Jobs that Considered Utterly Useless in Today’s Society
The internet can be a harsh place. Sometimes it's justifiable; other times, it's not. Anyone with a job deserves respect, but some jobs don't hold much value. One internet user asked, “What job is useless?” These were some of the top answers provided.
1. Bathroom Attendant
One of the best-received answers is bathroom attendant. A disgruntled poster says they don't need someone pulling paper towels out of a dispenser for them and that doing so doesn't warrant a tip.
Others agree en masse, with people describing toilet attendants as “annoying” and males explaining how having someone stare at you while standing at a urinal is unpleasant.
2. Paparazzi
A user says “paparazzi” without any elaboration, but several other users have done that for them. Someone points out that people with the skillset of paparazzi could be using their jobs to hold politicians accountable for their failures but instead choose to take meaningless photos of celebrities going about their days.
3. Metric System Advocate
One says that in the 1970s, the Carter administration decided America needed a Federal office in charge of promoting the use of the metric system. It never caught on (obviously), and now the office is down to just a couple of people.
The imperial system is still in place today, so it was a colossal failure. The original poster also points out that it must be pretty terrible having that job on your résumé.
4. Influencer
This one was always going to make an appearance. A user says influencers are useless, which prompted much debate from people on different sides of the argument.
Some responses say that if they influence people to buy products, they're doing their job and, therefore, not useless. Others say a random person on YouTube will never affect their choices. The best response, however, came as a joke: “What's the difference between a social media influencer and a philosophy major? The philosophy major needed a degree to be useless.”
5. Pet Psychic
An angry pet owner suggests pet psychics are useless and says they already know what their Golden Retriever thinks because all he ever wants is to eat or play with his ball.
In the replies, someone says that while charging $150-$200 an hour to lie about communicating with a deceased pet, pet psychics can also function as grief counselors following the loss of a said pet. Whether or not you should agree with that is open to debate.
6. Pharmacy Benefit Manager
A frustrated person says that the only purpose of pharmacy benefit managers is to make more money for intermediaries while screwing over the general public on drug prices.
Another user who doesn't think much of that job says they were actively looking for this answer. They describe a situation they've experienced whereby a pharmacy benefit manager denied their patient a breast cancer drug because they hadn't tried two other drugs first, even though the FDA approval doesn't stipulate that another medication should be trialed first.
7. Elevator Attendant
One user states that elevator attendants are useless, as all they do is press buttons we can press ourselves, but it has prompted a mixed response.
Some users say elevator attendants only existed when elevators were wholly manual, and everything from the doors to the exact stopping position had to be controlled. Others say they still see them today, and their only purpose is to make establishments look fancier than they are.
8. Homeopath
Homeopathy is a “treatment” using highly diluted versions of substances that cause illness in healthy people, which practitioners claim can heal sick people. However, its usage has been proven to be no more beneficial than placebos.
One user in this discussion gave “homeopath” as a one-word answer, prompting several agreed-upon replies. Someone even said, “Do you know what they call alternative medicine that works? Medicine.”
9. Management Consultant
A management consultant says that their job is useless. They provide two reasons for saying this. The first is that their clients already have the same knowledge they do, and the second is that those who don't aren't willing to change based on their advice.
Respondents agreed en masse. One points out that many Ivy League graduates do management consultancy, which is a complete waste, and another says it's a pointless job that creates a clever illusion of value.
10. Telemarketer
It's no surprise that telemarketers are a prevalent answer in this discussion. One poster says they don't know anyone who has purchased something from a telemarketer and that most people actively dislike them and hang up on them.
Everyone agrees in the replies, with one person saying they don't even answer their phone to their friends these days and another who worked as a telemarketer for eight months saying they only ever got one positive response – from their aunt.
This thread inspired this post.
She started her blog, The Money Dreamer, when she realized the 9-5 job was not the lifestyle she wanted anymore. After designing for a while, she wanted a more meaningful life, which was freedom, so she decided to venture out. She took action so that she can live her dream life and decided to help people to live theirs by helping them how to save, budget, and invest.