From lawyer jokes to IRS agents, certain jobs just get all the hate and blame. Now, normally one doesn’t deal with a lawyer or IRS agent on a good day, so some of the emotions make sense. But an internet user wanted to ask people in various maligned fields if their profession actually deserved all the hate it would customarily get. 

So employees and professionals answered with their own examples of why certain jobs get a lot of slander but are still pretty important for making the world go ‘round. Others shared why their job was not actually as bad as people would claim. So scroll down and upvote the suggestions you agree with, and be sure to comment on any professions you think should have been included. 

#1

Nursing.... Especially now.



Sweet jesus so many staff are burnt out, understaffed, its just horrendous. its even a giant s**t show at uni learning nursing.

Image credits: Drplaguebites

#2

I was a cleaner. People used to treat me like furniture and assumed all kinds of things about me. That was the best-paying job I ever held, with the best benefits, and most vacation! I went back to school for a more “dignified” career, and my “dignified” job sitting at a desk ended up being worse in every way.

Image credits: DearAuntAgnes

#3

Meteorologists. Lotta jokes along the lines of "must be nice to be wrong half the time and still keep your job". Do you know how difficult it is to predict the weather 2-3 days out, let alone a week out?

Image credits: wxmanify

We reached out to people who work in some of these fields, including plastic surgeon and TikToker Anthony Youn, MD, FACS, to learn more about his profession and what most people get wrong about these procedures. “Some common misconceptions are that if they have injectable filler they will look plump like a Cabbage Patch doll. It's the amount of filler that is injected that determines how a person looks, and a little filler can look very natural! Another one is that breast implants can prevent a breast from drooping. It's actually the opposite! Implants act like weights in the breasts and can make a breast feel heavier and droop faster.”

We also wanted to hear his perspective on the bad rap plastic surgeons sometimes get and why this has happened in the first place. “There are definitely some bad apples out there, and unfortunately my specialty can attract doctors who are arrogant prima donnas. Even worse are the doctors who aren't real plastic surgeons but masquerade as real plastic surgeons in order to get fame and make more money than they otherwise would.”

#4

Plumbers. People always assume they’re gross greasy old dudes but really they’re extremely skilled professionals.

Image credits: randomnessamiibo

#5

Working at McDonald’s/fast food. People always say c**p like “you better work/study hard or you’ll end up working at McDonald’s”. Work is work, and I honestly have far more respect for fast food workers than the CEO of pretty much any major corporation.

Image credits: holybananaduck

#6

Embalmers. Thankless job people think they are creepy but who else would do that

Image credits: Signal-Opportunity-2

“That being said, to become a real board-certified plastic surgeon you have to undergo a lot of training in general surgery, where we take care of trauma patients and sick patients. It's a long road, and cosmetic surgery is only one part of the field of plastic surgery. The vast, vast majority of my colleagues are decent, hardworking people who are in this field to help people, not for the other things,” he added.

#7

Plastic surgery, they don’t just do cosmetics, they do some live saving procedures for people in accidents, car wrecks, etc.

Image credits: Gacha-Galaxy-Girl

#8

Tattoo artists. Ive been told countless times from others it’s a “ghetto” or “sketchy” job where they all sell drugs, but a lot of the ones I’ve met are really neat or chill. If it actually doesn’t have as much of a bad rap as I thought and I just know too many people who give it one my bad.

Image credits: DementityX

#9

Janitors. Give them respect, people, unless you want to empty your own trash and clean your own work or school space.


(Seriously, being nice to the janitor saved my tail one time when I was locked out of a room that contained some vital work material. The big boss didn't have keys to that room, but guess who did?)

Image credits: Roguefem-76

Some of the options here are at least partially tongue-in-cheek. Yes, meteorologists are at times, incorrect, but modern technology and forecast models have gotten so advanced that the need for a human might diminish pretty soon. It will be a lot less fun to blame a robot for those unexpected rainstorms or flash freezes. The same could happen for other positions as well, so we shouldn’t perhaps be so harsh.

#10

Dentists.


We really ARE just trying to help you save your teeth. And it’s really NOT fun to have patients immediately say how much they hate the dentist before they even say hello.

