People Are Sharing The 17 Jobs In TV Shows And Movies That Are Actually Accurate To Real Life

"It nailed the absolute essence of my job."

Recently, we asked you to tell us about a time a TV show or movie accurately depicted your job on-screen. Of course, we decided to roundup some of the best answers:

1. Abbott Elementary

ABC

"It's the first time I’ve ever seen teaching portrayed accurately. Like in the show, I’ve definitely experienced teachers working to raise money for new classroom rugs (those classroom rugs are $500 each!). The one where they get a new online curriculum and the older teachers can’t figure it out is also super accurate. However, class sizes on TV shows are always way smaller than in reality. And I can’t leave my classroom to ask another teacher a question. Otherwise, the show is hilariously and painfully accurate."

—beafowlkes

"Teacher friends, pressures of education, no money for resources, the antics of kids. There is always something new to deal with everyday."

—hovanmolly

2. Are You Being Served?

BBC

"When I worked in a clothing store, this old-school British sitcom hit WAY too close to home. It is JUST like that — incompetent management, pompous supervisors, fussy customers, and scrambling to deal with whatever dumb promotion the boardroom came up with THIS time."

—losfrangeles

3. Superstore

NBC

"I work at a drug/convenience store and this show nails it. The pharmacists attitude, the customers. I could almost cast the whole show with my coworkers. The only thing we are missing is the fun backroom games and the beauty of Ben Feldman."

—c424817632

"The little scenes in between the main story of Superstore, with the customers doing the dumbest/weirdest crap, THAT is retail. Or really any job that deals with the public. The out of touch corporate policies are also spot on."

—delorienaz

"And the corporate people trying to talk you in circles, thinking you won’t notice, when you ask a question that’s even slightly uncomfortable to them."

—f4bul0u5

"I once had a customer come up to me at the customer service counter, talked a bit, then she pulled a lizard out of her purse and was like, 'you had no idea he was even here did you?' Um. No ma’am, I did not know you had a live animal in your purse… Retail customers are bizarre."

—hlrasing1994

4. This Is Going To Hurt

BBC

"My step-mum reckons that based on her experiences as a ward nurse (from the 1990s to 2014-ish), the general portrayal of a NHS hospital in the 2000s was fairly spot on."

—prolix

"I’m a nurse but it accurately portrays the stress and responsibility a junior doctor is under. People misunderstand what a junior doctor is — it’s anyone who isn’t a consultant or GP. Dr Kay was a registrar and often the only doctor responsible for the entire obs and gynae department."

—peacefulgoose73

5. Jurassic World

Universal Pictures

"The guy operating the gyrospheres gets a call and has to tell a massive crowd that the ride is closed. They start yelling at him and he just defeatedly says 'I just work here.' That's it. That's being a ride operator. Rides breaking down are totally out of control of the operator and they are often taken down to ensure everyone's safety... So please be kind!"

—buttercupbailey

6. The Perfect Storm

Warner Bros. Pictures

"A couple of the scenes capture the work of a commercial fisherman. The scene where they are travelling and have only five video cassettes to watch, starting a gear set with a favourite playlist, getting into arguments because nobody had slept in 20 hours and filling up the fish hold, meaning you can go home and get paid."

—homefree

7. Little Monsters

Hulu

"The criminally underseen horror comedy starring Lupita Nyong'o is the most accurate depiction of being a kindergarten teacher that I have ever seen! Yes, it's about a zombie outbreak, but the way she behaves as she tries to keep all of her students alive while on a field trip, spoke so deeply to me as a preschool teacher. She is constantly problem solving and staying calm, while monitoring children's allergies, leading sing-songs and ensuring the buddy system is adhered to. It nailed the absolute essence of my job!"

—slcreativewritingclasses

8. The Big Bang Theory

CBS

"I'm a biologist, so I have more in common with Bernadette and Amy, but actual science is a lot of talking and thinking and less about actually doing experiments. Everyone is a little exaggerated at first, but actually the latter seasons show an even more realistic perspective on scientists."

