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“I’ve Had 6 Lung Infections In The Past Year”: 30 People Reveal The Biggest Downsides To The Careers They Chose
Interview
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had, pandas? Was it working in a high-stress restaurant where cooks and customers constantly blamed you for their own mistakes and berated you for being too slow? Or was it a mind-numbing desk job that sucked the life out of you and wasn’t nearly worth it for the disappointing paychecks you earned? No matter what your preferences are when choosing a place of employment, I’m sure you can relate to having at least one job that you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy.
As it turns out, there are plenty of career paths out there that even the people in them wouldn’t recommend. Last week, Reddit user HalosOpulence asked readers to detail why they wouldn’t recommend their professions to others, and these workers were brutally honest. Below, we’ve gathered their most eye-opening, and frankly unfortunate, responses, so you too can know which career fields to be wary of.
Keep reading to also find an interview with HalosOpulence to hear what inspired this conversation in the first place, and be sure to upvote the replies you resonate with. Then if you’re interested in reading about even more careers that aren’t all they're cracked up to be, check out this Bored Panda article next!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Crime Scene Investigator
17 years of doing it and my therapist agrees it's getting close to long enough. Seeing so many dead people in so many different ways. Murders, suicides, overdoses, infant deaths all take a toll. The pay isn't great and the emotional trauma just compounds. My first day was an autopsy for a 2 year old and I can still picture that kid. I could go on and on but then it's more like a therapy session.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
Yet TV shows and movies romanticize this field so much, tons of people dream of doing it.
To hear what inspired this conversation in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user HalosOpulence, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. "We are in times of uncertainty: job insecurity with the rise of technological advancement, the desire to have diversity, inclusion and equality in the workforce, and all the while struggles with the pandemic affecting one’s mental health," she shared.
"Firstly, let me say that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is very exciting. Apps like Chat GPT and Dall-E can formulate their own hypothesis of what something could look like with the intellect of the web. Chat GPT can come up with 'humanlike' responses and could write a song, make recommendations, and can take an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test," HalosOpulence continued. "Dall-E is able to create images based on a simple text, and can make anything that could look like a human or create a new idea for a company logo."
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#2
I'm a scientist. That means you don't make much money, and no-one listens to anything you say.
#3
Librarian. The pay is s**t, especially with the fact that you need a master's to have any meaningful advancement. Master's degree, to make $40-50k.
Also, depending on where are, libraries are just where homeless people go during the day. And a lot of homeless people are perfectly nice and respectful! But enough of them are not.
I normally work in a fairly nice suburban branch where the worst I get is old men coming on to me. I'm pretty lucky. Coworkers at the downtown branch have been grabbed, punched, screamed at, spit at. They find bodily fluids all over the place. They find people overdosed in the bathroom.
I'm sure any customer service position is like this. People think librarians sit and read in a nice, quiet library all day. We do not. We are expected to act as untrained social workers as much as we're expected to recommend books.
devotedtodreams 1 year ago
Not sure if the same applies to the U.S.. but where I live, your clientel (and pay) is quite different depending on if you work in a scientific or public library. I've always worked in libraries - public ones until I found a job at my current workplace, a scientific library. I'll never go back to public libraries, way too noisy! Also, the pay's alright - almost 80K (in Swiss Francs, Bachelor's degree) a year. But living here is quite expensive, so yeah...
"However, to contend, some developments are getting so powerful that AI is 'replacing' the jobs of others," HalosOpulence shared. "Job elimination could be as simple as being an admission clerk at the hospital. Of course, this is phenomenal news of return on investment (ROI) for the company itself, as they wouldn’t have to pay a human to do the work, but it’s very upsetting news to the worker that was let go. I’m unsure of what the future will be like, perhaps there will be a global income for all and we can live in augmented realities together (AR) or maybe there will be limits of AI ethical practice where we can still sustain our jobs and live to co-exist."
