To succeed in this competitive world, you gotta make smart choices early in your career. Or at least we are taught that from an early age. So no wonder that most of us have compared ourselves with others at some point in our lives.
According to a recent study, more than 75% of people reported feeling envious of someone in the last year. But what if some career paths don’t even deserve that painfully nagging feel?
To shed light on how we glamorize particular professions and demonize others, people are busting careers that are “actually a complete nightmare” in this r/AskReddit thread. Let’s read on and let us know whether you agree with them in the comments!
#1
Veterinarian.
Insanely competitive schooling that crippled you with debt, with a depressing debt:income ratio after graduation.
Most of your patients don’t like you, and most of the owners think you’re getting rich upselling them unnecessary services when their dogs’s exploding eyeball cancer can be cured with raw organic exotic meats/cbd/coconut oil, but you’re withholding that information because you’re in bed with Big Kibble.
High stress, stagnant wages, long hours, [poor] holiday leave. Rampant depression. Lost count of how many colleagues have committed suicide. Sometimes tempted to join them.
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252points
#2
Law Enforcement.
I went into it with the naive belief I would be making a difference. I wanted to protect people and make my community safer. Instead, I got to see the worst humanity has to offer day in and day out. Lets see if I can list all the negatives:
Most departments are filled with arrogant a-holes with inflated ego's that love to condescend to other officers or the public when they themselves can barley read.
Many officers have severe anger issues and love to take it out on the public (never saw it happen physically but verbally or by issuing ever ticket possible).
Try to suggest changes to bring about better relations with the public? Prepare to be ostracized and bullied till you tow the line.
The overall level of incompetence is staggering, with some officers barely knowledgeable of the firearms they carry everyday.
Your view of the public and people in general becomes very dark. The amount of EDP's (emotionally disturbed persons), druggies and alcoholics you deal with each day is ridiculous and you start to wonder how society hasn't collapsed.
You arrest a violent offender just to see them quickly released over and over, whats worse is how many times an abuse victim files a complaint because you arrested their "love" despite almost being killed.
Very few people are actually grateful when you cut them a break. They DO take it as a sign of weakness and try to push the envelope. This is an often overlooked reason why some officers become a-holes. You try to help people out and they spit in your face (sometimes literally), this gradually tears you down until you can barely recognize what you are becoming.
The uniform is a target. You can be the nicest most patient officer in the world but to many the uniform means you are the enemy. You will get cursed at, attacked and have your private life laid bare.
Low pay not even remotely commensurate with what you have to deal with.
There is sooo much more but I was lucky enough to get out and change careers before it all really got to me.
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211points
#3
Ballet dancer
Parents spend tens of thousands (or more) on training. They give up their entire teen years and schooling (most elite ballet dancers are homeschooled and a large percentage move away from home for training in high school).
Most dancers you see on stage in a ballet are paying to be there. The bottom rungs of ballet companies are pay to play. Then when you have paid to dance a few years you might be able to get a position that pays you with a dozen pairs of pointe shoes and a stipend for performances. Then maybe you'll be promoted to the bottom level where you get paid 20K a year and have no health insurance. All while putting your body through major torture.
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194points
When you find yourself constantly comparing your career to others, you may succumb to painful sensations of envy, allowing someone else's accomplishments to make you feel inferior. And according to a recent study, more than 75% of people reported feeling envious of someone in the last year.
So to find out more about this often overwhelming feeling, Bored Panda reached out to Dawn Moss, the founder of “Your Interview Coach” who has been helping both candidates and hiring managers through the recruitment and selection process since 2013.
Dawn said that career envy can happen to a lot of people and for various reasons. “Career envy can happen when individuals aren't doing very well in their own career. Often there's a perception that others are doing much better than them and there's some jealousy.”
#4
I don't know if nightmare is the word, but my wife has finally reached her lifelong goal of becoming a zookeeper at one of the top zoos in the US. She is very happy to have the opportunity to hand food to otters, have reindeer eat out of her hand, and brush okapi. However, she took on tens of thousands of dollars in student loans and did months of unpaid work at the zoo to get the job, which is seasonal, requiring she be off 2 months a year. She gets up at 4 AM and does farmhand style physical labor for 8 hours a day for about $9 an hour with no benefits. I am thrilled that she reached her goal, and I am happy that she is happy, but I am pretty disenfranchised with the whole thing.
