Thankless/underrated jobs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher. It didn't turn out that way, but I've also wondered if I would be happier if it did. I have recently become "friends" (we're not really close, but then again I am not close to anybody) with a teacher and it gave me new appreciation for all they do.
She spends hours every evening working on lesson plans, grading tests, checking homework, etc. It seems exhausting! And now during the summer she is still working on material for the new school year.
So this got me thinking, how many other underrated professions or thankless jobs there are out there. Nominate one.

PS: I am speaking of professional jobs. I know being a mom, a single parent, a teen parent, a caregiver for an elderly parent can all be thankless and tasking jobs, but that's not really what I am referring to here.

First year teacher?

[Anonymous]

I was a daycare worker in college. It was difficult, dirty work that didn't pay much but I loved the kids and thankfully had a lot of energy because I was in my late teens/ early 20s and didn't have my own kids or family to deal with when I went home at the end of every shift. Also, because the daycare was in a college town, probably 95% of the staff consisted of students either certifying to teach or at least majoring in child psych or something similar, so the kids were being cared for by people who were actually interested in working with children down the line. I worked in another daycare one summer that wasn't in a college town and the difference in the educational level, etc of the staff was pretty striking. I also nannied for a very wealthy family later on and that was a whole different ball of wax but definitely not thankless in terms of compensation, although you couldn't support a family on it.

Either way, if you're looking for a job that will absolutely bolster your immune system for the next five years or so, that's an excellent choice. I was sick constantly my first three months on the job (pink eye, stomach viruses, respiratory crud, you name it), but then I didn't catch so much as a cold the entire time I worked as a teacher after graduation.

[Anonymous]

You get what you pay for. I don't ever blame public school teachers not matter how reprehensible they are. We don't value the work thy do. Why would they? Sheesh. Pay up, buttercups, then talk about accountability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a daycare worker in college. It was difficult, dirty work that didn't pay much but I loved the kids and thankfully had a lot of energy because I was in my late teens/ early 20s and didn't have my own kids or family to deal with when I went home at the end of every shift. Also, because the daycare was in a college town, probably 95% of the staff consisted of students either certifying to teach or at least majoring in child psych or something similar, so the kids were being cared for by people who were actually interested in working with children down the line. I worked in another daycare one summer that wasn't in a college town and the difference in the educational level, etc of the staff was pretty striking. I also nannied for a very wealthy family later on and that was a whole different ball of wax but definitely not thankless in terms of compensation, although you couldn't support a family on it.

Either way, if you're looking for a job that will absolutely bolster your immune system for the next five years or so, that's an excellent choice. I was sick constantly my first three months on the job (pink eye, stomach viruses, respiratory crud, you name it), but then I didn't catch so much as a cold the entire time I worked as a teacher after graduation.

The first few years my mom worked as an RN nurse, our entire family was sick constantly too. She brought home so much! It was as bad as a daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some teachers work hard, but others are really really lazy.

Like all people in all professions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

SAHM mom with 4 kids and workaholic, travelling DH

Nope, try again.

Haha, proved my point! I was a teacher -- it was easy. teachers reuse their material from year to year and most just scan over the homework.
But SAHM: up at 6AM, childcare, cooking, cleaning, repairing house, car maintenance, insurance, bills, landscape, more cooking, the grocery store, driving, more childcare, bathing, feeding, entertaining, listening to the endless drama, dinner, after school activities, more driving, doctor's appointments, ER visits, school paperwork, homework, more cleaning ...more laundry, dishes, more cooking and down at 11:30PM for that last load ...
And all this time people think you are just chillin'

Teacher turned SAHM here... if teaching was easy and you just "scanned" homework, then it sounds like you were checked out and not actually performing your job. Being a parent in general is often challenging but that wasn't the point of OPs post.

I agree with the assessement that nurses are unappreciated...I didn't realize this until after I gave birth. The nurses did everything, I barely saw my OB!

Like 99% of public school teachers.

I'm glad you stopped fellating Chris Christie long enough to write that very important message.

I'm assuming you never had a teacher?

Its always weak when you resort to potty mouth.

I'd rather have "potty mouth" than resort to disparaging 99% of public school teachers.

Also, you never answered my question. I think we should question the efficiency of private schools, if they produced a narrow-minded little troll like you.

here's my anser: It takes a lot of intelligence to do this!

[Anonymous]

Lot of angry teachers home this morning.