#4
Pediatric cancer scientist. A lot of the kids that end up on our research protocol are going to die. Fewer of them are going to die than if they were *not* on our research protocol, but the prognosis for the "we've tried everything else" cases that get to us is not great.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
My sister is an RN specializing in oncology care. One year she was invited to her sons' summer camp to be the nurse for that year's session. She told me it was the best two weeks she'd ever had because no kids died on her watch. She absolutely amazes me.
#5
I'm a retail store manager. Pay is good. Hours are s**t and I suspect it may have something to do with me hating people.
If you want to see the worst of people, work a face position with the public. They have absolutely no consideration for you, your life, your job, whatever.
"The reason for my post, 'Why would you not recommend your career?' is because we all have a voice and it needs to be heard," she explained. "The future is unknown and more than ever, we need to have each other’s back and increase our self-awareness because at the end of the day, being kind is what matters to each other. It starts with empathy. People’s lives are impacted by business matters. The reason why voices need to be heard is that these are human lives being impacted in increasingly significant ways."
"The more I read on my post, the more it was heart-felt. Heart-breaking really. A job is supposed to make you feel included, important, and ultimately like you’re needed. They’re not supposed to make us feel like slaves, under-appreciated or easily replaceable," HalosOpulence told Bored Panda. "The commentators on my post did not surprise me because I knew we were struggling. You can see it in their faces, their reactions and responses."
#6
Social work (US) - every system we have to work within is failing or already broken. the trauma these children go through, sometimes at the hands of your own agency (unexpected placement changes), will shatter you. I've been doing it for 4 years and am feeling the cracks... no idea when the break will finally come.
#7
I'm a janitor. Humans can be brainlessly disgusting, dangerous to others (and themselves) and generally be utter pricks.
And thats just from facing up shelves.
My job isn't bad. I work when the place is closed and clean up the aftermath. Today its tampons that are stinking of death and someone walking around the shop in boots covered in horse manure (its on the coffee shop sofas too).
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
Please, everyone whose work place employs janitors or cleaners: learn their names and thank them for their work. You couldn't do your job if they didn't do theirs. And they really appreciate an end-of-year gift.
"According to the World Health Organization, the pandemic has caused an increase of anxiety and depression by 25%," HalosOpulence continued. "People lost jobs, changed careers, or are still unemployed. Moreover, inflation has risen up almost 8% from last year and presently, cost-cutting is affecting the tech industry. It’s really sad to hear that there are people who studied so hard, and transferred countries in order to get a job, but then, they are immediately laid off or rejected. Tech layoffs aren’t just because of inflation and cost-cutting, it’s also because of social imitation. It’s a trend."
"Statistics are kind of like an insight to the future and when choosing a career path today, you really need to keep track of statistics," she noted. "Additionally, research, job shadow and speak to those in the industry in which you’re interested in. To add, it’s of great importance to keep track of the AI movement."
#8
Call center tech support. Need I really say anything?
The whole job is trying to help people who treat me like I'm the person who broke their s**t.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
On the other hand, sometimes a simple solution makes a caller so happy, you are their hero for the day. For me, that made up for all the grumps.
#9
Machine operator, I've had 6 lung infections in the past year and a half from all the welding fumes.
To all the geniuses who think I'm not wearing a respirator. I am. But it can only filter out so much. Especially if the shop looks like willie Nelson and snoop dogg were hanging out.
Ali H M Salehuddin 1 year ago
If this is a case, your company needs to install fume extractors. At the very least, if your climate permits it, have an open air (high roof, no fully enclosed walls) welding site. If the management does not take appropriate action, make a report. The OSHA (or equivalent regulatory agency of your country) will come and do corrective action.
#10
Healthcare (U.S.) should be avoided as a career because it's exploited ruthlessly for profit. If you go to work in my field, you're signing up for extra stress for life, all to make money for some parasitic MBA.
Qadgop the Mercotan 1 year ago
I just retired after 4 decades practicing medicine. This is so true. I loved working with my patients and my team, but hated everything else about the work. Especially the largely irrelevant demands of the electronic medical record.
