As you enter the workforce, it becomes pretty clear that most jobs actually involve a lot of busy work that might not be visible to the naked eye. A chef might spend all day prepping ingredients without “cooking” a single dish, while a teacher may spend more time grading papers than standing in front of a classroom.
Nevertheless, between mass media and just plain ol’ stereotypes, there are all sorts of misconceptions many of us believe about different careers. So what better way to educate yourself than through the magic of the internet?
A curious Reddit user asked “What's a myth about your profession that you want to debunk?” and professionals from across the internet gave their best examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, and be sure to upvote the replies that taught you something new!
I'm a security guard. The myth that we don't actually have any power is false. We have the power to call the real police if there's real trouble. 😁 Crotch-Monster I doubt this will be popular, but here goes… Not my profession anymore, but I sold diamonds (for engagement rings primarily) for a number of years, and have three separate certifications of expertise.
TLDR: diamond rarity is a more complex topic than people realize, and they are incredibly expensive to produce. Diamond companies have done s****y things in the past no doubt, but the stone itself gets a bad rap for no reason. Besides a sapphire or a ruby, if you put anything else in an engagement ring it will inevitably break regardless of how “pretty” you think it is.
The idea that diamonds are worthless, or should be much cheaper than they are, is incredibly misinformed. People talk about them being “common.” As in, there’s a lot of them mined out of the ground. That is true in a technical sense, but reflects a lack of understanding. 90% of diamonds that are mined are industrial grade and not suitable for jewelry. Of the remaining 10%, about 2/3 to 3/4 are of such low quality that you won’t ever see them being sold (color grade below K-M, clarity below I1). For people who don’t know what those grades mean, color has to do with the presence of nitrogen in the carbon chains that makes it look yellow and clarity is about imperfections in the crystal formation. The price of poor color and clarity jewelry quality stones will be accounted for later in this comment. Of the remainder, they get much rarer as they approach being “perfect” (D colorless, FL flawless color/clarity respectively). Size itself plays a huge factor, because while it’s true that numerically a lot of diamonds are mined, only about 1% are a carat or above in weight. I did the math on this once, and a flawless, colorless, 1 carat Diamond is a 1 in 10 billion stone. Really changes the understanding of what makes a diamond “rare.” Most diamonds also have some degree of fluorescence, which is as undesirable trait, so add in no fluorescence and it gets closer to 1 in a trillion.
However, all that aside, there’s elements of pricing strictly related to diamonds as a commodity. The cut quality of a diamond is absolutely crucial to how it looks and how it sparkles (no one wants a dull diamond). Cut quality is graded to microscopic specificity when it comes to angles and proportions (literally hundredths of a millimeter can effect the symmetry grading). As you probably already know if you read this far, diamonds are also the hardest substance on earth. Long story short, it takes an extremely skilled individual with extremely specific and expensive equipment to cut and polish a diamond and there are not that many of these people left, either. As you can imagine, they are paid very well, and that cost is incorporated into the stones.
There’s also the matter of sourcing the stones (before I get anything about bLoOd dIaMoNdS do some research, it’s not the 90s anymore. If you wanna talk about child labor in Africa, you better never consume chocolate, African coffee, or basically anything made over there at all). Anyway, back to the sourcing. Diamonds are mined out of kimberlite shafts, which go deep underground in the sides of volcanoes. They take about 10 years and a billion dollars to build. So there’s that. 90% of the stones mined are sold for industrial use in bulk for not a lot of money, so for it to even be economically sustainable, the money needs to come from somewhere just to cover costs of mining. Then cutting, not to mention the cost of transportation around the world in armored shipments. AcidScarab ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT I was an Amazon Delivery Driver, we aren’t lazy because we didn’t specifically follow the instructions you wrote. We have up to 500 packages per day and no extra time to read your message, your backyard looked sketchy, and the app never deleted old instructions so 1/2 the time it’s outdated info.
And honestly Amazon is world famous as the company that delivers things to your porch, you should expect the package to go on your porch. anon Teachers do not get the summers off. We do not work only from 7-3:00. We have no decision making powers concerning curriculum, discipline, or testing. There is very little autonomy remaining for teachers. Ridiculousnessjunkie
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT Daylight savings time isn't for the farmers, please quit blaming us. deantrip
Biomedical/bioinorganic chemist: no, there's not harmful levels of metals in your vaccine. HOWEVER, you absolutely should get your drinking water tested for lead, arsenic, mercury, and all the other nasty metals. Harmful levels of lead, for example, are common in cities and with well water... Fakeunreal Teacher here..Specifically Preschool/toddler..I DO NOT PLAY ALL DAY!!! I am engaging children, making moment by moment decisions and keeping children safe. Subject_Candy_8411 ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT That people in the funeral industry really do care about the families and communities they serve and we’re not out to just gouge your wallet at one of your most vulnerable times. Yes, there are certain entities and people that ruin the reputation for everyone else, but that the majority of people in the industry are in it for the right reasons. torridtoast Marine biologists do NOT get to play in the ocean for 90 percent of their careers. Tons and tons of desk work, data analysis, report writing, etc. toadfishtamer Airport workers don't make lots of money. Anytime I say that's what I did, people look at me like I was wealthy. Perhaps projecting on me the same way aerospace marketing is concerned. "Put aerospace on the name and mark the product up 50%".