Image credits: words-i-say

#11

Veterinary medicine. 110%. Extremely low wages, very high suicide rates, everyone thinks we are in it for the money, or don’t know what we’re doing. The burnout and turnover is truly unlike any other profession.

Image credits: anon

#12

Teachers. There are obviously good and bad ones, but most all of us got into this crappy profession because we love your kids.

Image credits: TerriblyAverage1

#13

Social workers. We are underfunded, understaffed civil servants attempting to help populations of individuals with multiple overlapping problems (poor, mentally ill, criminal records, substance use issues), get their lives back on track. The people others walk by on the sidewalk or avoid eye contact with on the subway; we seek them out, try to help them, and usually no one is happy with what we have to offer. Also red tape....lots of government red tape.

Image credits: Lou_Pockets

#14

Morticians.


Really don't get why; they're the last ones to ever let you down.

Image credits: anon

#15

Child care workers. We work our [butts] off all day long, receive horrible pay, work horrible hours, get little to no respect, get little to no PTO, are guilt-tripped for taking sick days, are told to do more and more random things day in day out by management, are expected to follow routines parents don’t even follow at home, and still show up to work. We take care of your children, please be respectful.

Image credits: hourglassnecklace

#16

Mechanics. Everyone thinks we’re putting so much effort into screwing you over. In reality we’re too lazy to work on our own s**t much less put extra effort into doing more work on your s**t.

Image credits: sweley

#17

Pastors, there not all homophobic, my friend had a gay pastor at one point

Image credits: Igivegrilledcheese

#18

Bartender.


Everyone thinks they can do our job because of that one time they opened Bud Lights at a company picnic a few years ago and that there's no skill involved.


My idea for a reality show is to take those types and put them behind a bar that's three deep in the weeds while Karen screams at them about slow service because she think's it's the ideal time to order craft cocktails and closes out after every round.


Not to mention the c**p us "lifers" have to deal with. Even people in our own families thinking we're losers, alcoholics, and drug addicts because we chose this over a more "respectable" career. Nevermind that plenty of us are college educated only to realize we actually make more doing this than the more respectable career we intended to go into.

Image credits: urine-monkey

#19

Garbage disposal workers.


I've heard many times from many people that if you don't go to college, that's the type of job you get. But my dad f*****g loved that job more than building fridges for amana. Not only was he paid more, but if he found something cool there, he got to take it home with him. My mom eventually had to tell him to stop bringing things home though, because it was a lot hahaha.

Image credits: AstriumViator

#20

Police. The vast majority of police officers are clean, do their job and actually want to make a positive impact on the community they serve. That same cop has to wear riot gear because some cop on the other side of the country did something horrible.


Most departments have became pretty transparent, are constantly trained on crisis intervention, diversity and non-bias policing. The police academies are finally starting to train recruits differently.


All these changes being made and it’s still never good enough.

Image credits: King_Baboon

#21

Call center workers. Yes, we know that you are not happy with (insert whatever you or the client did here). We know that you don't like having to do verification or to click through options when you dial in. No amount of verbal abuse, slurs, or sexual harassment will change that this happens.


Also, this doesn't include scam call centers ("your car warranty is expiring"/fake tech support centers/etc.), but *does* include legitimate outbound centers (ex. collections, sales) and outsourced centers in India/Mexico/the Philippines/other places. Yes, they can be annoying, but that doesn't change that there is an actual human being on the other side of the phone who is just trying to do their job. They were probably placed on the other side of the phone because of a decision made by some freak in a suit who hasn't interacted with us peons in decades, not because they're actively trying to annoy you.

Image credits: azumane

#22

Manufacturing. "Oh, you work at a factory? :( "


People see sweatshop workers doing simple repetitive tasks and think it's menial labor, or they'll see Tony Stark put a picture in his computer and get an Iron Man suit and think it's as easy as pushing a button and thr robots will do it for you.


But *you* have to draw that picture for every. single. piece. Then *you* have to tell the computer **how** you want each piece made. Then you have to set up the machines to make the pieces and get your stock cut how you need it. Then you have to make sure all of that work actually makes the pieces correctly and they match the designs.