174points
#5
Chef.
Long hours, sh**ty environment, nothing is ever good enough.
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163points
#6
Teaching for sure. I mean, people know it sucks, but still the idea of becoming a teacher and changing the lives of children simply by caring enough exists in a lot of people and sadly it's just not like that. The very sad truth is it doesn't matter how much you care, there are so many people who just want to make your job near impossible and people drop out of the position left and right.
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163points
In other instances, it can also happen to career ambitious individuals, Dawn said. “Although these people are likely to admire and aspire to be like those with successful careers. It will drive them forward and they are likely to put a plan into action,” the career consultant explained.
“Career ambitious individuals will strive to be better and spend time networking with those they admire. Others will avoid the successful people and miss out on opportunities and the outcome will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Having said that, Dawn added that hanging around successful people will impact positively on your career. “You'll naturally up your game and want to gain their admiration too. These people with successful careers can be coaches and mentors and it's wise to network internally. If you want to be truly successful, then hang around with successful people. You'll learn so much about navigating complex work politics and environments. You'll learn how to build relationships and negotiate.”
#7
The video game industry. A lot of kids and teens want in it so bad because “I grew up playing games blah blah blah they take me to another world blah blah blah.” Then you become an adult and learn that it’s all math and physics, and making a video game has NOTHING to do with what you experienced growing up. It’s all black screens of code, polygons, and being criticized for your work.
What’s worse, if you make games you probably never have the time to play them anymore. The gaming industry is notorious for implementing 60-80 hour work weeks.
EVEN WORSE depending on what company you work for, you may never have stable work. You finish a project and then the company tells you “we don’t have another project for your particular skill set.” Then you gotta look for more work.
AND IF ALL THAT WASNT BAD ENOUGH, you’ll probably never work on a game you want to work on. All those big, fancy games and indie darling on Steam are a very small fraction of what exists. Barbie’s Horse Adventure? Those people got degrees and we’re inspired by the same games as you. Crappy Candy Crush knock-offs? Same degree and inspiration. Stupid table-top games that you only see in the family section at Walmart? Those also utilize game designers/programmers.
Don’t get into videogames because you like videogames. Get into videogames because you’re passionate about math and science.
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129points
#8
Medicine, a close friend is a doctor, he doesn't have a life.
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127points
When asked how to stop comparing yourself to others, Dawn said it’s less easy. What it takes is an understanding that “What makes one person successful and others not.” “When you compare yourself to others and feel disappointed with your own performance or progression, then this will be less than helpful and will impact choices and decisions.”
On the other hand, she said that a little bit of competition is healthy since it will drive performance and productivity, which in turn increases profitability. “It's all about mindset and attitude and how you frame this situation that will either help or hinder someone's career.”
#10
Film crew.
Yes, you sometimes meet famous people. Sometimes they're cool, often they're really not. The days are 14+ hours of work with a commute of who knows how long on either end, depending where you're shooting. You have half an hour for lunch. Coffee breaks are whenever you're not needed on set, so depending on your job (I was in camera, and we rarely had a down moment), it could be almost never. More often than not, someone on set is yelling. People lose their minds over making really [poor] entertainment. You start work by 7am on Monday, and by Friday you're coming in at 4pm and leaving when the sun comes up on Saturday. There are no paid holidays, no paid sick days, no paid vacation. If you don't work enough qualifying hours, the union kicks your healthcare.
And this is if you're IN a union. Non-union, much worse. Sexual harassment is through the roof, but the kids who get it the worst are afraid to say anything or they'll lose their jobs. I have been told some real horror stories about famous actors, some of whom I still haven't seen get outed by the Me Too movement. And I'm not talking word-of-mouth, second-hand stories. I'm talking about young women who whisper to each other what shows to avoid and make them swear to never use their name because if they want to work in this industry, they can't be known as a troublemaker.
I watched so many co-workers fall into addictions, lose family, miss their children's lives, over the dumbest TV shows in the world. If you go union, the money can be good, but it's not worth it. It's just not worth it.
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107points
#11
Political staffer. Most jobs in politics pay very little money and require you to work 80+ hours a week for a boss who is guaranteed to have a gigantic ego. You also have to look for a new job after every election day.
