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Here's a fun open thread for a Monday: What do people get wrong about your job? What are the most common misconceptions people share when you tell them what you do for a living? When you see your career portrayed in pop culture, what are some laughable or frustrating depictions? And if more movies and TV shows DID portray your profession realistically, would anyone really want to watch them?
For one, how about salaries vs. the cost of living? One much-cited inaccuracy in pop culture is “The characters on Friends could never have afforded those big NYC apartments with the jobs they had!” Also, could Carrie Bradshaw really have managed her splurge-y NYC lifestyle on a newspaper columnist's salary? Hmm.
What about the legal field? As the sole non-lawyer on the Corporette team, I'd love to hear about the dubious things you frequently see in legal-themed books, movies, and TV shows. (At the moment, I'm curious about Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer, which I recently binged, and on the other end of the spectrum, the docudrama Dark Waters.) What wild things take place in TV depictions of court cases that would never happen in a real trial?, for example?
Readers in the financial field, how do YOU feel your career is depicted on screen? From The Big Short to the recent Bernie Madoff documentary series, The Monster of Wall Street, and the movie Dumb Money (the one about that crazy stuff with GameStop stock back in 2020–2021), pop culture unsurprisingly loves to focus on super dramatic situations and bad actors (not literally) in finance. When you tell people what you for a living, what do they usually say about it?
As for me, one of the areas I've worked in is marketing/PR, and we've all probably noticed that the majority of the onscreen characters in those fields are 20-something, stylish, beautiful women with — again — really nice NYC apartments. And while as a journalist I've never worked on the investigative side of things, I have a hunch that films like Spotlight are dramatized for the screen (great movie, though!).
I also worked as a barista before getting my first salaried job, and no, I never looked down on customers who only wanted a “plain black coffee.” I truly did not care. In fact, I was happy when someone ordered a coffee because that meant I didn't have to make a more complicated drink when there was a big line of people waiting.
Readers, do tell! What do people — friends and family members, strangers, TV writers, and so on — get wrong about your job? What are the funniest or most irritating examples? (Also, what are your favorite workplace TV shows and movies?)
Anonymous
I’m a lawyer and I can’t stand the idea that there’s going to be some bombshell moment in a trial or a deposition because everyone knows what everyone’s going to say well in advance.
Nesprin
Scientist- absolutely no one on TV seems to know how to pipette.
Anonymous
Lawyer. And I hate the public misconception that we all make a ton of money, especially partners. Sure, some do. Many, many don’t.
Anon
Also lawyer. I love my job, but I spend most of my day typing up/reviewing contracts on a computer. I have never seen the inside of a courtroom except once or twice as a first time to file some boring motion. I’m certainly not hanging out on some crime lord’s yacht or making a life-changing speech in front of a judge and massive audience. My job would make for extremely boring television but I like it!
Anon
Same here – commercial contracts attorney.
Anonymous
I am a long-time public defender and I hate the pop culture image of public defenders as bumbling, incompetent, badly-dressed not real lawyers. I passed the same bar exam as every other lawyer in my state and work with lawyers who went to some of the best law schools in the country. We are certainly a training ground for new lawyers, but for people who have been doing this work for a long time it is not because we couldn’t do anything else. It is because we are dedicated to the cause. You couldn’t pay to get better representation than from some of our specialized units. I also am interested in fashion and while I can’t afford some of the more expensive brands, I do try and shop sales and have saved up for some designer items. I also get everything tailored so that even a cheaper suit looks nice.
Anon
Appellate PD here. I’ve been doing this for 18 years. I have two ivy degrees. Clients regularly ask me if they should hire a “real lawyer.” And of course, when I review a record on appeal, the worst mistakes are made by the trial attorneys who charged a family $5K for a serious felony case and barely did any work. TV/movies make us look terrible, when in reality we are (mostly – there are always outliers) more competent than the vast majority of litigators out there.
Judge
Judge here. I love our career public defenders! Prosecutors, too, while we are on the subject. It’s great to work with people who know what they’re doing and who are usually passionate about doing it. As for the “real lawyer” stuff, that is frustrating for all of us and I’m sorry you have to hear that. I had a hearing recently where a defendant was represented by a terrible private lawyer who didn’t know the first thing about how to conduct this very routine hearing after he decided to get rid of a really good public defender that was assigned to him at his arraignment. It was painful. He nearly lost the hearing and it was awful to think that this defendant got rid of a great lawyer because he doesn’t trust a public defender to truly represent him because he thinks the PD is just working for the government since he’s “free”….
