The Horrors of the "Professional" World - Stories that will make you wonder how we exist.

[KimCoppolaAficionado]

Corollary- if you can put yourself into a secure position, start doing creative shit, and it starts becoming popular, don't freeze up like a deer in headlights and burn everything to the ground because you're scared of even the slightest level of success. I've seen artsy friends of mine end up totally self-sabotaging because people tell them stuff like the above to the point where they start actively being afraid of their own hobbies.
(Hey, if we're going to be OT...)

 

[Freya]

This thread is reddit as fuck

 

[Sped Xing]

This thread is reddit as fuck

Get a job.

 

[MirnaMinkoff]

I know of more than a few people in terrible jobs and terrified to quit. "Follow your dreams" is a terribly destructive meme, but not because its victims are vapid dilettantes. These are hard-working, dedicated people who think they see a light at the end of the tunnel. They'd be happier, healthier, and wealthier if they'd say "fuck it" and go kick boxes or work cattle. The education system of the 90s and early 2000s was run by people who believed in "careers," which really didn't ever exist except for those exact people.

Dreams can be terrible income earners but I think mostly people don’t have the discipline, grit and thrift needed if they really want to say fuck this and live free or die. It’s not a easy or comfortable existence, but can def be very worthwhile.

I grew up around a LOT of kids who’s parents were hippies who did just that. They pooled together, bought cheap land, spent years building or doing jobs that could get homes built. Learned all manner of skills (I shit you not one built a goddamned sawmill so they could fell trees and make cheap lumber for the homes) The kids all had little buckskin jackets (and lots grubby hand-me-downs) because the parents learned to tan deer hides and sew leather.

Anyone could do the same today but you won’t get creature comforts, you have to bust your ass and it’s definitely not for the risk-averse. While the old hippies I’m talking about have lovely homes today, they pretty much lived like poor monks for ten or fifteen years to do it. (Srs they lived for quite a few years without indoor plumbing or even electricity- wood burning stoves fueled the houses.)

The follows your dreams/do what you love should come with the caveat that it requires you bust your ass doing lots of shit that have nothing to do with the dreams...it’s monetized very poorly, extremely uncomfortable at times and builds character like a mother fucker. That old hippie I mentioned is still running his sawmill like a boss.

The problem is lots of younger people seem to just dream about being paid to create stuff on computers in some fashion or getting lots of attention while living comfortably. It’s about as realistic as the pretty girl in your high school dreaming of being a famous celebrity. Shallow dreams that depend on the approval or consumption by others, even if they come true, rarely lead to any happiness or contentment. Also following your dreams never means doing exactly what you feel like doing all day long - it’s the work and the grind that allow you to spend time doing the things you love that makes it feel worthwhile, and more importantly earned.

Spoiler

(Just to be clear almost all of the hippies I’m referring to undertook this effort because they wanted to pursue different art forms. They were painters, writers, potters, musicians, woodworkers, textile artists, etc..and definitely liked to grow and smoke weed)

 

[JektheDumbass]

He keeps following the "better than being out of a job" logic, but i think he is the kind of person that decides to go through the grind to get the experience, even if it's detrimental to him in every way. I keep telling him every time to quit his job, but he always evades the issue or brushes it off saying "That's what i gotta do".

Also, there is the thing that he will probably waste his time if he's unemployed, even if he has a crapload of things to do and i keep showing him that despite being out of a job i'm not glued to my PC playing games 24/7. At this point i don't know what to do with him outside of calling him an idiot for putting himself through this crap.

Working and not getting paid is literally worse than not having a job.

 

[neverendingmidi]

Working and not getting paid is literally worse than not having a job.

If it's the US I'd report them to the labor board, because even non-union jobs aren't allowed to make people work without pay. Work without overtime, sure (salary), but not for free.

