25 Once-Respected Jobs That Became Complete Jokes
1.
My friend's Dad was a pretty successful ad salesman for the Yellowpages. After no one needed phone books anymore, and he cheated on his wife and had 2 divorces, and bought a purple Harley with a dragon on it, he then became a seller of funeral packages. -u/DarTouiee
2.
My aunt crushed it as a travel agent in the 1980's and 1990's. The Internet totally blindsided her. -u/Remy1985
4.
Chefs. My dad was a chef and in his day you could have your pick of jobs. Literally walk out of a restaurant and into another by the end of the day. People respected them and allowed creative and financial freedom. Now I work as a chef and I constantly have to answer to people (managers, waitresses, etc..) who have absolutely 0 culinary experience.
The pay is sh*tty, the hours are ridiculous it's about 3 decades behind in terms of worker's rights. This goes double for smaller places like non-chain bars and restaurants. They know that there is always another chef looking for a new gig and often have no problems treating chefs like absolute dogsh*t. -u/BanditSurvivalist
8.
Critic, for the most part. It used to be that to be taken seriously as a critic, you had to have some accomplishments in the field you were critiquing in order to show that your opinion on the subject was worth some value. Somewhere along the way, the position devolved to "any idiot with an opinion is a critic". It has fallen even further in the internet age, with "critics" giving obviously stupid "hot takes" just so their name can be spread out among the media. -u/FDRockAtWork
10.
Philosopher. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Now if someone tells you they are a philosopher you probably assume they don’t have a job and do a lot of drugs. -u/Dr_Ugs
11.
Journalist. It used to be a respected and necessary career, now for more than one reason it's lost almost all the respect it had. -u/Dovahnime
12.
Optician. Back in the day, if you were an old-school optician you knew absolutely everything about complicated prescription issues, making glasses, grinding lenses, and manufacturing a complete set of glasses yourself from your own lab in the back of the store.
Nowadays it’s mostly 20-year-old idiots who take a crappy little express program to certify themselves as ‘opticians’, but all orders are sent to an outside lab to be made. If you have a problem with your glasses, 90% of these ‘opticians’ have no idea how to solve your problem. It’s also now essentially just a glorified salesperson job. -u/MaybeBaby95
13.
Elevator attendants. Once revered engineers capable of lifting humans hundreds of feet in the air. Now a comedic relic of a by gone era. -u/Charming-Station
16.
Chief Information Officer; in the 1990's that was a very prestigious position in a company. It showed the street that the company took technology seriously.
Now if you work in a business where tech isn't the product, your CIO or SVP of Tech reports to the Chief Financial Officer. Most times it isn't a strategic C-level job. You watch the budget and look to outsource as much as possible. Try to be aligned with the business, who really doesn't want anything to do with you other than what you can give them for less money. Rough gig. -u/Shroom4Yoshi
17.
Radio DJ. Even in small cities, the DJs were well known. Today, there is still some level of fame in large cities (the morning drive time team), but radio is dying. -u/ApoplecticAndroid
18.
Nurses. Long hours, hard work, front line workers for dealing with annoying-a** and insane people. The definition of “I don’t get paid enough for this s***!” -u/alwaysconfused__
19.
A Lawyer. I’m one and I’ve already heard all the jokes, thanks. In the 19th century it really was a position of prestige. In the mid-20th century, it meant Atticus Finch. Now it’s just the equivalent of an ambulance-chaser in the minds of most people. And it’s too bad, because when you actually need one, you see what they genuinely do. -u/amerkanische_Frosch
21.
Models. It seems like anyone with a camera and a social media account can call themselves one now. -u/whatistheseanimals
22.
No professions seem to be respected these days. Respect went away roughly 10-15 years ago. -u/_dirty_taco
23.
IT support. My computer isn’t working can you help me?!? What did I turn on the power button, of course I did. Is it plugged in? Of course not. -u/SnowyMuscles
24.
Commercial Pilot. Back in the day, a pilot was a man's man with great pay. Today the regional carriers pay less than a minimum wage job at 40 hours a week. Just to get to that point a person must spend years of time building or fast track by spending a fortune. -u/FutureThrowaway9665
25.
A truck driver was once a respectable career. “Knights of the Highway” Now it seems to be a place for misfits/miscreants who can’t work with others. -u/hillybilly
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