On a frivolous note, much of my fashion inspiration these days comes from the young lawyers in my courtroom. The public defenders dress great!
PD
Thanks Judge!!!
Anon for this
Traffic court judge and it is astonishing how many people blithely suggest I would “fix” their tickets if necessary. Uh, that is completely unethical and it’s completely insulting for you to even suggest I would do such a thing.
Anonnny
Family Med MD here. I’m always surprised by how many folks think their doctor is going to figure out their problem on the first visit, and doctor hops to someone new if they don’t get an immediate answer. For many symptoms there are multiple steps to a work-up, starting with easier things like labs, exam, ultrasounds and working up to more complex testing, CTs, MRIs, referrals. I often see patients in clinic who didn’t go back to their doctor after the first couple tests were inconclusive. Now I have to get to know the patient and the story and think through the whole thing from scratch when often their PCP was on the right track and doing testing in a logical order and cadence. Sometimes symptoms ARE vague and testing is inconclusive and it is appropriate to take a “watchful waiting” approach to see how a patient does. This uncertainty of course can be very hard on folks and if you aren’t feeling heard you SHOULD find someone new. But often things take time, and having a physician who knows your story from beginning can be invaluable.
Also, build a relationship with a PCP! I have been seeing my doctor for 7 years, all through my own medical training. It is so nice to have someone who knows me well and is there when I need her. Think of your PCP as a teammate in your health. It’s worth investing some time and energy to find someone good and stick with them. See them at least once a year for your physical and to maintain the lines of communication.
Anonymous
This is really useful to know. I’m 40 and just having my first interations with the medical system beyond “antibiotics, please” and “having baby”, and I’m realizing just how much I really don’t know how it works.
Runcible Spoon
I’ve had the same family doctor for 45 years! He must have been a baby/novice doctor at the time (and I was, of course, an infant . . .). Seriously, one of the longest relationships evah, and we get along very well, honest with each other, good working relationship. I am very lucky and grateful, and worry about what I will do when he retires.
Anon
College professor here. Misconceptions about how we spend our time: we spend a TON of time on bureaucratic red tape, from getting reimbursed for conference travel to writing emails to students to dealing with endless committee work. At most places, teaching is not rewarded, either for promotion or for money — which means that our classroom and evaluation time sucks up a ton of energy and time but doesn’t help our career. Institutions want publishing scholars; parents want teachers.
You make no money on publications (unless it’s a very well-used textbook, and even then it’s very little). Summers are not “off” — they are often incredibly anxious months spent scrambling to get the publications out that you need for promotion. I cannot tell you how many people smirk at me about my summers and any sabbaticals.
ProfP
So so true. Administration soaks up so much time. Summers are not just for research – they’re also for figuring out how you’re going to adapt your course to the new system the university decided you have to use etc. etc. And an awful lot of work is not rewarded in any way – reviewing, writing letters of recommendation, …
midwest prof
Agreed. Can not tell you how many times I’ve explained to friends and family that the time I spend teaching (at X hours a week) is only a tiny part of my job. They think the time that I am not in class I am “off,” when in reality I’m answering email, going to meetings that could have been emails, prepping for class or grading, or, not as often as I need, researching and writing. I am a super slow writer, so I need to spend a lot of time staring at my computer screen and reading. The only advantage of summer – since I do NOT get paid for working then, but do it anyway – is that some of the meetings and student demands stop (administrative tasks and graduate student advising do not).
We also do not get paid very well compared to others with similar degrees and experience.
But we have a LOT of flexibility, and, after tenure, independence.
Anon.
I have done indigent criminal defense for 28 years. The Lincoln Lawyer irks me because it is so preachy. And the idea that the State would send over 30 bankers boxes a few days after arrest in this day and age is ridiculous. The discovery is mostly digitial and the State would still be trying to get the evidence from the police.
Anon
I work in emergency management, currently at the local level but I formerly worked for FEMA too.
First of all no one knows anything about EM! Secondly, when people do need assistance they still usually don’t know anything about the field or how assistance works, but then get mad that FEMA did or didn’t do XYZ for them. Disasters are fundamentally a local issue – FEMA is primarily a grant making and coordination agency. Response and immediate recovery are local. FEMA can’t even get involved until after the local and state capabilities have been overrun. Almost every single local agency (if one even exists!!!) is horribly understaffed and underfunded. In many counties, the office is one or two people. In big cities, staffs are larger but not as large as you’d think.