My dad worked as a salesman for a sketchy as fuck place back in the 70's, and a person reported them for fucking with their pay. My dad ended up getting a check for $800 (mind you back in the 70's when that was a whole lot more) due to the company ending up having their financials gone through with a fine toothed comb, and being paid everything they skimped on plus interest.

If the company is bankrupt, then why didn't they lay everybody off? I've known people who stuck it out with crappy places because they at least got a paycheck while looking for a new job, and couldn't collect unemployment if they quit.

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

When I was working for a certain MLM, one top guy and my mom made me go through an interview and within seconds decimated my goal of being a historian.
When applying for the exams, my mom copied my answers to fucking pass
My mom was given a shitty life policy
I had my first breakdown
Our up line was Machiavellan, and pitted an angry jealous crazy Mexican woman (also a single mother) against my mom and tried to steal her client and failed.
Oh, in training I had to make a Craigslist account and failed at making that to recruit strangers
The women mom tried to train were Mexican gold diggers that had children with white old men and frequently ran to battered women shelters or Mexican teenage whores who openly mocked my mom in her own living room.

 

[Malagor the dank omen]

If it's the US I'd report them to the labor board, because even non-union jobs aren't allowed to make people work without pay. Work without overtime, sure (salary), but not for free.

My dad worked as a salesman for a sketchy as fuck place back in the 70's, and a person reported them for fucking with their pay. My dad ended up getting a check for $800 (mind you back in the 70's when that was a whole lot more) due to the company ending up having their financials gone through with a fine toothed comb, and being paid everything they skimped on plus interest.

If the company is bankrupt, then why didn't they lay everybody off? I've known people who stuck it out with crappy places because they at least got a paycheck while looking for a new job, and couldn't collect unemployment if they quit.

Today he came for a visit and he told me this week has been hell for him. I brought up a few questions about it and he told me something i didn't knew: Company is a public dockyard. This essentially means that they are financed by the government, kept above water enough just for their basic expenses, but nothing else.

Second is about why doesn't everybody fuck off? It's because there is an ongoing project of building a ship and by his words, he wants to see it finished. It also probably means that when the fucking thing is done everyone will get paid, but i'm not sure on that because he told me that in the dockyard he worked before ships were paid in advance and if you tanked all the money before finishing, you had to cut your corners like a madman.

And if you think reporting them will do anything, here in southern europe everybody knows that doing so is quite fucking useless. You can be paid lower than basic income and you will more than likely take 2-3 months of income rather than taking 1 month of income and then betting the boot.

 

[Shadfan666xxx000]

Dreams can be terrible income earners but I think mostly people don’t have the discipline, grit and thrift needed if they really want to say fuck this and live free or die. It’s not a easy or comfortable existence, but can def be very worthwhile.

I grew up around a LOT of kids who’s parents were hippies who did just that. They pooled together, bought cheap land, spent years building or doing jobs that could get homes built. Learned all manner of skills (I shit you not one built a goddamned sawmill so they could fell trees and make cheap lumber for the homes) The kids all had little buckskin jackets (and lots grubby hand-me-downs) because the parents learned to tan deer hides and sew leather.

Anyone could do the same today but you won’t get creature comforts, you have to bust your ass and it’s definitely not for the risk-averse. While the old hippies I’m talking about have lovely homes today, they pretty much lived like poor monks for ten or fifteen years to do it. (Srs they lived for quite a few years without indoor plumbing or even electricity- wood burning stoves fueled the houses.)

The follows your dreams/do what you love should come with the caveat that it requires you bust your ass doing lots of shit that have nothing to do with the dreams...it’s monetized very poorly, extremely uncomfortable at times and builds character like a mother fucker. That old hippie I mentioned is still running his sawmill like a boss.

The problem is lots of younger people seem to just dream about being paid to create stuff on computers in some fashion or getting lots of attention while living comfortably. It’s about as realistic as the pretty girl in your high school dreaming of being a famous celebrity. Shallow dreams that depend on the approval or consumption by others, even if they come true, rarely lead to any happiness or contentment. Also following your dreams never means doing exactly what you feel like doing all day long - it’s the work and the grind that allow you to spend time doing the things you love that makes it feel worthwhile, and more importantly earned.