And that's only part of the *machining* process. There are other things, like welding, fabrication, metal spray, plastic molding, paint, etc. that all have to play together to make whatever you're thinking of.

Image credits: DirkBabypunch

#23

Hear me out here - journalists. I feel like almost any crime drama seems to feature scenes where throngs of shouting, callous reporters camp outside people's houses the moment there is any sniff of a story. But from my perspective having worked for the press for many years and covering these types of stories, that almost never happens.


I can't speak for other countries obviously, but here in the UK where I work there are strict rules when it comes to privacy and intrusion into grief and shock. 99.99% of the colleagues I've worked with over the years got into journalism because they genuinely wanted to make a difference, shining a light onto real injustices, corruption and society's most pressing issues. Yes, there are certainly a few bad apples and publications which tar an entire industry with an ugly brush, but it's also a vital pillar of democracy and journalists have helped to bring down seriously corrupt individuals in office. Boris Johnson's recent resignation would never have happened without the efforts of reporters asking difficult questions.


Most journalists are also paid terribly and face everyday abuse, and some work in extremely dangerous situations and warzones in the name of transparency.

#24

Fairly surprised this hasn’t popped up on here yet:


Massage Therapists — the profession is grossly mistreated and misconceived, especially in the United States.


• highly sexualized - especially due to media depictions, abuse/misuse of services via professionals in positions of “power” (politicians, athletes, celebrities, etc)


• prone to misuse and abuse


• treated as as cheap, expendable labor usually due to the corroding thread of assumed sexual activity offered or the lack of integrity on our part (for example: we got into the profession just to “rub on people’s bodies for our own personal pleasure)


• our job is easy and what we are doing is MINDLESS, FUN, CHEEKY, ZEN, SEXY at all times when it is NOT.


• assumed we are all able to provide some sort of erotic experience during sessions, especially with tipping culture as it is in this current economic and social environment. Yes we are technically in the service industry, but we are also very technically health care providers.


• there is a lack of knowledge of what it actually takes to become an LMT and what is needed to maintain our licenses.


• Contempt for the profession based on wildly misunderstood and inaccurate information. For example: there are men and women who would rather suffer in pain than be touched by someone of the same gender. And while there are absolutely valid reasons for this personal choice… in my experience as an LMT it is often due to sexism, jealousy from boyfriends/girlfriends/partners, or just full blown homophobia. I have had men specifically say to me they will not receive massages from another man because “they aren’t gay and aren’t interested in trying that kinda life out” — oof.


These are just the things I’ve come across in my short but robust experience as a massage therapist thus far. There have been so many more nuanced unfair events that I’m not bringing to light or that just haven’t happened to me yet that I’m sure I am missing.

#25

Strippers/exotic dancers. If the person is comfortable enough to do that, then there's no shame in them doing that. Also they can make good money in just a night

Image credits: berrys_a_ghost

#26

Those who work at the IRS. The IRS doesn’t determine what or how much tax should be charged - that’s the government. The IRS is just a bunch of accountants but are often demonized for being money hungry tax collectors when they are just doing their job and carrying out the whims of whatever current policy is in place.

Image credits: Ok-Ad-2605

#27

CPS Investigators. Allow me to lay the rumors to bed. First, CPS does not *steal* or *kidnap* children. If you were unfortunate enough to have your child removed from your care, take responsibility for your own f**k ups and self reflect. Rest assured, the CPS worker did not *want* to remove your child, so if yours got removed, you gave them no other option.


second, CPS does not get a bonus for every child they bring in to custody (and they don't get extra for removing children of color). Believe me, they do not get paid enough to do their job as it is, let alone any bonuses. And where would this money come from? The government barely has the funding to pay/reimburse foster parents for taking in kids. Hell, the whole child welfare system as a whole barely has the funding across the board to care for these kids. Where are bonuses supposed to come from?


Third, there are no "quotas" on how many kids are removed. No nationwide adoption conspiracy to take children from their homes. Seriously, no social worker/CPS investigator goes into their work each day wanting to take kids from their homes. None. No power trips (cause that power isn't even in their hands, it's up to a dam judge). Nothing. It's a sad day for everybody when this happens. Sad for the families, sad for the kids, and sad for social worker too.

