this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2024
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Showerthoughts

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Edit: tell me this doesn't sound stupid

There is only two types of jobs:

Doing something someone else doesn't want to do

Or

Doing something a specific other person can't do

The only thing I can think of that someone other than myself can't do is piss my wife off to no end. Not really a job, tho.

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[–] [email protected] 66 points 3 months ago (36 children)

There's also the job someone else is unable to do.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 3 months ago

doing something someone else can't do

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Sometimes it is doing something nobody else can do

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

In my case, I get the impression that it's both.
Once during 2020 I got a phone call out of the blue from the technical manager. "Hey, would you like to be our new ?". Turns out my predecessor was looking for greener pastures.

When I told some coworkers about this, their reaction was "And you said yes??"

It's been four years now. Changed to a new employer last month, but I'm doing the exact same stuff, and I enjoy it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Greener pa$ture$, I take it?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I think he wanted a different type of job. I, on the other hand, recently moved on to 30% greener pa$ture$, as the competition successfully poached me. Same type of job, exactly the same area of responsibility (networks and server clusters running in weird/hostile environments (no, not the Hamas installation under that hospital)), but with even more freedom and higher budget.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (3 children)

My workplace has heaps of cool jobs. No one person can do them all. So we have more people, doing cool jobs. The world is not all doom and gloom.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I'm OK with that, but at the same time I'd like to know what the cool jobs were.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

But really…. Do you, or annyone else, really want to be doing it? If you had the resources not to be and could do anything else like travel, spending time with loved ones, or even just sitting in your own filth, would you choose to do it?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

I've done that - frankly I'm not wired for 100% leisure/do what you want. Motivation slips away when there's no meaning behind doing something.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)

What if you’re a professional burglar? Then, you’re doing something other people don’t want to do themselves, nor do they want you to do it either. The society doesn’t need burglars, but some people do it anyway.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If you're a professional burglar, then you have bills to pay so you'll be taking on jobs for clients or a fence. Therefore, you're doing the job your client/fence doesn't want to do themselves.

Also, while society might not need burglars, it sure is good at creating them.

I think then the secret to happiness would be to remain an amateur burglar, motivated by your passion for crime.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

If I just agree can I move on with my life?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

No you must answer to the internet until we all fully agree in even the small details. Its a matter!

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

Do the job that needs to be done. That is how a lot of businesses get started, keeping an eye out for a need to fill. I used to go to my job and avoid doing work but eventually the boss tracked me down and gives me the shit job nobody wants to do. As I've grown wiser I realized if I take the initiative I can pick the job I want and some other sap gets stuck with the shit job.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (7 children)

This is categorically untrue. Jobs exist because one person can't do all the jobs.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

1 person doesn't want to clean toilets; but 50 other people are okay with it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If all 50 people want to clean 1 toilet, 49 people are shit out of luck

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They can just work together and use very small brushes. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

You have truly made me look a fool 🥲

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If you're not spending your employment trying to do what you want to do vs what your boss wants you to do... What are you even doing with your life!?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

There is a big lesson in there folks...

Obviously, there a lot of limits on it but that's the right idea. The higher you go, the more freedom you can get.

But at the end of the day, it is the same shiti regime.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Doing something that requires more time than is available to one person.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

I worked as an Outsource Manager at a couple of game companies (in addition to working for many years as a game artist). I outsourced mostly art asset creation, mostly to cheaper countries. It was kind of bittersweet, since it was clear to me and the artists at our studio that we were outsourcing really enjoyable work, work that our internal artists would rather have done than spend some of their time reviewing the cool art stuff these outsource artists created. But doing this allowed the studio to make a bigger, better game than our limited size team could do on their own.

So basically, I disagree with your premise. There are many sorts of jobs, for many reasons.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

If that were the case, there wouldn't be an application and interview process.

There are often multiple candidates for a given position.

Edit: I read this as "no one" rather than "someone."

I understand that someone on earth might not want any given job.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Nah, some people need the money. It just happens to mainly come from jobs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

It's not even about the task. I sure there is some one who would like to do the task but it's never just that simple. You can't just be an astronaut, you have to; goto school; be exceptional; etc.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

It doing something it isn't practical for them to do

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

I think you've cracked the case. Good job. I'm being serious.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Scene from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where Rom, the Ferengi, is telling his brother Quark "Workers of the world unite." Subtitles are visible in the image.

(Edit: Looks like... my Firefox is blocking this image from just loading (it thinks it's a "tracker", I guess... which maybe it is) even though it's a valid image tag. Not sure how many viewers are affected. I'll just link to the image instead.)

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