Most people looking to work at airports aren't aware of the monopolies that Delta has. Work for any other airline or worse yet, a sub contractor (fueling, de-icing, baggage, and so on, you've got the s**t end of the stick) You're not making much. They even have the funny practice of falsely advertising benefits that aren't real. Namely flight benefits. I've seen companies lure people because of such false claims. singularity48 ADVERTISEMENT Train conductor here. We do a heck of a lot more and are responsible for a lot more than “just taking tickets”. splitbmx248 Massage is not sexy, professionally. If you want a sexy massage...idk, do it with a partner or a sex worker, not your physio. Expression-Little
Counselors aren’t analyzing you if you aren’t paying for a session. I’m not flipping thru imaginary DSM pages when you just need to vent. When I’m not at work my counselor brain can turn off to just be a good friend and listen. SnooChocolates4588 ADVERTISEMENT Will be a dietician next summer and most people think we want everyone to only eat salad and fruits, but in reality we urge people to eat a balanced diet. Which indeed includes what people enjoy to eat like junkfood, cake, alcohol etc. - it’s all about being physical active and eating varied, baby McHagrid20 Scientist (more specifically, molecular biologist in biotech).
I am not hiding the cure for cancer, and idk s**t about actual medicine. DaOleRazzleDazzle Most pathologists don’t do autopsies, except for medical examiners and those in forensics PoorGovtDoctor Working from home does mean I have any free time to do what I want. No, I cannot talk to you to hear the latest gossip. No, I can't go meet you for lunch. No, I do not go to sleep in the middle of the day. In fact I barely get a chance to go to the toilet. It is not easier working from home.
While this is not profession-specific, it is a work-condition that needs debunking. LadyBug_0570 ADVERTISEMENT Architecture is not mostly inspiration. Zbignich Doctor here. Messaging your doctor through the messaging portal does not mean your doctor immediately sees your message. Depending on the healthcare system and clinic, it often sits in a pool for medical assistance or triage nurses to shift through first before forwarding us some of those messages. In addition, often times doctors have to find time to respond to your message in their own time that they are not getting paid for after their full day of patients. The messaging system should not be used to replace a clinic visit, only for quick questions. You do not want your doctor to miss something just because you gave them a vague description of what is going on and they handled it to the best that they could over text message when they might have done things differently after seeing you in person and getting a more thorough history. epoxidedreams ADVERTISEMENT Sales are a very important pillar of society. Yes, some salespeople are selfish and are only looking out for themselves. But the best services and products, especially complex ones, require sales people. Good ones make all the difference in the world (for both the company and consumer). sdreal Bartender.
We're not short pouring you. The glasses are different sizes.
Light ice = more mixer, not more alcohol.
No, I'm not giving you anything for free. If you were someone I liked enough to do that, you wouldn't have to ask. Also, if I do indeed give you something for free, it's not free, it's just gonna be me paying for it.
No, I can't take a picture of your ID. I need to see and touch the ID. Would you try this at the DMV? No. DirgetheRogue Ignorance of the law sometimes *is* an excuse. disobeyedtoast ADVERTISEMENT I used to be a 3D artist and no, the computer doesn't do all the job for us and no, there isn't a "better" software that'll make everything better in 5min and gosh no, there isn't that one button that makes everything like in my head instantly like in movies. RandHomman That graphic design is just a click of a button. Ai still can't handle layout and typography well... at all.
It takes hours of work, study and implementation to pull it all off. FictionalNape Pharmacist
- we do not just count pills - we find mistakes and interactions from your doctor all day and do our best not to throw them under the bus so you don't lose faith in them - we have more training and have doctorate degrees in pharmaceuticals than your doctor and are not pill ATM's to just hand over what your doctor orders - many of us work in areas where we don't talk to patients or doctors and have more financial, research, compliance/regulatory skills than you think we do -your pbm is not taking your health plans/insurers money.. we have transparent contracts that are audited all the time and often your health plan or insurer is skimming off the top more often than you know with quality payments and marking up the programs they sell your employer/HR... your plan and pharma and congressman point the fingers but when you look at the contracts... your plan is the one charging your employer more than they are paying for the service. 90% of all pbm claims are pass thru where the amount your employer pays the plans is what they pay the pbm and is what the pharmacy gets paid... the 10% that aren't are set up for the plans' benefit, not anyone else's. We give 100% of the rebates we get from pharma ( the contracts that we have to negotiate and administer without fees paid to the pbm either) and the health plan is the one that is taking some of that rebate $ and not passing it to your employer... ok-buddy-79 ADVERTISEMENT Most cops dont hang around waiting to ticket or arrest you. We just want the shift to end, go home, and see our family (or for me, play with my cats) anon That working with musicians is an awesome experience. Don't get me wrong, most of the time it is fun, but they are also some of the biggest Karens. GalacticMemories