There are some jobs that everyone wants, and some jobs that nobody wants.  If your job fits into either of those camps, then you’re probably sick of hearing people’s jealousy (or sympathy), and will spend a lot of time wishing that people understood your career a little better.  The sad thing is, even people that have a misunderstood occupation often make the same mistake when it comes to other people’s jobs. Take a look at the following list of careers that many people don’t understand.  You may find it enlightening.

Romanticized Career Paths

1. Anything involving remote working: As soon as people hear that a job involves a lot of remote working, they immediately assume that you get to laze around at home all day, and that what you’re doing isn’t really work. Sadly, that’s far from the truth.  Working from home is still work, and it often involves long hours, unpredictable work loads, and being on call at stupid times of the night.

2. Professional athletes: “You get to travel the world, and play your favourite sport all day?  That’s awesome!”  Well, it might be, but it takes a lot of dedication to get to that stage.  Do you really want to get up at 4AM and go for a long run?  Do you have the discipline to say no thanks to the chocolate cake because you have a weigh-in next week and you’re trying to manage your calorie intake?  What about training when you’re injured or just feeling a little down?  Professional sport is still work, and it’s one of the toughest jobs there is.

3. Authors: When an author is staring out of a window, they’re not daydreaming or procrastinating. They’re thinking.  Authors face a lot of pressure.  They’re only as good as their last book, and, if a deadline is looming and they simply can’t find the words, their career could be doomed. If all you’ve ever written is a lengthy email, then don’t give an author the “I’d love to write a novel someday” speech.  They’ve heard it all before.

Unloved Career Paths

1. Contact centre services: The people that work in tech support, billing, and other contact centre services don’t get a lot of respect, but it doesn’t mean that their job is not a fulfilling one. You get to speak to some great people when you work in a contact centre, and the joy of helping people should not be underestimated.

2. Law Enforcement: Another group that gets a lot of hassle is law enforcement workers, but once again this can be a great job.  For every yob that yells abuse at you, there are just as many people that are genuinely grateful for your help, and many law enforcement officers love knowing that each day they work, they’ve done their bit to make the world a better place.

3. Public relations: Some people think that being a PR must be awesome – a life of parties and excitement.  Other people think that being a PR would be a nightmare – promoting poor products, and having to be polite to people that you hate, but that could ruin your career by writing bad things about the products you’re responsible for.  The truth is somewhere in between.  It’s hard work, but at the end of the day you can point to a front page spread and say “I helped make that happen”.

Guest post written by Amy Fowler on behalf of Maintel, experts in remote working and contact centre services.