Spoiler

(Just to be clear almost all of the hippies I’m referring to undertook this effort because they wanted to pursue different art forms. They were painters, writers, potters, musicians, woodworkers, textile artists, etc..and definitely liked to grow and smoke weed)

What if my dream is to be a lazy bureaucrat or a middle manager?

 

[MirnaMinkoff]

What if my dream is to be a lazy bureaucrat or a middle manager?

You got some asses to kiss son. Be sure to show up early to work and meetings for at least a solid year and vocally praise every idea the boss man spouts.

Also, be sure to apply at local government organizations or companies that rely on large number of minimum wage workers.

 

[AnOminous]

He keeps following the "better than being out of a job" logic, but i think he is the kind of person that decides to go through the grind to get the experience, even if it's detrimental to him in every way. I keep telling him every time to quit his job, but he always evades the issue or brushes it off saying "That's what i gotta do".

Unless he has some reason to think the situation is temporary, odds are they will straight up never pay him, they'll go out of business, and he'll be out of a job anyway, with months sunk in return for nothing, and the place won't even exist to give him a recommendation any more.

 

[Malagor the dank omen]

Unless he has some reason to think the situation is temporary, odds are they will straight up never pay him, they'll go out of business, and he'll be out of a job anyway, with months sunk in return for nothing, and the place won't even exist to give him a recommendation any more.

I already told him that. Also, the very realistic possibility of the project getting shitcanned because, like he told, there are no funds to move new materials to build the ship and the bosses are cutting corners like madmen. That's why job piles up on his desk while everyone above him tells him to do checks on the ship to make sure everything is still working.

I pretty much give him a lost cause now. I've already told him for months to give up once and for all and move on to something else or focus on his personal projects while he looks for something new. But i guess he wants to go until the very end because he suspects any employer will see the fact that he jumped ship as a very negative thing in his resume.

 

[soft bones]

I work in a somewhat small butchery, but 95% of my work is cleaning and processing the refuse/unsellable meat. The other 5% is wrapping and displaying stuff other people cut.

I'm not trained to use the bone saw, but I am able to dismantle and put it back together when I finish cleaning. Despite explaining this in detail- not having the certification or training to cut meat- I get a variation of the same response:

"My husband did your job for 15 years, he can do it in his sleep!"

Half the time I just shrug and apologize, but one customer in particular comes around and challenges it.

Are you SURE you can't break down this turkey? You have a saw right there. Your knives work, yeah? You can do it! Why won't you help me?

It bothers me to no end.

 

[LinkinParkxNaruto[AMV]]

Actually i think artist is a perfectly fine career choice, is just people expect some glamorous shit based on memes rather than it being just a normal job. There's also lots and lots of sour grapes giving the impression that just making a living at art is some impossible dream because they couln't do it. Although i am sure is more difficult in very expensive locations, but not everywhere in the world is California.

 

[Malagor the dank omen]

Actually i think artist is a perfectly fine career choice, is just people expect some glamorous shit based on memes rather than it being just a normal job. There's also lots and lots of sour grapes giving the impression that just making a living at art is some impossible dream because they couln't do it. Although i am sure is more difficult in very expensive locations, but not everywhere in the world is California.

Market is already pretty saturated with artists so the chances of making it big are pretty slim. But thankfully patreon allows some to eke out a living even as thing stand right now.

 

[LinkinParkxNaruto[AMV]]

Market is already pretty saturated with artists so the chances of making it big are pretty slim. But thankfully patreon allows some to eke out a living even as thing stand right now.

