Jobs That Aren't As Prestigious As They Once Were

If Anyone Rues The Invention Of The Automobile...

"Blacksmith."

"They were the town engineer, manufacturer, craftsman, and problem solver all in one."

"Now they are mostly just hobbyists."- BaconReceptacle

And All They Told Was The News...

"Newspaper columnist and local news anchor."

"They used to be celebrities when they were the primary mediums people got their news from."- 4Ever2Thee

Blame It On The Name Change...

"Flight attendant."

"Back in the 1970s, if you were dating a 'stewardess', all your friends were jealous."- Earguy

Maybe It's People's Taste Which Has Taken A Hit...

"I was a furniture and cabinet maker in the 2000s."

"I designed and built entertainment centers for the new flat-screen tv fad."

"Paid great, everyone thought I was cool."

"No one gives a sh*t anymore and the pay has scaled way down with this economy so I’m back in school."- Low-Abbreviations-38

Owing To Certain Connotations, Perhaps?

"Spice trader."

"I was of course talking about reading actual spices."

"With the new movie, being a character in Dune is probably more prestigious than it has ever been."- I_might_be_weasel

Thanks Spotify...

"Nighttime radio DJ."- Scrappy_Larue

"They used to set what music was cool and not."- laudinum

Before There Was Kinkos...

"Printer."

"Lithographic or various others."

"Used to be an amazing career and essential to society."

"Since the rise of the internet and decline of printed media the industry has died."

"Not that long ago, the spread of information was made possible through printers, not anymore."- Advanced-Stupid

There Sevice Has Been Expedited, or perhaps "Expedia'd"...

" Travel Agent."

"Finding flights, booking good hotels, knowing the cool places to go, how to get tickets to events, and how to pull it all together for someone used to be fairly useful skills to have."

"Now the job is basically nonexistent apart from super high-end or specialty positions."- MrMojoFomo

Their Cargo Is Seldom Precious...

"Letter carriers for the postal service."

"All I deliver now is junk mail and Amazon packages."

"Certified letters used to be treated like it was a classified gov document(because it could be) that you were responsible for."

"You even had to sign out to receive them because you were accountable for them."

"Now they come mixed in with the bulk junk mail."- flyjum

"Bank manager."- biga204

"I would argue that position is still prestigious in towns under 20k pop."- 2cats2hats

Some Money Management Isn't So Glamorous...

"Working at a Bank."- DogusEUW

"Before the credit score was invented, working as a banker was prestigious because you got to decide if someone got a loan or not."

"Everyone want to be buddies with a local banker because he could sign off on a loan and set the terms."

"How do you think grandpa bought the house?"

"Now individuals don’t do that algorithms do."- Limp_Distribution

"...All The Livelong Day..."

"Freight conductor/ engineer."

"Used to be a great career."

"The hours and schedule have always been rough but the pay made up for the inconvenience."

"Now corporate greed, sh*tty contracts, mass company surveillance, and insane attendance policies have turned railroading into a sh*t job."- Boo_Blicker

Survey Says...

"Land Surveyor."

"3 of the 4 presidents on Mount Rushmore were land surveyors, and owning property was a big deal so people who could give you legal authority over ownership were pretty well respected."

"Now you make $12 an hour starting to dig holes lol."- HandsOfJazz

When You Realize You're On The Wrong Track...

"Working in academia, in a way."

"Over last several decades, tenure tracks got way more competitive."

"Young scientists are now often overworked, underpaid and have uncertain future."

"No wonder that many leave the academia for private sector."- MyKinkyCountess

It's Very Easy To Judge..."

"Is any job considered prestigious nowadays?"

"It feels like the internet has allowed us a deeper look into what every profession really is like and the aura of mystery/awe that used to surround particular jobs just isn't there anymore."- justgonnaknowaway

It's certainly worth wondering what makes people think a job is prestigious or not?

The pay? The duties? The qualifications?

None of which should ultimately factor in, as when push comes to shove, all jobs have value.

After all, most of the jobs that were considered "essential" during the height of the pandemic were generally anything but lucrative.

But where would we be today without them?