Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Often Overlooked Jobs Are Essential To Society

People Break Down Which Often Overlooked Jobs Are Essential To Society
Image by 272447 from Pixabay

Under our noses there is the constant humming of a sprawling workforce that keeps everything tied together.


We rarely take notice, much less express gratitude for these countless workers, on the backs of whom we owe our daily comforts and all the necessities we take for granted.

Men and women are out there right now hauling cargo, providing the food we eat, and focusing on the granular level to maintain our safety and health.

A recent Reddit thread acknowledged all of those people we could not live without.

mrmoocow303 asked, "What job is commonly forgot about but is essential for society?"

Keeping the Crap Away 

"Sewage workers, all of them. I wouldn't want to return to the days it's all dumped in water ways." -- alimagrog

"I used to have a job cleaning out the sewer. I was down in the tunnel with the shovel, passing the bucket to the next guy, but I was always at the front because I won't take sh** from anyone" -- 01kicka**ius10

Constantly Moving

"Truck drivers. Supply chains are the life blood of every industry from grocery stores to battle fields." -- Corin711

"This one is becoming more and more relevant to me."

"As someone in the service industry, it's stupid the number of times guests complain that we don't have something we used to."

"Sorry no oysters today, if you didn't know, there is a global pandemic going on and the supply train is disrupted. We literally can't get them. It's not because we don't like you."

"It's because the people that farm the oysters, that process and pack the oysters, and most importantly, the men and women who physically drag the oysters from Canada or New York Maryland can't get here."

"I don't know if it's because they're sick, or caring for someone who is sick, but the supply chain is broken. Forget about west coast oysters, we struggle to get them in from 2 states away. It's the supply chain."

"Never thought I would be aware of how important these people are." -- mmemarlie

This is the Person You Trust

"I test the strength of metals and other materials used in things like planes, rockets, ships and subs, and so on."

"The average person gets on a plane or in a car and just trusts that the engine won't explode and the body won't fly apart, which is how it should be. There are people whose job it is to worry about that, which I'm a small part of."

-- X_PRSN

Keeping the Pile Low

"Waste maintenance. Trashmen. Holy hell watch that pile up if there's no one to take it away every week" -- BornInALighthouse

"Exact first thing I thought of."

"We leave a holiday card and a six pack out for our garbage man the last day they pick up before Christmas. He leaves us a card, too, but he gets the better end of the deal." -- Hardcore_EHS

Internet Maintenance 

"The world as we know it would fall apart in so many ways if all of the essential people who maintain the internet all vanished. So much of banking, security, entertainment, food, etc. revolves around a functioning internet."

"It wouldn't be an apocalypse, but it would be an insane disruption to the world. Millions would die. Millions more wouldn't be able to browse Reddit. Catastrophe."

-- RedditYankee

Count Your Blessings

"People who create databases. My close friend created a very important database for a big hospital."

"He worked on it for years and it's really successful! He said he gets complements from other tech people, but not from 'regular' people."

"He mentioned he only hears about the bugs when something isn't working, and it's always along the lines of 'why isn't this working?! When can it work again?! This is ridiculous!!'"

"Like, chill the f*** out, HE BUILT THIS FROM NOTHING and it's helping save lives! Send him a f***ing gift card or something!"

-- dmurr2019

Guinea Pig

"I test food at the factory to make sure it's safe for people to eat." -- RockyDify

"I have a friend who's a safety inspector for the dairy industry. I'm very grateful for you guys!" -- alimagrog

"Reading about pre-FDA practices and food adulteration, gives me queasiness and a high level of respect for you." -- GenericEschatologist

Think of All the Boxes

"Box manufacturing. Hidden in plain sight" -- 2tired2makeAname

"Not to mention box assembly, that's usually done elsewhere." -- gurnard

"Pallets too. My hometown has a giant pallet factory and they are busy." -- Kulladar

Acknowledged, and Still Mistreated

"Well, if this pandemic taught us anything grocery store employees are pretty essential." -- ZeD00m

"No, we are forgotten again. Our heroic days are over and Karen is back to yelling at us" -- goatf***69

"'Expendable,' not 'essential.' Almost mandatory if you like eating or wiping your ass, but people will still treat them like shit and straight cough on them...and then bi*** that the grocery store worker was 'rude' for backing away from them." -- stryph42

Upkeep the Teeth

"Lots of people fantasize about being a gun-toting bada** when the apocalypse hits, but unless you know a good dentist, your life will soon become unbearable" -- AdvocateSaint

"My dentist says you'll know if you like a dentist within five minutes, you'll know if they're a good one in five years. It's been close to 20 so I think I'm good." -- Nagiom

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Piotr Szczerek snatching a hat from a young fan of Kamil Majchrzak at the U.S. Open
ESPN

CEO Who Snatched Tennis Player's Hat From Kid At U.S. Open Speaks Out To Apologize

Piotr Szczerek became the internet's latest super villain a few days ago thanks to a viral video showing him snatching a tennis player's hat from a young fan.

Szczerek, the CEO of Polish paving company Drogbruk, was shown wresting the hat that tennis player Kamil Majchrzak had autographed for the boy at the U.S. Open, sparking major outrage.

Keep ReadingShow less
Riley Moore; Tim Walz
Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images; Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

MAGA Rep. Dragged After Falling For Obviously AI-Generated Video Of Tim Walz Mocking Trump

West Virginia MAGA Republican Representative Riley Moore was mocked after he flipped out online over an obvious deepfake video of Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz disparaging MAGA's Dear Leader, Republican President Donald Trump.

Moore joins other gullible individuals who have fallen for AI-generated false representations of prominent Democrats. The depictions are so ludicrous, only someone easily fooled would fall for them.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

RFK Jr. Gets Hilariously Brutal Reminder After Asking People What Their First Jobs Were

Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was widely mocked after he published a post on X on Labor Day asking people to share what their first job was—a rather odd question from a man who faces regular criticism for being utterly unqualified for his role overseeing the nation’s public health apparatus.

Kennedy wrote the following on X:

Keep ReadingShow less
man singing on stage
Austin Neill on Unsplash

Jobs That People Romanticize Too Much Until They Actually Do Them

As children, most of us try on different future identities and occupations. As a 5-year-old, I thought being either a firefighter or a nun would be ideal.

My plans changed as I got older.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kristi Noem
CBS News

Kristi Noem Dragged After Making Wild Claim About How Trump Saved LA By Sending In Troops

Longtime MAGA acolyte Kristi Noem lied on Face the Nation in a desperate bid to justify Republican President Donald Trump's retaliatory act of sending the National Guard and active duty Marines to Los Angeles without cause.

Public perception has largely been against Trump's targeting of major cities in states governed by his political rivals.

Keep ReadingShow less