On employment and professions, and people's attitudes toward them.

There are many careers and professions in the world.

You can be a street sweeper, cleaner, musician, barista, cook, or whatever. You can work in almost as wide a variety of industries as there are jobs; hospitality, tourism, customer service, car sales, public service..., the list goes on.

You can do these jobs because you need the money, or because you can't find anything else (same reason, really), or because you love it.

Here's the thing, though.


If you criticise any individual's choice of job or profession because it's beneath you - if you think that the person making you a coffee isn't worth the measly amount you're paying for that beverage, or that the person providing you quality customer service on the phone isn't worth the price of the phonecall, then fine.

If you think that the person driving you home in a taxi at 3am is a lesser human being than yourself, or if the person you just bought your car from is a vile scumbag ripping you off, then whatever.

That's your opinion, and you should keep it to yourself.

If you start criticising these individuals because you don't think much of their job or industry, you're a bad person. End of story.

You think anybody can make a decent coffee? Go try to operate one of those cafe espresso machines for yourself and see how far you get in making a consistently good brew.

You think driving a taxi is easy because anybody can drive a car? You should try passing the relevant tests, and then doing it at 3am with a carload of drunken hooligans.

You think selling people cars is easy? You should try bending over backwards to get a good deal for the customer (and sometimes losing money on it) just so you can get an extra sale on your records.

You think anybody can talk on the phone to fix whatever issue you're having with your account is easy? You should try talking to a horde of customers all day because a rounding error has resulted in an extra fifteen cents being charged to them.

I am a professional. I know my job inside out. I imagine you're also a professional that knows their job inside out. You should remember that when you're interacting with somebody in another job or industry that your worlds don't really have all that much crossover. You might be brilliant at your job, but you'd probably be rubbish at theirs.

I wrote a little previously on this blog about how customer service workers shouldn't assume that their customers are stupid just because they don't understand precisely everything about how your job works.

The same idea applies to customers, and the public in general.

There is a common adage about this; before you criticise somebody, walk a mile in their shoes. Remember that every day.

There's also the other story/joke about the various organs of the body arguing about who is the most important organ in the body:

"I am the most important," said the brain, "because I run all the body's systems, so without me nothing would happen."
"I am the most important," said the blood, "because I circulate oxygen all over so without me you'd waste away."
"I am the most important," said the stomach," because I process food and give all of you energy."
"I am the most important," said the legs, "because I carry the body wherever it needs to go."
"I am the most important," said the eyes, "because I allow the body to see where it goes."
"I am the most important," said the anus, "because I'm responsible for waste removal." 

All the other body parts laughed at the anus, and insulted him, so in a huff, he shut down tight. Within a few days, the brain had a terrible headache, the stomach was bloated, the legs got wobbly, the eyes got watery, and the blood was toxic.

Without the  people doing the jobs you're looking down on, you'd probably be out of your own job.