Replace "artist" with literally any other career and is the same thing, there are millions of graduates for literally everything. Anything that's is usually mentioned as sucking for artist can be applied to any career just the same, there's still tons of jobs and opportunities for people who reach a good level. Careers in general are hard, take sacrifice, are not very glamorous and have too much competition.

 

[lurk_moar]

There was a Ph.D. from the Philipinnes who got a hospital lab tech job in the literal middle of nowhere. That's like somebody with a master's degree in accounting working as a Wal-Mart cashier.

This guy pissed off everybody. He was a total narcissist. He would brag about getting his degrees in Japan but was dumber than a box of hammers. The dude lived in America for twenty years and could not even grasp American culture. He broke too many boundaries. He had the gall to touch my hand with his nasty ass gloves where God does not even know where they have been. He also stood too close to me. He looked over my shoulder the entire time when I was correcting something and told him that this is violating my boundaries.

He even asked me what is a redneck and hillbilly was.

He said that he wanted to live in the middle of nowhere because he was too famous in Cali. Whatever that even means.

He got fired because a coworker complained that he kept on trying to go up and draw patients from a specialist on the weekend when the patients come to you. You don't go to them. He kept on being reminded of this simple fact, the patient comes to you, you don't go to the patient. The manager has had it with him.

Mr. Ph.D. could not even do simple dilutions. He was asked to dilute something. Another coworker did another dilution on the same sample and came out with a completely different value. A third-grader in the sped class can do and understand basic dilutions.

I still wonder if he bribed the Japanese university system to get those degrees.

 

[Cpl. Long Dong Silver]

There was a Ph.D. from the Philipinnes who got a hospital lab tech job in the literal middle of nowhere. That's like somebody with a master's degree in accounting working as a Wal-Mart cashier.

This guy pissed off everybody. He was a total narcissist. He would brag about getting his degrees in Japan but was dumber than a box of hammers. The dude lived in America for twenty years and could not even grasp American culture. He broke too many boundaries. He had the gall to touch my hand with his nasty ass gloves where God does not even know where they have been. He also stood too close to me. He looked over my shoulder the entire time when I was correcting something and told him that this is violating my boundaries.

He even asked me what is a redneck and hillbilly was.

He said that he wanted to live in the middle of nowhere because he was too famous in Cali. Whatever that even means.

He got fired because a coworker complained that he kept on trying to go up and draw patients from a specialist on the weekend when the patients come to you. You don't go to them. He kept on being reminded of this simple fact, the patient comes to you, you don't go to the patient. The manager has had it with him.

Mr. Ph.D. could not even do simple dilutions. He was asked to dilute something. Another coworker did another dilution on the same sample and came out with a completely different value. A third-grader in the sped class can do and understand basic dilutions.

I still wonder if he bribed the Japanese university system to get those degrees.

This is the future of all American Healthcare as we continue to flood it with low skilled but highly "credentialed" immigrants.

Look at any nursing home staff. Nothing but infinity niggers and migrants.

 

[God Emperor]

Actually i think artist is a perfectly fine career choice, is just people expect some glamorous shit based on memes rather than it being just a normal job. There's also lots and lots of sour grapes giving the impression that just making a living at art is some impossible dream because they couln't do it. Although i am sure is more difficult in very expensive locations, but not everywhere in the world is California.

The term 'artist' could be applied to literally hundreds of totally unrelated, and VERY different, careers.

Someone doing crappy graphic design work in house for a corporation's advertisements, doing caricatures for fairs and corporate events, managing the graphics for a live broadcast, pouring through hours of footage for a reality television show to flag significant scenes, drawing pornography for degenerates online, creating assets for terrible mobile applications, painting murals for schools and businesses, selling your crafts online and at conventions, giving drunken housewives painting lessons, trying to stay awake in the control booth of a cruise ship theatre, working through the crunch animating for some terrible television series made for toddlers, composing a few seconds of music for a commercial selling car insurance, etc.