#11
US Merchant sailor
1. Away from home majority of the year, if you’re lucky only 180 days. Sometimes I feel like a stranger in my own house. I can’t count how many holidays, birthdays, funerals, children’s events, anniversaries, etc that I’ve missed in the last 26 years.
2. Can be stuck on a vessel for extended periods with people you don’t like and there is no real escape, except a few hours in your stateroom when off watch.
3. Sleep can be a challenge. I work 6 hours on/6 hours off around the clock for 28 days straight. Rarely do I get enough sleep to be considered healthy.
4. Bad weather can make life a challenge, being sea sick is the worst. Luckily, most of the awful weather I was exposed to was early on in my career and I was too dumb to realize how dangerous it was. Poorly secured refrigerator flying across the galley was just kinda funny back then. Boat rolling so hard, the porthole in my stateroom was underwater a good bit of the time. Trying to not get tossed out of bed, using survival suits under my mattress to make a taco shell shaped sleeping space. Avoiding getting thrown into rotating machinery in the engine room. I would say weather is probably the number one issue with my job.
5. More and more regulations. When I first started, all you needed to work on boats was a MMD(Merchant Mariner Document) or z-card, issued by the coast guard that only required a basic medical exam and some basic background information and a small fee.
Now there is a mountain of paperwork, multiple different credentials(twic, stcw, comprehensive medical exam, random drug testing) just to get your foot in the door. Stcw isn’t required for all vessels, but if it is needed, it’s like $1100 for the basic, one week class. That now requires a refresher course every five years. When I first got it there was no expiration date.
6. Zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol. The swashbuckling/cowboy days of sailing are over.
On the plus side, this career has provided a good income for the past 26 years that I probably wouldn’t have gotten from many other jobs without a college degree. I’ve seen some amazing scenery and incredible sea life. I’ve been through the Panama Canal and I’ve visited some awesome foreign countries, although the majority of my job has been in US waters. I’ve been north of the Arctic circle, but never south of the equator, unfortunately. I’ve made some lifelong friends that I can always pick up the phone and talk to like I saw them the day before. I’ve learned lots of nautical lingo, which always impresses at parties and if pressed I have a lot of good stories that often leave people a little amazed and perhaps a little jealous or wondering if I’m just full of s**t.
Jaguarundi 1 year ago
My husband's father was a merchant seaman decades ago. He managed to have 2 fully paid for homes and provided for 3 children, including specialty colleges for the two eldest. He regretted not having more time with his family, but, they were well cared for and they all loved each other.
#12
Book Editor.
Well, I used to love reading. I joined a book club while in college and even voted as one of the committee. Now I see books as work and never touch them outside my work hours. *sigh*
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
I have the opposite problem. I can't NOT mentally edit every book I read, and I love to read.
#13
Paramedic.
Intense (if short) education that will eat your whole life and not prepare you for anything at all. The pay sucks. The hours are weird. No work from home options.
Pretty much works because we all have ADHD and hate ourselves. If you can wake up at 3am and shotgun a Bang on the way to a call because railing a line of coke is illegal, this field is perfect for you. Especially if you don't mind being poor.
#14
Funeral industry - the smell.
Ontop of that you need to maintain a pokerface the entire time when facing clients
#15
Zookeeper.
Have you *smelled* lion spray? Otter c**p, oily and fishy and laced with territory-marking musk?
Yeah, you don't want to. You probably can't even imagine how badly you don't want to. Certainly not for close to minimum wage. You have to be a little crazy to get into this line of work.
My nostrils have never forgiven me.
TheDag 1 year ago (edited)
Honestly animal jobs in general, I've done a fair few as it was the career I wanted to get into. I've been pissed on, had a cat try to off me with a well placed claw, flipped sheep. Seen way too many castrations while sitting in on vet ops, handled venomous snakes which most folk would run from and worked with a mentally damaged Rottweiler that on the drop of a dime could kill you and i loved all those bits but the worst part of it were the people. The bosses all know you are desperate to get into that line of work and will always pay low and generally treat you like s**t. The people you meet are generally split into two groups those that do the job because they love animals and want to help make their lives as enriched as possible and those that do it because they think they can get an easy job hugging bunnies.
