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Job Value
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conuly posted a story about an (idiot) office worker disdaining construction work, in which she pointed out the obvious fact that construction work is not only well-paid, but necessary. I was reminded of it today by a fellow commenting on Pharyngula, and that got me thinking about the classic "good job"/"bad job" distinctions people make.
And it hit me. I can't think of any bad jobs.
Give it a moment. Food service? You help bring tasty cheeseburgers to people and make them happy. Garbage collection? I can't find the quote, but I remember someone once said one measure of a civilization was how fast waste is moved away from the people. Middle management? I was a Boy Scout, I know how much chaos arises from a lack of good leadership. Advertising? Well, it may be the capitalist in me, but if having the cash to burn on ads signals confidence in the profitability of the product, advertisement should (with a few exceptions) be a useful indicator of quality. Even professional sports – the closest thing to a useless job I've thought of yet – encourage physical recreation (public health!), and (I suspect) improvements in some kinds of medicine and surgery.
What do you all think? Am I missing some useless occupation? Some useful occupation, too often derided? What do you say?
conuly posted a story about an (idiot) office worker disdaining construction work, in which she pointed out the obvious fact that construction work is not only well-paid, but necessary. I was reminded of it today by a fellow commenting on Pharyngula, and that got me thinking about the classic "good job"/"bad job" distinctions people make.And it hit me. I can't think of any bad jobs.
Give it a moment. Food service? You help bring tasty cheeseburgers to people and make them happy. Garbage collection? I can't find the quote, but I remember someone once said one measure of a civilization was how fast waste is moved away from the people. Middle management? I was a Boy Scout, I know how much chaos arises from a lack of good leadership. Advertising? Well, it may be the capitalist in me, but if having the cash to burn on ads signals confidence in the profitability of the product, advertisement should (with a few exceptions) be a useful indicator of quality. Even professional sports – the closest thing to a useless job I've thought of yet – encourage physical recreation (public health!), and (I suspect) improvements in some kinds of medicine and surgery.
What do you all think? Am I missing some useless occupation? Some useful occupation, too often derided? What do you say?
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But seriously, I keep thinking of useful jobs which are put to useless means. The most glaring (to me) is a New York party planner who arranged to have a floor painted to resemble a flower-filled meadow for a one-night event - the next day the floor was stripped back to its original finish. He managed to employ caterers, muscians, waitstaff, bartenders, painters, decorators, djs and all manner of other people for a ONE NIGHT event that a handful of people got to enjoy. The Socialist in me winces, but the chef wonders what sort of food was served.
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