People tend to have a lot of opinions about other people's workplaces, whether or not they've ever worked in that industry themselves.
There are some professions, like teaching and retail, where people will assume they know all there is to know, even if they've never set foot in that position, and there are others, like the CIA, where people view these positions as elusive and awe-inspiring.
But there are beliefs that people share that frustrates those who are actually in the industry.
Redditor Madalyn_Robert asked:
"What's a myth about your profession that you want to debunk?"
Veterinarian Secrets
"Veterinary medicine is not a happy-go-lucky career choice where you get to deal with cute animals rather than people. Most of your patients are sick or scared, and every case involves a fraught negotiation with their stressed-out human."
- Drabby
The Truth Behind Anesthesia
"Anesthesiologist: you're not asleep you are anesthetized. When you're asleep and someone stabs you, you wake up."
- Drsuprane
"Even more terrifying, anesthesia doesn’t exactly prevent you from feeling what’s happening, it (in effect) disrupts the timing clock that allows different parts of the brain to talk to each other. You won’t be able to remember it or be conscious to experience it, but somewhere some part of your brain is receiving those pain signals and is trying desperately to tell the rest of your brain what’s happening."
- Steaveee
Preventative > Reactive
"Maintenance is worth doing and is definitely worth paying for."
"People say, 'I don't know why we pay those maintenance guys, nothing ever breaks around here!'"
"The reason Germany and Japan (and South Korea) became and remain such manufacturing powerhouses is because they know the value of maintenence. If you keep everything in clean good working order, you end up with minimum down time. Working maintenance into manufacturing schedules keeps output level, because you have no unexpected downtime."
"It's the same for your car or your home. Setting aside time and resources for maintenance means you won't lose unexpected time and resources when things break. Good maintenance will spot things before they break and switch them out. That's worth paying for."
- TriviaBanal
The Power of a Reboot
"IT. Rebooting is NOT a waste of time and solves a remarkable number of problems."
- gfhggdssgg
"Instead of using shutdown, use restart."
"Modern versions of windows have something called fast startup, which basically hibernates when you shut down. You don't get the benefit of a reboot."
- gerwen
Giant, Flying Puzzles
"Commercial aircraft are built almost entirely by hand. Like 96%. There's very little automation in the process."
- Kalepsis
"Authentic, handcrafted commercial airliners."
- Keyspam102
"Free range, GRASS FED, Authentic, handcrafted commercial airliners!"
- Wiggly96
Doing Library Things
"I am a public librarian. While curating books is still a portion of the job, much of it these days is taken up by database assistance and training, program development and teaching, and public education. It’s much closer to school teaching, but for adults and without grading homework, than it was in the past."
- SmallDarkCloud
Rate the Emergency
"If you go to the ER via ambulance, it does NOT mean you will be seen quicker."
"ERs take the sickest people first, definitely not the ones who come in by ambulance first."
- DoIHaveDementia
Not in Charge
"Teachers have very little say in anything. We advocate the best we can but most of the time, it’s out of our hands, including holding children back who desperately need help."
- chasindreams22
Define "Recycled"
"Print industry. Your paper isn’t as recycled as you think it is."
- mullett
True Lawyers
"That all lawyers make absurd amounts of money. The ones that won't sell their entire life for big bucks tend to make pretty average money."
- dudeblackhawk
"Yes! Some months I barely make enough for all my expenses. Some months I make a lot of money. Some months I make absolutely nothing. Having a private practice in my country means financial instability. The Estate does pay me to represent people who can't afford a lawyer but it pays very bad and takes forever to get that money."
"Also, we're not all like in the movies. Most of us actually care about the people we represent and we try our best to help them."
- ZucchiniAnxious
Not Everything Is Memorized
"I can write code. I cannot debug most of your Windows problems without googling them."
- Resies
Underpaid and Overworked
"School Custodian here and we are NOT overpaid cleaners. What would you pay someone that can paint, Sheetrock, tape/mud, patch concrete/asphalt, operate/repair commercial landscaping/snow removal equipment, operate/repair commercial custodial equipment, restore various types of floors including vct/hardwood/carpet/tile, replace toilets/faucets, air filters, belts, trim/fell trees, shovel roofs, etc?"
"Not all of us are cleaners/janitors, which are vital and underpaid as well. Some of us are Jack/Jill of all trades and you want to pay us peanuts?"
"All employees of a school are important and administrators shouldn't try to balance their budgets on the backs of workers when I've seen an exponential amount of administrative salary and stupid purchasing decisions, not to mention unfunded mandates from the state."
- Nutella_Zamboni
Speech-to-Language Complexity
"There is sooooo much more to the speech-language pathologist scope of practice than working with kids who stutter or can't say their 'r's."
"An entire half of the field is in the adult medical setting working with people who have dementia, swallowing disorders, oral cancer, strokes, Parkinson's disease, and voice disorders, plus some other niche areas like transgender voice or accent modification."
"The pediatric half of the field also works with AAC devices, social skills, literacy development, syntax, executive functioning, writing, feeding, and more."
- bibliophile222
Realistic Therapy
" Therapist here, specifically a couples therapist."
"Therapy is not just about venting or having someone agree with you all the time to make you feel better. Yes, we validate and listen and venting happens at times. But we also challenge you, encourage you to set goals and make change, and sometimes give 'homework.'"
"Therapy is an active process and if you want to see change you have to be willing to make change. I think the media has really warped people's ideas and they expect miracles to happen by showing up without any effort. I wish I could do that for you! But I need you to partner with me to make things happen."
"Also, very few therapists actually have you lay on a couch."
- Dependent-Citron4444
Well, Then.
"Scientist (more specifically, molecular biologist in biotech)."
"I am not hiding the cure for cancer, and I don't know s**t about actual medicine."
- DaOleRazzleDazzle
It's surprising how much we often think we know about other people's professions, and it's probably annoying to them to hear misconceptions day in and day out from the general public.
This is a great reminder of how much we can learn from each other, even just in the workplace.
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