#16
Middle School Teacher
It’s stressful and low pay
#17
As a vet tech, the absolute stress of the day to day, the unknown of the days schedule, having more hard nursing skills than human nurses (placing IVCs, NG tube, urinary catheters, calculating CRIs, performing blood typing and matching and transfusions, making and reading cytologies, running and reading lab results etc), to make (at best) 25$/hr (with multiple degrees, letters behind my name and over 10 years experience), to be traumatized by the absolutely gut wrenching things you see in the ER, to the screaming pet owners who simultaneously believe you to be a god and perform literal miracles while also believing that you personally set the prices because you’re the devil who hates pet owners. Literally there’s very little “winning” in veterinary medicine
#18
Journalist.
Elon Musk and the bias of national outlets in the US has made people the world over hate us for no reason on sight just for covering events. People are fleeing the industry like crazy out of fears over safety and simply stress after verbal and physical attacks have skyrocketed over the past year, in addition to the stress of trying to report while people scream nonsense at you the whole time.
Most journalists strive to not be biased and to cover all stories relevant to their readers/ viewers/ listeners. Pay attention to local journalists (and less to those in the US if you live outside it), not national outlets, if you want actual news, and please stop treating them like s**t for having the gall to be at an event with a recording device. We already get paid pennies on the dollar, we don't deserve constant vitriol while simply trying to do our jobs. Please stop generalizing professions under one umbrella.
Kate Haslam 1 year ago
If it's any consolation, reporters have been more or less despised for decades; Elon Musk didn't have anything to do with that. But seriously -- you're right, a free press is an essential part of a functioning democracy.
#19
I love my Army career (benefits like 30 days of leave and half my pay is tax free, free medical, VA disability pay, tuition, plus experience I would never get in the civilian world) but wouldn’t recommend it because your life is not your own. You can be sent to do dangerous s**t and leave your family at any moment. World events affect you differently.
If your supervisor is a d**k you don’t have very many rights, although at least they can’t sexually harass or assault you with impunity anymore, or threaten to out you for being gay if you don’t do what they want.
#20
Plumber: make 6 figures after your apprenticeship but it’s a long road. Don’t really know how to describe it, but this isn’t your backup plan if academia doesn’t work out for you. It will destroy your body and be both physically and mentally stressful every day for many years. We aren’t just fixing leaky sinks. Heavy electrical/controls component and it’s heavy duty on the commercial service side. You will be injured, and have lasting chronic pain. I’ve encouraged all of my very young apprentices to seek a desk job. That being said, if you have the brain and the toughness, you will make good money, but have a plan to get out.
Sunshine Lady 1 year ago
Desk job won't help you stay painless. My desk job made me gain 20kg for 1 year, I got back pain and headache. Prior to that I've worked in retail stores and fast food restaurant.
#21
Musician.
It's countless hours of practice (and talent doesn't hurt either), just to get to career level, and countless more to maintain that level. And even *that* doesn't guarantee you a spot on stage or in the studio, or that people will like what you do enough to pay you.
It's also about who you know. Which is a combination of networking skills, a tasteful amount of pushiness, and sheer luck. So if you're not a people person (and that's ok, lots of musicians aren't, even some successful ones), your task is even harder.
We certainly must do it for the love of music, mustn't we...
Diolla 1 year ago
Yeah. I worked in the music industry for a while, did road & tour management, promotion, etc.. OP is absolutely right. Talent does not equal success. The work hours are gruelling when on tour, the pay mostly sucks and there is a tough dog-eat-dog mentality. And as a woman in the business you often are either not taken seriously/ considered a groupie, or expected to be "fun" or "available" for promotors etc you are trying to do business with. I quit.