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96points
#12
Being an artist. People think it's just fun drawing time in art class, but it is so stressful. Especially if it's a job you do. When I get commissions I spend hours just THINKING of the idea. I start sketching it, person (usually a non artist, artists are usually more gentle about it or don't mind) says it's not how they wanted it. Redo the sketch. HOPEFULLY it's okay now. Do the 2 hour line art. They say "Oh, this is wrong, this is too big, wtf is that, etc." After spending another 1-2 hours fixing it, you color it in. There's usually no problem with that unless it's an artist with a color pallet you're not used to. When you're done you send them to picture and hopefully they paid you while you were drawing because there's a lot of people who just make excuses. Also, if you're a small artist, you probably under charged that commission. That drawing you slaved over for 5 days... the person was only willing to 15 dollars and you'll take anything because everyone loves to ask for free stuff
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89points
#13
My SO is an attorney and isn't loving life right now. She says "You know how you did term papers in college? Well I do term papers every day, all day, endlessly."
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88points
#14
DO. NOT. WORK. FOR. TELEVISION NEWS.
Unless you like being underpaid, over-worked, unappreciated, actively bullied, over exposed to the depths of human depravity, on the clock 24/7 and ready to be completely disillusioned with the world and the monsters called people living on it.
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87points
#15
Behavioral health. I spent a long time working towards a career in therapy, and I’ve noticed that a lot of new people/people looking to get into the field go in with the starry-eyed “I want to help people” mentality. I did, too.
You do help people, but it is [freaking] hard to help people. A lot of jobs are high stress/low pay type of deals, because a lot of the jobs available are through nonprofits that only have so much funding to go around. You are vicariously exposed to other people’s trauma, and it does affect you, no matter how good you are at creating boundaries and practicing self care. It’s an admirable profession, but a grossly under appreciated one, and it most certainly isn’t for everyone who wants to “help people” for a living.
82points
#16
I'm a professional, full-time voice actor. I'm blessed to be successful and happy, but about 99% of the voice actors I know are depressed most of the time, struggling hard to find work, wrestling with impostor syndrome, questioning if they should give up, and barely able to make rent. Particularly videogame/anime/animation actors.
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78points
#17
Farming on a large scale. I was living in debt up to my ass ($500k-$1 mil depending on the time of year), haggling for every input (land, fertilizer, seed, equipment), at the mercy of the weather, and got to watch the commodity markets kick me in the nuts every business day. The real cherry on top was everyone thinking you are trying to kill them with GMOs and copious amounts of chemicals that we dont use. Not to mention farms are passed down through generations so you've got a bunch of dead and living ancestors watching your every move. Oh and a lot of farmers work a second full time job for the health insurance. There's a reason farm suicides are high and farm "accidents" and accidents are higher.
There's a million young rural FFA kids that would give there left leg for a chance to farm.
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73points
#18
TATTOOIST... it's crazy hours, no hourly rate, if no one comes in to get tattooed you don't get paid that day, you often spend more time drawing for tattoos than actually drawing and more often than not your doing that at home. There's so much more BS than anyone thinks.
I don't know why anyone thinks it's glamorous I know I certainly don't.
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66points
#19
Architect is really bad. Most people don’t complete it and the mental health issues are quite serious. There’s a lot of criticism and stress in the beginning, lots of late nights and hard work. At the end of the work you get insulted in public.
There’s no real reason for this. You aren’t going to be saving lives or anything, there’s no need to make it so expensive either.
So three years later, you get a degree and have to do a year of intern work, then it’s time for another year of study and projects and exams. Then two years of minimum wage work.
Then you come back for more exams, essays and projects.
It’s really too hard for what it is. I get paid very badly and I don’t really use any of my training. It was pointless really but girls like it at parties when I say I’m an architect. That’s a lie I don’t go to parties I
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57points
#20
Idk if military is glamorized, but I saw a bunch of people who joined cause they wanted to be badasses and they couldn't wait to get out. Long hours, sometimes dangerous work, mind-numbingly repetitive tasks, being stuck with a-hole bosses at times (not like you can just quit), not the best pay, etc. Add it all up and you get a large portion of people who do one enlistment and never come back.
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57points