People think 'artist' and imagine someone in a jaunty beret painting nude models and being eccentric or cool, when the reality is more likely a fat young man alone at a computer reading emails about revisions, from some client with no taste or art training, and wearing a carpal tunnel brace.

For some reasons, kids think it's going to be fun and fulfilling working as a 'creative', and there are countless schools out there churning out thousands of graduates every year willing to work for literally nothing based on this delusion.

Later in your career clients will start coming to you and you'll have made enough connections to be contacted by colleagues when work comes up, but it's still feast or famine, and you never know if you'll be employed a year from today - you spend a great deal of time and effort looking for work, sending out your portfolio or demo reel, going to interviews, maintaining your online presence through social media, etc.

Studios and companies fold constantly, projects get cancelled half way through production, the grant or public funding ends, clients go bankrupt or refuse to pay and you have to take them to court.

Even when you're working, you're not actually being creative, in any sort of meaningful sense; you're working for a client, usually based on an existing property, with an entire team of people who all get creative input (so called 'design by committee').

Want to be an auteur with total creative control? Well, okay, then you better also learn to be a great entrepreneur, business manager, accountant, producer, and salesman as well because unless you control the money, and know where to find it, you're never going to be able to call the shots.

There are a surprising number of professional artists with wealthy spouses or parents...

Making a living as an artist isn't an impossible dream, provided you actually know what that entails.

 

[LinkinParkxNaruto[AMV]]

The term 'artist' could be applied to literally hundreds of totally unrelated, and VERY different, careers.

Someone doing crappy graphic design work in house for a corporation's advertisements, doing caricatures for fairs and corporate events, managing the graphics for a live broadcast, pouring through hours of footage for a reality television show to flag significant scenes, drawing pornography for degenerates online, creating assets for terrible mobile applications, painting murals for schools and businesses, selling your crafts online and at conventions, giving drunken housewives painting lessons, trying to stay awake in the control booth of a cruise ship theatre, working through the crunch animating for some terrible television series made for toddlers, composing a few seconds of music for a commercial selling car insurance, etc.

People think 'artist' and imagine someone in a jaunty beret painting nude models and being eccentric or cool, when the reality is more likely a fat young man alone at a computer reading emails about revisions, from some client with no taste or art training, and wearing a carpal tunnel brace.

For some reasons, kids think it's going to be fun and fulfilling working as a 'creative', and there are countless schools out there churning out thousands of graduates every year willing to work for literally nothing based on this delusion.

Later in your career clients will start coming to you and you'll have made enough connections to be contacted by colleagues when work comes up, but it's still feast or famine, and you never know if you'll be employed a year from today - you spend a great deal of time and effort looking for work, sending out your portfolio or demo reel, going to interviews, maintaining your online presence through social media, etc.

Studios and companies fold constantly, projects get cancelled half way through production, the grant or public funding ends, clients go bankrupt or refuse to pay and you have to take them to court.

Even when you're working, you're not actually being creative, in any sort of meaningful sense; you're working for a client, usually based on an existing property, with an entire team of people who all get creative input (so called 'design by committee').

Want to be an auteur with total creative control? Well, okay, then you better also learn to be a great entrepreneur, business manager, accountant, producer, and salesman as well because unless you control the money, and know where to find it, you're never going to be able to call the shots.

There are a surprising number of professional artists with wealthy spouses or parents...

Making a living as an artist isn't an impossible dream, provided you actually know what that entails.

now change artist for every other job title. Why do people keep gettin so MATI about art jobs in particular over stuff that applies to every other career under the sun?

Like half my family are engineers, how do you think wagecucking in stem is like? how many million engineer graduates do you think there are each year? I remember a cousin in near tears several times after graduation, even graduating in the top 5 and interning at some top companies he could not find a decent job. He would make it to interviews for positions that had like 500 other applicants.

So people think the art industries are gonna be magical fantasyland and save them from working people's problems but it turns out is an actual career with the same woes all careers have, then they get perpetually sour grapes about it.