#22
Nurse-> PTSD
ISeeWendiGo 1 year ago
My back got me long before the PTSD did me in. Nursing home I worked in thought it a great money making idea to open a bariatric unit with already short staff. Imagine 35-45 patients with the lightest weighing in at 675 lbs and going up to >1000 lbs and there's 3-4 CNAs for all of these patients. Money maker turned into workers comp claims for backs, knees, shoulders, necks getting hurt lifting, turning, and pulling these patients. The facility lost more money in a month than it was projected to make in 3.
#23
Union Laborer. Mainly concrete work but occasionally I do asphalt or other stuff like that.
The money is great and there is always work but unless you want to have very bad back, neck and joint pain by the time you’re 25 I wouldn’t recommend it.
I’ve seen countless people(basically 75% of the people I work with) addicted to all sorts of painkillers because it’s so rough on the body. I’m only 27 and I’m starting to see why they all are, my body aches all the time.
Go to college.
#24
Realtor. Seems like everyone and their mothers are getting their real estate license, then quitting a couple months in. The only reason me and my husband have found success is because my mom is the broker and owner of our firm and has devoted time to teaching and guiding us 1 on 1. If you are thinking of becoming a realtor, here are some things you will need to actually make it in the business
— At minimum 8 months of living expenses saved up. You will make zero money the first year, and if you try to do real estate and a side hustle you will fail. You have to devote yourself full time in order to learn and market yourself.
— Be ready to put yourself out into the community like a jackass. You basically have to show up to every community/public event the first year and act like those people in the quad on orientation week, or maybe like a mall kiosk person. If you don’t market yourself hardcore then you won’t have any clients. The first 2 years in this job my husband door knocked and gave his sales pitch everyday from 2-5pm. He definitely has a soft spot for door to door salesmen and gives them water and snacks when they show up to our house.
— You have to have a mentor who can teach you the ropes. You will not learn enough in school for your license. Find someone you can shadow for the first year, or someone online you can take classes from. There’s so many intricate details to contracts, appraisals, loans, inspections, and closings that you just have to learn from asking a pro. I’ve seen sooooo many dumdum realtors who get themselves sued because they didn’t know something was legally binding, they misread a contract, they weren’t aware of a deadline, even seen something as simple as they didn’t know to attach a lead based paint addendum. My mom suggested we memorize a standard contract front to back. I’m glad we did.
All in all we are very successful. I no longer work, I’m a stay at home mom, but my husband is still very busy in the industry and last year his income was $230,000. You do very well in real estate but the stigma that it’s and easy, over paid, hands off job is so stupid and just wrong. My husband works longer hours than 9-5 but he is paid accordingly. To anyone who read this entire post and still wants to get into real estate, best of luck to you!!
#25
If you want to live in Japan and don't care about not earning very much money, come "teach" English. Literally the only real requirements are 1) be alive and 2) at least kind of speak English. If you can read this comment you're probably overqualified.
Reasons not to do it:
- Pay is s**t.
- No benefits.
- You will either spend your days sitting around doing f**k all but waiting to or being worked to exhaustion.
- No advancement, this is it.
- Feels utterly pointless. The curriculum is garbage. Most students don't give a f**k and won't learn much of anything. The few who *do* give a f**k and have some degree of aptitude will be f****d over by a combination of the s**t curriculum, their classmates weighing them down like an anchor, and the Japanese English teachers may not even actually speak English themselves and/or teach weird and wrong s**t as a result.
- You'll probably get shunted off to some random mountain town that's been hemorrhaging population steadily for decades with an average age of 48 and absolutely f**k all to do there unless you like hanging out in smokey old people "snack bars" or smokey pachinko parlors.
#26
Freelance filmmaker here (cinematographer, director, producer).
Upsides:
- I can charge $150+ / hr.
- I can usually survive on less than 100 days of work per year.
- Seeing your name in the credits of a film/TV show feels pretty good.
Downsides:
- There is not a clear career path / road map to success. It’s mostly right time, right place, luck of the draw.
- A normal shift is 10.5-12.5 hours and have often gone 18+hrs…for WEEKS AT A TIME with sporadic days off.
- It can require extended travel, often with no warning.