[Anonymous]

I agree with elder care.

[Anonymous]

Daycare director/provider.

[Anonymous]

postman
college career directors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

SAHM mom with 4 kids and workaholic, travelling DH

Nope, try again.

Haha, proved my point! I was a teacher -- it was easy. teachers reuse their material from year to year and most just scan over the homework.
But SAHM: up at 6AM, childcare, cooking, cleaning, repairing house, car maintenance, insurance, bills, landscape, more cooking, the grocery store, driving, more childcare, bathing, feeding, entertaining, listening to the endless drama, dinner, after school activities, more driving, doctor's appointments, ER visits, school paperwork, homework, more cleaning ...more laundry, dishes, more cooking and down at 11:30PM for that last load ...
And all this time people think you are just chillin'

It sounds like you were a terrible teacher.

Yes, teachers do reuse material (I know, I was one) but they also come up with new and interesting ways to present material all the time! I taught art so I didn't have to read papers or anything like that, but I always, ALWAYS provides a "critique sheet" for projects with a written explanation for each graded art work, including comments on things that were working and things that needed extra attention. So I spent a LOT of time grading, especially since I had about 150 students each semester.

[Anonymous]

I had really lazy teachers in high school. My son has had 3 teachers in elementary so far. One I would say was amazing. One okay. One lazy.

[Anonymous]

I was a public school teacher. Trust me, you would have wanted me to teach your kids. I was told to stop working so hard or make any efforts to be creative. The negativity wore me down, and I wanted to be among innovative colleagues who valued hard work instead of perpetuating a culture of mediocrity. I am now working in a private school with like-minded professionals. I was willing to be paid less to make this kind of shift.

[Anonymous]

doodlebug wrote:I was a nursing assistant for a few years out of high school. Thought I wanted to go to nursing school. I worked at 3 different places, and cared for hospice people dying of cancer (and other things), alzheimer patients, people in a persistent vegetative state who were kept alive due to tube feedings, short term patients who had just had surgery and needed a bit of therapy before heading home, head trauma patients (almost exclusively young men) etc. It is EXHAUSTING, even for a young person. Very few people notice how hard you work but absolutely notice when you've fallen short in some way.

You could easily have 8-12 patients (8 being a light load) of which half had to be bathed every day (everyone was bathed every other day except Sunday.) Everyone needed their vital signs. You had to track who ate what and when, mood, who pooped and peed and how much etc.

It was a big job with lots of heavy lifting, no benefits (heaven help you if you injure your back and can't afford to see a doctor. You could suffer the rest of your life.) Everyone things their mom/dad is the most important patient and deserves the majority of your time. They don't realize that once you account for all of the above, plus take time to wolf down some lunch at some point, change the sheets of everyone who had a shower etc you really only had about 10 min a day for each patient. If one family ties you up for 30 min, everyone else suffers. Unlike nurses, CNA's aren't allowed to stay late because they don't want to pay overtime, so you better figure out a way to get it all done.

That's definitely the most thankless job I've had.

If nobody thanked you enough, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I am a nurse now and I was a nursing assistant all through nursing school. It really was exhausting. My unit had 30 beds and usually 1, sometimes two of us to check vital signs every 4 hours, check blood sugars, bathe patients/change linens, record input/output, feed those who couldn't feed themselves, incontinence care, etc. I had no time to pee most days.
Now being a nurse, it is still stressful and super busy, and I still have to do all of the above plus give meds, assess patients, call doctors, charting (a LOT of charting), etc. Which is why I appreciate my nursing assistants that much more. when we don't have one for the shift or when we have a lazy one, it makes our day SO much harder. We have a nursing assistant in my unit that I will schedule my work days around his schedule. He is awesome. I never have to ask him to do anything, he just does it all. He is professional, he is always busy and he does it all with a smile on his face. Patients love him and so do the nurses. I always make sure I thank him for everything he does, because he saves my behind every time he is there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a public school teacher. Trust me, you would have wanted me to teach your kids. I was told to stop working so hard or make any efforts to be creative. The negativity wore me down, and I wanted to be among innovative colleagues who valued hard work instead of perpetuating a culture of mediocrity. I am now working in a private school with like-minded professionals. I was willing to be paid less to make this kind of shift.

I was also a public (high) school teacher and my department was pretty much autonomous, which was great because we got along well and were pretty much on the same page as far as curriculum and expectations. It really depends on the school/school district.