Staff are usually competent and dedicated but are doing a lot with a little. For example, in my county a EM program manager with 5-10 years of experience and a Master’s working a 9-5 plus on call makes 72k and we’re paid well. Rookie cops and firefighters (no education requirement, no experience) make more in training. Local EMs and FEMA staff work really long hours for days on end and work really really hard (during the pandemic I worked 14-16 hour days, 12 days on one day off for three months) and are quite possibly sleeping on a cot and eating MREs during a response.
Our public image is still fighting against the cluster that was Katrina. And yes, Katrina was bad. But, a) at least half the battle with the mismanagement of Katrina was due to elected leaders’ incompetence, not FEMA or local government non-elected employees mismanagement and b) as with any federal agency, most constraints or shortcomings (financial, staffing, resources) are due to the budget which is, of course, established by Congress, and c) thr field has changed, grown, and professionalized A LOT since then.
The system is still far from perfect, but we’re not incompetent.
Anonz
I’m in ESG and we’re not a bunch of woke hippies making decisions based on our feelings and either writing vague platitudes or exposing the evils of giant corporations.
More like annual reports and programs to educate and assist companies to meet quantitative targets through operational changes.
Anon
What the heck is ESG? I definitely don’t understand your job, since I don’t know what it is.
Anonz
ESG is shorthand for the sector of monitoring and measuring Environmental, Social, & Governance factors, usually of businesses. My particular work is in data collection for these metrics.
Senior Attorney
I still don’t understand what that is.
Middle Management
Continuous improvement project manager in Pharma/Med Device- No one knows what I do. It doesn’t matter if I switch my title around to Supplier Quality Manager or Supplier Management – those in the industry know what I do, but those outside do not. When I go through Passport Control/Immigration and get the question, “What do you do for work?” I revert to my educational background, Engineer. People have a vague idea of what Engineers do (something technical on computers? Design stuff?), but if I actually say what I do, no idea. Hollywood is not about to glamourize my life, even though it’s actually kind of awesome. I don’t feel bad about that, but I do feel bad for all the youngsters who don’t know that it’s a career option.
Anon
I work in financial compliance and find the idea humorous that pop culture might even be aware of my job. Heck, my colleagues think I spend most of my time just filling out forms.
KL
People think I have a cushy job because I get paid a Big Tech salary and only work ~40 hours a week. The hours to pay ratio is definitely great, but they don’t realize that this kind of knowledge engineering work is STRESSFUL unless you’re very naturally talented at it. I might spend 2 hours working on something, or 2 days, and the final output is the same — but I’m still expected to produce X end product in Y weeks, like any other job. And there’s not much rote-but-satisfying work that you know you know how to do; the majority of it is complex and subtle design or debugging problems.
S
I’m a librarian and let me tell you – it’s not quiet here, I don’t read books all day, and I don’t even *like* cats.
Anon
Anyone still here? I work in financial services and people ALWAYS ask me for stock picks. The industry is so broad. We’re not all traders or rich or cheating other people out of their money! The role is exciting and global though but im sure it would make for boring television!
Anon School Counselor
High School Counselor. At best, we are referred to using the antiquated “guidance counselor” title. At worst, media portrays us as incompetent (Hello, 13 Reasons Why), evil (Stranger Things), or like how therapists and other mental health professionals are frequently portrayed, completely unethical.
Also, a similar sentiment to Anon college professor above, there’s usually plenty of frantic work to complete during summer, and it is not a paid vacation. We don’t get paid during the summer unless we opt into the district plan of deferring pay so we get a check every month, aka an interest-free loan to our employer. Many of my colleagues do this, but a few years ago a prominent school district in our area somehow “misplaced” the deferred wages so I am a little less trusting.
Aussie reader
I work in the public service and my job title of Head of Ministerial Services would mean nothing to most people except that they know I do stuff for an elected Minister of government. But we have a TV show here in Australia called Utopia on our ABC which gets it painfully, hilariously right in its depiction of being in a government agency. To the point where something ridiculous has happened at work one day and the next episode is almost beat for beat the same as the events of my day just a different subject matter. I’d love to know if it rings true for anyone outside Aus – please watch an episode if you can find on YouTube. It’s the kind of show where each episode is self contained. The same production company did a prior show about being a ministerial office media staffer and again, bang on. Much of the industry assumed someone was feeding the writers the goss.