- A job typically gets booked as a “hold” (which is a soft “maybe this will actually happen” kind of commitment) and will often get pushed or dropped with zero explanation or recourse for payment.
- With every job, you must negotiate against a shrewd producer who is always “working with a tight budget” whenever the client is: Disney, Facebook, Nike, Coldplay (insert Fortune 500 company / organization not hurting for money)
- Getting work often has zero to do with your portfolio or level of talent.
- Competition for work is FIERCE and often results in people undercutting each other (even as friends) to get that gig.
- For equipment, I have invested tens-of-thousands of dollars with the hope of rolling the new gear into my rental kit…only to have a client decline to use my camera or lenses in favor of cheap / inferior rental equipment.
- Films are no longer “fun” to work on
- I am self employed and have no insurance
- It costs $10k to join the Union to not have to fight for a decent rate
- The divorce rate in the film industry is extremely high
- There is zero stability as a freelancer
- I’m always “working”
- My mental health has suffered during periods without work. You begin to question why so-and-so is working and you are not. It’s a vicious cycle.
- On the best days, I feel like a disposable cog in a machine and not an artist.
#27
Politician
No matter how good you are at your job, how much you have done, you will still be hated by half of the population
Your private life will be under microscope by either side of the MSM and any small mistake will become the biggest news and headlines for them.
Will Cable 1 year ago
The trouble is many get in to power then totally ignore the people. They seem hell bent on seeing what they can get out of it for themselves.
#28
Accountant/Auditor.
It’s mentally exhausting. People are f*****g sensitive and weird when it comes to money. I have to request pretty standard information, which make some clients get very defensive. I’m not questioning the quality of your work, jesus christ calm down.
People also don’t understand the importance of little things like keeping receipts/invoices. It’s rare to find business owners who are organized and know anything about accounting.
I helped with the back end work of doing tax returns and it amazes me that there are people who have been doing taxes for 20+ years yet you still have to beg them for the same information every year. I’m the type of person who after 2-3 attempts, I will just move the f**k on.
Also, it’s funny how growing up the saying is “if you don’t want to deal with people, be an accountant!” Big nope. You have to not only get information out of people, you have talk about money with them and like I said before, always a sensitive issue.
#29
Advertising
Most people in advertising get aged out of the profession between the ages of 35 and 40.
The Veil of Fire 1 year ago
I believe I see the same five tv ads every commercial segment. Three of them are either lawyers, class action lawsuits, or tear jerking donate now ads. rarely anything new or different. I turn off sound now during commercials. No entertaining commercials. And get Kardashian nasally voices off the commercials.
#30
I build power lines-
it’s extremely hard on your body, long hours, work a lot of weekends and holidays. The pay is good but you can only do this trade for so long before your body gives out.
What do you think ?
Paulo Freitas 1 year ago (edited)
Oh i dunno, i like the prospect of teaching English in Japan, i mean Im not an English native, nor do i have a degree in English language, but according with the OP Im Over qualified allready, and the idea of being in some remote backwater village in Japan is quite apealing.
Load More Replies...
Katie Lutesinger 1 year ago
"Everything sounds exciting until you actually try it. Then you find out it's just another job. I bet even people like Cohen the Barbarian wake up in the morning and think 'Oh NO, not another day of crushing the jewelled thrones of the world beneath my sandalled feet'." ~Terry Pratchett, "Moving Pictures".
Paulo Freitas 1 year ago (edited)
Oh i dunno, i like the prospect of teaching English in Japan, i mean Im not an English native, nor do i have a degree in English language, but according with the OP Im Over qualified allready, and the idea of being in some remote backwater village in Japan is quite apealing.
Load More Replies... Katie Lutesinger 1 year ago
"Everything sounds exciting until you actually try it. Then you find out it's just another job. I bet even people like Cohen the Barbarian wake up in the morning and think 'Oh NO, not another day of crushing the jewelled thrones of the world beneath my sandalled feet'." ~Terry Pratchett, "Moving Pictures".
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