r/ABCDesis • u/Reasonable_Food6977 • 1d ago
EDUCATION / CAREER Pet peeve : I don't think those "useless" career jokes are funny
Work in marketing, and sick of all those "you're doing nothing important" jokes, just because I'm not in a traditional field like medicine or law. I've worked hard to be where I'm at, and those jokes seem to be in bad taste. Also everyone just assumes that your parents must be disappointed like??? Stop projecting?!
Sorry for the rant but it's pissing me off (yes I'm that petty)
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u/bigbaze2012 1d ago
Don't associate your worth solely with your profession . It's a recipe for a lifetime of insecurity
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u/trajan_augustus 1d ago
The dirty secret is most jobs are useless. Pick up Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber. Most jobs are fairly useless are just adding layers of bureaucracy. Middle-management is an example of this.
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u/Scrofuloid 1d ago
Some tech companies tried to get rid of all their middle managers, and have like 50 people report directly to each senior manager. It, uh, didn't go so well. Now they're reversing course.
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u/trajan_augustus 1d ago
Yeah, I am not against middle mgmt but when a manager manages 1 person or it is title bloat
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u/Amber_poodle 1d ago
I mean, I work in tech as a PM and I think my job is useless too. Its useful to me, yes, but in the bigger scheme of things its useless. Its not about you personally. Its not about doubting your hardwork, most corporate employees are working hard to the point of burnout. But what do these jobs contribute to society except filling the pockets of the rich?
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u/SamosaAndMimosa Indian American 1d ago edited 1d ago
It has nothing to do with usefulness. That is pure bullshit. They're classist assholes who are looking down on you because they think your career isn't prestigious enough and that you don't make enough money
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u/StinkyRose89 Pakistani American 1d ago
I get this from some elder desis because I am not a professional (I work a clerical job for state govt and have for 10 years) and I also didnt marry a doctor/engineer. I make decent money and my job isnt the focus of my life.
My father wanted me to be a dentist but pulled that out of his ass one day when my liberal arts bachelors was well underway. Also he never helped me with homework and refused to help me pay for college & uni so he didnt get to dictate anything I did.
Then I married a gora who does CNC machine programming & design and is a nerd and artist in his free time.
I get asked quite a bit by elders if my husband is a doctor or engineer instead of just, "what does your husband do?"
What a strange fucking question to ask someone. 🤦🏻♀️ I cant wait for this obsession with doctor/lawyer/engineer to die in the coming years.
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u/Dingleton-Berryman 🇺🇸/🏴 1d ago
Look at you and your husband out here prioritizing your happiness, and realizing there’s so many available jobs out there that offer stability without a specialized degree.
It’s like the liberal arts as a field of study is there to establish an educated citizenry with a broad range of applicable skills.
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u/StinkyRose89 Pakistani American 1d ago edited 1d ago
Thank you!
It did take some time to get to this point but glad I have 😊
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u/Stock-Memory9483 1d ago
Sounds almost like my dad. He was always making my life harder, never helped me at all through high school, we didn’t even have WiFi when I started high school and I had online assignments. Then he was like if I listened to him I’d be at an Ivy League university instead of a community college because I didn’t have the resources.
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u/StinkyRose89 Pakistani American 16h ago
Oof, sorry you went through that. It's tough having this type of parent. I have had to minimize contact with mine, unfortunately, after "being the bigger person" for many years. The guilt can be awful but my stress levels have decreased by a lot.
I hope you're doing alright these days 🌻.
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u/Dapper-Ad9557 1d ago
I’m an engineer. My parents think I’m a waste and I’m stupid. Their exact words were “every Tom, Dick, and Harry is an engineer”. The only worthy career in their eyes is medicine. My sister happens to be a doctor.
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u/sea87 1d ago
My parents are so embarrassed (mostly my dad) they don’t tell their friends I’m a nanny. Even though my job requires a college degree.
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u/Dapper-Ad9557 1h ago
You should remind your parents that some nannies end up marrying the millionaire or billionaire they work for. So technically, you're not babysitting… you're networking for your future! JK.