—orenlevko1

9. Better Call Saul

Netflix

"The early episodes really nailed what it is like to be a public defence attorney in the US. We have to hound the prosecutors for better plea deals for our clients by trying to humanise them a bit while the prosecutors only know them by the allegations of charges against them and their criminal history. Many years ago I had a client who stole an $8 bottle of baby cough medicine from Walmart for her sick child and I had to beg for leniency in that case."

—trewilki21

10. For All Mankind

Apple TV+

"Admittedly, I don't do anything as exciting as being an astronaut, but as a long time IT professional, I've appreciated the accuracy of the technical job aspects of this show. There was a moment in the season one episode, 'Bent Bird' where they had to CE a computer unit on a rocket and the procedure, both in planning and execution, felt like the sort of thing I would do IRL (except not in zero gravity)."

—christineirissweet

11. The Office (US)

NBC

"Hands down for me. The Planning Party Committee? Yes we had one, with the drama, bad ideas and then only one person's idea that everyone hates but then is done. The two people that share a workspace/cubicle that are polar opposites? Yes, they worked together for about 15 years, they frustrated everyone with their endless daily banter. All day, every day. It was uncanny how accurate the show was to our own office. I made my boss watch the first season on DVD, he came back to me after the weekend and agreed that it was dead on. We only laughed and laughed throughout my last few years there as we kept drawing comparisons. Good times, and I sorely miss my old coworkers."

—jsmahan11

12. The Bear

FX on Hulu

"I want to mention the Ebra storyline specifically. I’ve seen similar situations play out several times where major changes are being made to either the menu or just the general process of things in the kitchen and those changes have proven to be difficult for the veteran cook. In real life that person tends to get way more frustrated with the new system and it leads to arguing, but that general issue is very real. That and his ServSafe requirement as well as his friendship with Tina. Thing is, working the line brings in people from all walks of life and even though it can be so stressful, I wouldn’t trade it for the world because of the people I’ve met, the stories they’ve shared, the stories we made together, and most importantly, the food we make for you guys who don’t work in this business. You guys have no idea what chaos, drama, and creativity that comes with your dinner and it’s wonderful."

—californiacobbsalad

"Also, the insane amount of cigarettes being consumed is on point in that show. Usually pair that bad boy with an energy drink, coffee, or soda depending on the cook and that’s your lunch if you’re even able to get one during your 10+ hour shift."

—californiacobbsalad

13. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

NBC

"I'm a female engineer and it seemed to be the most realistic show I've seen. It showed a very good representation of the challenges female engineers face. Also, the franticness when something breaks right before launch or worse after launch. Most people have no idea how much thought goes into everything they use day to day!"

—copperaardvark55

14. Waiting...

Lions Gate Films

"It's very relevant! I worked in the restaurant/bar industry for over ten years and I spent most of that movie saying 'that’s true'."

—bmsmithey

"Aside from the putting gross stuff in the food, it is 100% accurate to any 'TGI-Chilli-bees' restaurant. Yes, everyone is sleeping with each other, getting absolutely wasted every night after (often during) work and screaming in the walk in."

—messyscissors72

15. Parks and Recreation

NBC

"It is scarily accurate. There are two teams of people who work in local government (or any government really) the people who REALLY want to make a difference and work hard and have big ideas, and those who are just there and somehow ended up in this job. There’s never enough money and you’re always competing with other departments for funding. There’s a weird mix of some days where there’s lots of downtime and some days of non-stop work. People rarely get fired, even if they’re bad at their jobs — it takes a big mess to get fired from a publicly funded position. After five years of working in local government, that is the show I point people towards to explain my job. I have met at least one person that matches every character from that show at my real life job."

—angrywitch68

16. Scrubs

NBC / ABC

"I've watched episodes of most of the medical shows out there, but this is one that is most accurate to my career as a nurse. Watching the young resident doctors just cower in fear from the super-experienced nurses who spend way more time with the patients than the doctors is pretty accurate."

—dizzywolf86

17. Office Space

20th Century Fox

"The number of acronyms a long-term corporate employee can maneuver into a single sentence is mind-boggling. It's like an immersion language course. Don't bother trying to learn what they mean by asking what the initials stand for. Your manager will look at you blankly, blink for a second, and then say 'you know what? I have no idea.'"

—sarahbird

Do you have any more to add? Let us know in the comments below!