don't depend on the cops to save you from anything.

but not here. We have plenty of good ones who care about helping the community...I've witnessed it first hand. Still my choice. They put up with major shit and a damn good friend of mine died in the line of duty last year...and as far as pay, it's a fucking joke where I live...is $26,000 really "the best pay?"...starting salary here.

maybe i should stop spitting on him
Am I too elitists?

Underappreciated frontline of the healthcare industry...first ones to get the anger thrown at them from upset patients (even if the problem/solution is out of the nurses' hands), first ones that hospital management blame when something goes wrong (cuz you know what "rolls down hill". Upper management nurses will throw bedside care nurses under the bus in a heartbeat). Plus why is it that any "new and improved" changes in the overall system always lead to more and more paperwork/documentation/job duties for nurses instead of less?? Always.

needed to be a farmer is seriously underestimated. It is one of the hardest jobs to do well.

Think about it: their work keeps us all from being cut down by epidemic-scale diseases.

In terms of societal benefit, they're a hell of a lot more valuable than tax attorneys and neurosurgeons.....

Some of the posters around these parts are, as poor SteppingRazor once put it, "animals."

Posted in wrong place. :dunce:

you wouldn't believe the things people think nurses do.I don't mind doing anything,but when I'm busy saving someone's life,don't interrupt me because you don't get ESPN on cable!

I was like :wow:. I said, "I'm sorry, but I have other patients to care for and do not have access to making eggs at the moment. I can call down to the kitchen however to bring you some."

hands down

get it?

been there, did that, watched my husband slowly die...now I am trying to recover from the experience...

:hug:

I've done both, and many people think that folks in these occupations are their personal puppies to kick around.

:hide:

Poor guys. Not a day goes by I don't feel bad for them.

Shrinks get bashed a lot on these boards. Wouldn't be here without mine.

Considering how much they get paid if they're teaching at some place like Harvard (not as much as you would think) not counting the vast majority who aren't. Just think of how many call a History degree impractical.

who clean our homes and wash and iron our clothes. They save loads of energy as well since most wash clothes by hand and hang them to dry on clothes lines.

our friends from south of the boarder, who risk their lives to get here and then are paid poorly.

Everybody wants their kids and their elderly relatives to have the BEST of care, but day care workers and nursing home aides don't make squat.

you know, the trillions of women who clean toilets,

clean clothes, clean children, clean, clean, clean.......

Our hands cramp, our eyes strain, and yet no one seems to care what we type. :)

Teachers, cops and wait staff...

no flowers at our be-booted feet, etc

and they are:

..sanitation workers and garbage collectors...Yes, the people who keep the shit and urin where it is supposed to be, and collect the trash and food that we throw away,... they keep our society clean enough, ..so that we don't have typhus and countless other kinds of infections and disease.

..Don't laugh, the creation of clean sanitation systems, is a top priority of all underdeveloped countries, along with clean drinking water. (closely related) They are some of the most important people in our interdependent system of jobs.

No benefits until you've logged over 1-3 years on the rolls (that's not counting holidays and sick time, which of course you don't get paid for even when the business is closed). Regular employees treat you like trash, completely disposable and utterly contemptible, and employers still believe the hype that the people working as temps are moms whose kids have gone off to school so they're looking for something to fill their days and get a little mad-money. The real catch-22 is that after a year of temp work on your resume, all future employers think you only temped because you're such a fuck-up no one would hire you permanently.

I temped for years, working "temp" at some jobs up to two years. To stay constantly employed, I often had to be on call for several temp agencies, which means I rarely logged enough hours at any one temp agency long enough to be eligible for any benefits. It really is a thankless job, and one that has been steadily growing in the US since the Reagan era.