What exactly is a real job?

[customersruinmylife]

I am sure everyone who has worked in retail or hospitality has heard this many times. An SC turning around and telling them to get a "real job". What is a "real job"? Surely in this climate, no one can class any kind of employment as not a real job. And even though I don't work in any kind of retail anymore, apparently my job isn't "real"

Again, I was working on the desk at school, when a gentleman came to the door. I buzzed him in. He immediately started asking me questions about booking some space in our gym to hold some football games. I was very pleased about this, because it means more money for the school. I pulled out my timetable, and started going through it with him.

Me: So what time would you like to book a spot?
G: I was thinking about booking for two hours between five and seven.
Me: Right...well, looking at my timetable, I have space at that time on Thursdays.
G: Oh no, I don't want Thursday. I am not free then.
Me: OK, well, the only other two hours I have is between six and eight on a Friday. Will that do?
G: No, that won't do at all. I want a Saturday.
Me: Oh, I'm really sorry, but we aren't open on weekends. Only Monday to Friday.
G: What?! Well, there isn't any other time I can do!

I was just about to be very nice to this jerk, and offer to speak to a senior member of staff for him. I was going to see if it would be possible for me to come into the school myself on the Saturdays and let the football teams in. It would have meant a little extra money for me, which is always nice. But, of course, he turned into a EW.

G: I cannot come in Monday to Friday, because unlike YOU, I have a real job and I am only free on weekends!

So many things wrong with that sentence.

Me: Well, I only work Monday to Friday too! So what makes your job real and mine non-existent?
G: Huh?!?!
Me: *sighs* We do not hire out space on weekends.
G: Well thanks for nothing.

So, apparently retail isn't a real job, hospitality isn't a real job, and working on the desk isn't a real job. I wonder if when I become a teacher, a parent will say I don't have a real job.

[Fulton]

So, apparently retail isn't a real job, hospitality isn't a real job, and working on the desk isn't a real job. I wonder if when I become a teacher, a parent will say I don't have a real job.

As a teacher I can confirm that yes, yes they will.

[crashhelmet]

Sadly once you become a teacher, you'll only be an overpriced babysitter and surrogate parent. Neither of those are counted as "real jobs" either.

[Sapphire Silk]

Heck, I teach nursing . . . and I've been told it's not a "real job."

It's a nice little way for EW's to assault people when they have nothing better to say.

[Mr Hero]

SC's don't seem to realize that if "non-real jobs" were no longer around, he'd have no where to buy his clothes, his food, or his entertainment. Wow, what a dull world it would be without those hard working individuals who don't have "real jobs"!

[Jester]

In situations like this, I often have some words of wisdom. But not today. No, today I defer to my friend Popcorn, who had maybe the best rant on this shit ever.

A while back, during his first tour here in Key West, a lot of his friends back home in the Northeast kept asking him when he was going to get "a real job." And he went off. It went something like this.....

"They say get a real job, but I realized something. At my "not real" job, I am happy. Happier than most of my friends with "real" jobs. Not only that, but my schedule is more flexible, I can take more time off, and I actually make MORE MONEY than a lot of them. So I've had enough of this. Real job, huh? They can FUCK OFF!"

At the time (and again, now, in his second tour here in Paradise), Popcorn was bartending. As a bartender, I fully agree with (and will often co-opt) his thoughts.

I meet a lot of people with "real" jobs. I am happier with my job than the vast majority of them are with theirs. I live in a place where the vast majority of them wish they lived, and they are jealous of this, as they only can come to this town, where I live full-time, for a week or two per year on vacation. And I make decent, if not great, money at my job.

Oh, and in my 24-year working career, I have been unemployed a TOTAL of perhaps a month....and I have worked at exactly ZERO "real" jobs, i.e., office jobs M-F 9-5. Not. One.

I get people drunk for a living in paradise. I have pretty good fucking job security, even "in this economy." How many people with "real" jobs can say THAT?

[PepperElf]

I'm reminded of Leonard Nimoy. He was being interviewed and one of his pre-TOS movies was mentioned (Zombies of the Stratosphere) & the other man laughed. Mr. Nimoy quickly scolded him for the slight, pointing out that it had been a real job and that he'd supported his family from that paycheck.

And keeping with that theme he did a spoken recording of Desiderata by Max Ehrmann & called it "Spock Thoughts."

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

So hey. Spock says you have a real job. And his opinion is more valid than the SC's opinion.

[RootedPhoenix]

People are so lame. "Get a real job", they say.

They need to get some new, more creative, insults. This one's tired and old. (Still hurts though. )

Lazy jerks.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

IMO, if I'm being paid in REAL money for REAL work, then it's a REAL job.

[Pagan]

Me: Oh, I'm really sorry, but we aren't open on weekends. Only Monday to Friday.
G: What?! Well, there isn't any other time I can do!

G: I cannot come in Monday to Friday, because unlike YOU, I have a real job and I am only free on weekends!

So many things wrong with that sentence.

Seeing as y'all aren't open on the weekends, that means he's there during the week. Apparently the weekends aren't the only time he can get away from his real job.

[MoonCat]

Any job that pays you is a "real job." Possibly not enough, but it's still a real job.

[Jester]

They need to get some new, more creative, insults. This one's tired and old. (Still hurts though.)

I don't let it hurt me for two simple reasons:

1. I love my job more than most people who say this crap.

2. I know that people are stupid. I could sit here and quote Voltaire or (more likely with me) Carlin, but I'll quote another wise person commenting on the state of people in general:

People are so lame.

So don't let them hurt you with their stupid comments. They're idiots, after all.

[TexasT]

I wonder if when I become a teacher, a parent will say I don't have a real job.

They will. Or, as a step-grandfather of a student of mine, a former teacher, I talked to today told me:

1) After I explained to him I have about 5 years experience, "Every teacher should quit after 5-10 years. They're no good after that because they're burned out."
2) "I see you looking at your watch." And, after I replied, "I just don't want to be late getting the kids (smile and joke) I normally don't get a break anyway, so it's all good." "If you need a break, you shouldn't be teaching. You can't handle the job."

Yeah, I'm one year away from being no good and I'm a bad teacher because I'm human. I wish I could say he was the exception, but, sadly 50%-75% of my parents will say something to the effect of, "Must be nice playing with kids all day" and "Must be nice having summers off." By the way, that's my biggest pet peeve and will start me on my soap box.

[RootedPhoenix]

Sure, you get summers off, but you don't get paid for them either. So teachers wind up paying for 12 months of living with 9 months (or so) of pay.

My childhood was full of summers where the bills were hard to pay.

My pet peeves hover around this too. Teaching can be really cool, but it's hard work.

[mikoyan29]

I now have a "real job" but it wasn't always the case. AT some point I had to pay for things like going to college and what not so I worked at the fast food place on campus. In the summer I did McDonalds, worked for a school district cleaning typewriters and three years at a grocery store (senior year in college and 2 years afterwards while looking for a real job). Not to mention I was a paper boy before college. As a result of all of the those "unreal jobs" (although they seemed real enough at the time...I got paid...If for some reason I didn't show up, I probably would have been fired...so yeah...pretty real), I have the greatest amount of respect for people that put up with all the crap I put up with while I was doing those jobs. The Golden Arches was probably the worst of the bunch...after dealing with customers you had to deal with the managers. Never mind you were busting ass for the last 4 hours...the store is not busy *Now*, so clean or something.