BS jobs

[RezClone]

I listened to an interesting lecture on BS jobs. That is to say jobs that aren't really necessary or one doesn't really do much of anything. Maybe in a 40 hour work week there is only a couple hours of actual "work".

Now, I realize there are often very "real" jobs created by or existing in support of these jobs (i.e. often others have to clean the place etc.), but aside from that, the impact on the world economically is dubious at best. And it's your job to do that.

The criteria in particular being a job that could be eliminated or consolidated with something else relatively easily with little to no impact in the greater scheme of things, and the job holder is well aware that this is the case.

Q: Have you ever had a BS job?
Q: Did/do you like it?
Q: Compensation?
...etc.

Tell us about your experience.

 

[nfrine]

Moderator on CF.

 

[Dr.bannedman]

Football coach at Iowa state

 

[madguy30]

All of mine have been pretty purposeful. Bussed/bar backed in a restaurant or two which is pretty mindless but is important to the business.

I think there's plenty of traditional jobs that get forced into 40 hours but need far less with the same production and if so, great for the worker.

 

[Tailg8er]

I always thought it'd probably suck working 40 hours a week in a toll booth. Might suck slightly less with the smart phones of today, but still. And that job has essentially been replaced with tech in many places, but not all.

 

[wenkeej]

I always wanted the job sitting in the old Information building by JTS/Hilton on the other side of the Elwood. That couldn't have required more than 30 minutes of work per week.

 

[mj4cy]

I always wanted the job sitting in the old Information building by JTS/Hilton on the other side of the Elwood. That couldn't have required more than 30 minutes of work per week.

Funny you bring that up because it's gone now...I was looking on google earth for it and had to go back in time on the street view to find it. I once parked there for a football game - glorious.

 

[SCNCY]

All of mine have been pretty purposeful. Bussed/bar backed in a restaurant or two which is pretty mindless but is important to the business.

I think there's plenty of traditional jobs that get forced into 40 hours but need far less with the same production and if so, great for the worker.

I think the bolded is more of a problem. I think a lot of people who have BS jobs actually have work that needs to be done, but it's limited and doesn't require a full traditional 40 hours to do every week.

 

[CascadeClone]

Coordinator of offense for a P5 football team in the state of Iowa

 

[CYedUp]

I worked at an overpriced movie rental store back I highschool. When I say overpriced new movies were 3.15 a day and this is right around when Redbox came about for a buck. It was pretty nice to pop movies in and only have about 8 customers a night.

 

[Cyhig]

Still applicable today

 

[wxman1]

I always thought it'd probably suck working 40 hours a week in a toll booth. Might suck slightly less with the smart phones of today, but still. And that job has essentially been replaced with tech in many places, but not all.

Like the students babysitting the exits at the UIHC parking ramps watching Netflix or doing homework. Have to imagine that is a sought after job. Look alive, help people in the off chance something goes wrong and then do whatever you want while sitting there.

 

[CyCoug]

In college I worked at the BYU library. The first two weeks of each semester I was a TA for the freshmen who had to take a mandatory library orientation. The rest of the semester I had to staff a help desk in case anyone had general library questions.

I got about two questions a week. The rest of the time I had 4 hours a day to do homework.

 

[Cyclonepride]

There really aren't many BS (unnecessary) jobs in for-profit companies. Not in ones that are going to stay around, anyway.

 

[Mr Janny]

When I first went to college, I qualified for work study, so after my second day of class, I went to the public radio station on campus, KUNI, and asked the station manager if he'd give me a job. I'd worked part time at a radio station in high school, and at the time thought that's where my career would take me. The station manager didn't have any openings, but because it was work study, and the money wasn't coming from his budget, he said he thought he could find something. So they created a role for me in the music library. Every day, I'd go in and take all of the newly released albums that record labels would send as promotional items, listen to them, and write down if they had any obvious swearing or vulgarity in them, which meant that they couldn't be played on the air. Clean albums got cataloged and added in the music library. Duplicates and albums with cursing got pitched in the trash, unless I wanted them. And I took basically all of them.
The ones I liked, I kept. The ones I didn't like, I took to a local record store where I sold them for cash.
I did that throughout my time at college. I eventually did other things with the station, like setting up studios and production work, which was awesome, but I always had my music library responsibilities, and it was the best job I ever had.

 

[cycloner29]

I did put this on my resume.

“Supervised the disposition of unselected genetic material.”

I had an internship in seed research. The above could have been stated in three words. I dumped seed. Total BS job.

 

[cyclones500]

Football coach at Iowa state

 

[ISUAgronomist]

I did put this on my resume.

“Supervised the disposition of unselected genetic material.”

I had an internship in seed research. The above could have been stated in three words. I dumped seed. Total BS job.

Here I figured that was code for jerking off

 

[Clonehomer]

There really aren't many BS (unnecessary) jobs in for-profit companies. Not in ones that are going to stay around, anyway.

Disagree. There are so many management positions that just aren’t necessary at my work. We have 4 people tracking the same data. They just report up different chains of the org chart, so they’re all kept around.

 

[cycloneG]

Disagree. There are so many management positions that just aren’t necessary at my work. We have 4 people tracking the same data. They just report up different chains of the org chart, so they’re all kept around.

100% agree. My first thought was middle management jobs. So much waste.