It's always interesting to learn about other industries and what actually goes on behind the scenes. Members of the BuzzFeed Community shared some insight into their jobs and some of these I still am thinking about. Here is what some people had to say.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
1. "Pet groomer here. People think we're lazy and just play with dogs all day — that couldn't be further from the truth. This career has such a huge turnover because of how physically and mentally demanding it is. From understanding dog behavior, anatomy, and physiology, breed standard cuts on more than 200 dog breeds, coat types and proper bathing techniques on every coat type, and what tools to use on each coat type. As well as training clients on caring for their dogs' coats at home, training the dogs to be comfortable with me and the grooming process itself, and time management to process each dogs' trim in a set amount of time (especially when the client is calling or stopping in multiple times wondering when their dog is going to be done)."
2. "Call center worker here. I've been doing my job for more than 18 years. People tend to think that a job where you sit all day is easier on your body than one where you have to stand or walk all day. This is SO not true. After working my job as long as I have, my back and hips are shot from all of the sitting."
3. "I worked at a zoo for several years. So many people think that working in a zoo is playing with animals all day. Zookeepers spend very little of their day interacting with the animals. The majority of the day is spent cleaning, food prepping, making enrichment, creating exhibits and rearranging the outdoor areas, planning vet checks, and so much more. There are also so many jobs at a zoo most people don't think about."
4. "Lawyers don't spend time on writing petitions and such. Want a divorce? I'll take your info and insert into into an old divorce I have saved on my computer. An expungement? I'm just filling out a form downloaded from the state or county's website. There are companies that provide templates for just about everything imaginable. The work is gathering all the information, meeting the deadlines, and knowing the proper procedures."
5. "As 911 dispatchers, people believe we are magically able to make police or medical personnel appear in an instant. When they constantly yell at us, 'Get here now. What's taking so long? Why aren’t they here?' If we could get them there any faster, we would. They seem to forget that the units have to drive to the location. We can't beam them there."
6. "Being a flight attendant is not the glamorous, jet-setting lifestyle it was in the past. We work very long days, and our work rules are terrible. When something goes wrong in your travel plans, we have zero control over it. Delays? We aren't getting paid. So trust me, we want to get you to your destination just as badly as you do. Please be kind to your flight attendants."
7. "Social worker here who works specifically with social security. I'm friendly, but I cannot make your application move faster than the SSA wants it to. When I say it's going to take 12 to 18 months for a decision to be made, I mean it — and it might actually take even longer. Every case is different, it doesn't matter if your aunt or your mom's friend Cindy got their benefits a month after they applied, they're probably lying."
8. "As a pastor, people think we sit around and write sermons and read our bibles all day. Nope, far from it. The job is extremely stressful. Let's start with Sundays. Yes, it is a church service, but it is work. We are doing the work while the congregation receives what we prepared throughout that week. We do home visits and hospital visits. When it comes to bedside service, it can be literally at any time of day or night or even if we are away on vacation. Death waits for no one. We listen to many people's problems throughout the week, which takes an emotional toll. It's hard to leave 'work problems at work' when you're thinking about your church member who came to you and confessed a large amount of hurt they are going through."
"We take that home with us because we care about our people. In some churches, we don't have the staff to lead a bible study, men's group, women's group, or kids programs, so we do it ourselves. My husband and I are co-pastors, and we are also employers. During the week, we have a food pantry, soup kitchen, and senior programs, and we help with all of them because we don't have the money to hire a large staff. We aren't a mega-church typically, about 30 people attend on a Sunday. It's exhausting and rewarding."
9. "I used to work for Starbucks. A couple of times, I had a pain-in-the-butt customer who insisted that I look in the back room after telling them we were out of something. The back was just a few metal wire shelves and a fridge. If I say we're out of something, it's because it's not back there. I've been back there stocking stuff all shift. I know it's not there. To placate these people, I'd go back and take a few sips of my drink and then come back out and say, 'Yeah, sorry, there's none back there.'"
10. "I'm a field engineer and always laugh at how engineers are depicted. It's either a mathematical savant, physics genius, or brainiac stereotype. In reality (at least in construction/field engineering), 90% of our time consists of ensuring the craft is following the work package, and the other 10% is figuring out how to fix the screwups (which means contacting design engineering most of the time). Don't get me wrong, somebody has to be the savant, but most of us are just better than average at math and physics but great at following or giving directions."
11. "I've been working at a car dealership for the last two years, and the business is so incredibly different from what people think it is now. I can't speak for all car dealerships, but the one I work for adheres to many regulations that demand transparency. This means that the price online is essentially the out-the-door price. There's no haggling. There's no secret markup that you can debate down. Especially if the car has already been marked down from the MSRP."
12. "I work in a school nurse's office. We don't just sit there; it's a lot of work. We do vision, hearing, and scoliosis screenings. We make sure each kid is up to date on vaccines, make sure kids have physicals, take care of kids with chronic conditions, catheterize students if needed, call parents, fill out injury forms, respond to emergencies, are responsible for 700 people on the building, and so on."
13. "I'm a teaching assistant. People think I spend all day wiping noses, tying laces, and maybe listening to some kids read or washing up some paint pots. In reality, I'm a highly trained professional who plans and delivers support interventions for children with special education needs and/or disabilities. I teach small groups and sometimes even the whole class. I do pre-teaching of new subject matter to children who I know will have difficulty with it, and then I do post-teaching support with children who found it tricky (and that's not always the same kids who needed pre-teaching)."