Image credits: drizztluvr

#28

Lawyers, when theyre /your/ lawyer theyre good lol.


But yeah people often like, don't understand what the job of a lawyer truly is so people are quick to demonize them. Yeah theres some that truly are out there abusing loopholes and being scummy, but most lawyers are just doing what theyre supposed to. Making sure their client is getting charged fairly. Even if they are guilty, they still are there to ensure a just punishment and not overkill.

Image credits: Reddittoxin

#29

Zookeepers.


Most people who have actually encountered them avoid them because they always stink so effing bad, but they're nice people :(

Image credits: bravetest4

#30

Gastroenterologists get a bad wrap because a*s holes are gross and who would want to spend time there, but these guys save lives.

Image credits: guyuteharpua

#31

Here’s one that I think isn’t commonly mentioned in these discussions: Artists. Of all mediums. From live-performance to in-studio creations. As far as profession, the fields are saturated full of talented and knowledgable artists, but also full of people who are not intelligent and behave in poor ways to give artists a bad rep (people love to generalize!) Yes, creative fields such as the arts are unorthodox and can be heavily subjective in values and certifications, but that doesn’t make employment in the arts any less than a job in any other field. It’s f*****g difficult. Artists get a bad rep and it doesn’t help when people who know nothing about what they do ignorantly claim that they themselves can do it because “it’s so easy.”

#32

Nannying.

I’ve been in private childcare for over 10 years now. I have had great clients, and ones that have treated me like the help, and even one or two that made me extremely uncomfortable. For a long time I was made to feel like my time as a nanny was just something I could do until I go to school, get a degree and have a successful career. But the longer I nanny the more I realize this is what I am meant to be doing, and because I have been doing it for so long I make way more money that I ever thought I would in childcare.

#33

Customer service agent

Image credits: neesters

#34

Professional wrestling? Takes a lot to go into any theater, and *a lot* a lot to go into a kind of theater as physically-demanding as that. But I'm a fan, so I might be biased.

Image credits: nWo1997

#35

Any tradesmen really.


They're often viewed with contempt or are seen as sleazy a******s who try to rip people off at any chance they get.


While there are terrible tradesmen out there (carpenters, plumbers, etc), an overwhelming majority of them will go above and beyond to get the job done.

#36

HR. Interview as many as you want and you'll find most people in HR landed there because they want to help people. HR folks for the most part are really kind, generous people. They're just abused by management to be the fall guy for everything and end up really jaded and hurt. But they still want to be the helper.

#37

Nobody thinks to credit the dishwasher in having a well ran restaurant, but when we're missing ours things start to slow down, a lot.


Our dishwasher gets paid $22 an hour but he works pretty dang hard, he helps us clean the tables when we're short at the front and he's constantly helping sort/unpack inventory when it comes in. It's almost unfair to just call him a dishwasher.


Days where he's gone, we have to lend a FoH to the back which reduces service capacity and then tired staff has to do the wash duty which can take an extra hour which sucks and leaves us grumpy.

#38

Defense attorneys


Working in forensic science for six years, I learned quickly that the prosecutors aren't always the good guys. Before one trial in which I had to testify, I straight up said to the DA, "why is this case even being prosecuted?"


Also, defense attorneys and defense experts play a very important role in ensuring that those involved in the investigation of a crime are being honest and that their methods are sound.

#39

Airline employees. Sorry but 90% of problems, the passenger got themselves into it or it’s completely out of the airlines control. We cant control the weather and when we tell you it’s an ATC delay, that is not code for anything, that’s really what is happening. I cant take off without permission and a time slot. And sorry, sometimes s**t breaks.

#40

If you ever watch movie credits you’ll see a job called “best boy”. I used to laugh at this job title (maybe I’m alone, maybe not?) but it’s actually a really important job in filmmaking even though it has a silly name.

#41

Security.

#42

Auditors.

Client are rude to them.

Bosses treat them like s**t.

And Public just wants then to work like donkeys and find fraud even though it's not their primary responsibility.