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u/Worried_Half2567 1d ago
The funny thing is you work a white collar job that so many people actually see as aspirational and cool 😅
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u/RedTubePremium 22h ago
Yeah, having any kind of salaried, office job is a big flex these days. Can't imagine an engineer walking past the marketing department and making fun of them in any way.
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u/Reasonable_Food6977 16h ago
Oh no don't get me wrong, I'm definitely very privileged. My dad worked blue collar and mom is a housewife, so first in my family to have a white collar job. I guess this is also the reason they aren't "disappointed" like other folks haha, but yeah, this is generally something I get from extended family of professionals.
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u/Princesspussy911 1d ago
Girl I deal with the same thing too!! I studied marketing and want to do the more creative side of it, and people think that job isn’t serious or “worthy” enough. It doesn’t help that I haven’t gotten a full time job yet. So more people judge me for it, which is why I avoid going to events where I know Indian aunties and uncles go to like temple, family friends dinner, etc.
But lowkey I think with AI advancing and people losing their jobs to it, there’s gonna be less pressure for you not joining a tech job. My parents are software engineers and my mom finally got a job after searching for 2 years, so they’re a lil aware of how the market is (except for my dad but he’s only book smart not street smart and isn’t aware of his surroundings and very stubborn in his ways) and stopped making me feel bad for not studying engineering or data analytics. Can’t say the same thing is gonna happen to doctors or lawyers tho 😭
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u/insomniac8994 Punjabi Canadian 22h ago
I'm in the trades so I get shit on by family all the time. Even though I make way more money than most white collar folks.
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u/tabula_rasa12 1d ago
Can’t believe the negativity here, a bunch of uncles and aunties took over the sub or something smh?
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u/Several-snapes 1d ago
I am already in healthcare and I still get unsolicited career advice. “Have you heard of xyz company? They do research. You should work there.”
Says someone not medical.
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u/SetItOff92 1d ago
who the fuxk would say that to you? don’t listen to them. no one would become a doctor and deal with nasty human bodies if it didn’t seemingly pay well. don’t get discouraged. do what you enjoy.
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u/phoenix_shm 1d ago
I wonder if, right now and for the foreseeable future, saying "I'm debt free" will be a flex over people who say that they are a doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, etc. 🤷🏾♂️🤔
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u/RedTubePremium 22h ago
You have a job in general that isn't hourly, so I'm not sure why you'd be getting those jokes?
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u/Reasonable_Food6977 15h ago
Yeah I'm actually the first in my family to have a white collar job, so I get that I'm still a lot more privileged than others. But these jokes usually come from extended family who are all high earning professionals. So plain old classism ig?
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u/CosyPotat 16h ago
I’ve come to realize it’s a lot of projection and internalized self hatred.
There is no such thing as a useless job. For the employee, it’s a means to live. And for society, all roles are necessary. Even a pizza maker. Janitors, truck drivers, postal workers, etc. the list of “low level” jobs are what keep modern, westernized civilization running.
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u/Willedbobcat4 5h ago
A lotta immigrant uncles and aunties are like that. If you’re not doing med, cs, law, etc any of the stereotypical Indian careers they’ll make fun of you behind your back. I get it all the time but I don’t care cause I have more fun in my career than their kid who sits at a desk all day on computers. Don’t worry about what they say
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u/hedahedaheda 2h ago
People need to start taking humanities and the soft sciences seriously because everyone is getting dumber and dumber. Zero critical thinking skills.
Also kinda laughable that anyone would say that about marketing. Brand awareness is a huge reason these companies are so successful and make a shit ton. There would be no tech bros or finance duds if it weren’t for the marketing team.
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u/BrownCastro14 1d ago
CS and AI jobs are some of the most useless parasitical jobs to society. You are at least driving traffic to places and getting your business out there. Also those jobs come at the cost of our environment and peace so fuck cs and ai jobs. I wish the nerds in those jobs eventually get displaced because they lack consciousness and empathy for those around them.
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u/Optimal-Fix-2997 1d ago
I mean if you major in art or dance studies you deserve it. Those majors don't pay the bills.
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u/Vaynar 1d ago
Its not a joke. Its how people actually feel