Do you have or ever have had a bullshit job?
- Yes
- No
0
voters
Interesting list of the five types. Sometimes there is a job that fits in two or more types.
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In Taiwan I spent a lot of time box ticking, but that wasn’t the whole job
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goon
does that make me a gooner?
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Seems common in Asia.
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Could be, example, if you’re a company lawyer and a football fan of a certain club in England. Gooner has a different meaning in the States vs. England, so it depends where you’re from. Goon could cover a lot of jobs, like sales, lawyers, and even professors.
I am a flunkie duct-taper box ticker who makes enemies by outing overly-professionals that don’t actually achieve anything because they believe that guidelines are rules.
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These examples of so called bullshit jobs leave me wondering what sort of charmed life the author has led that led him to be so optimistic about people in general that he thinks things wouldn’t change or be better if some of those jobs didn’t exist.
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But do you tape the boxes before or after you tick them? Or is it both, (tick, tape, tick again)? 
it was a joke 
was referencing the US internet meme definition (urbandict.com)
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All of the above! Then do it again.
Guy
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I’m pretty sure for the economy it would be better that they don’t exist. By the way if you read the book you will understand that David Graeber considers any banking/investement/law job as prime example of a bullshit job too. That’s why even though our productivity increased a lot - economic growth is much less. We as a society create laws/rules that are hard to understand in order to create jobs that shoudln’t be needed in first place. The book explains it very well and is an easy read. Grabers book “the dawn of everything” isn’t much of an easy read however but also a great explanation to human society and it’s shortcomings. Basically I love all of his books.
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All jobs are bullshit.
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Temp agency
Worked for a temporary employment agency where they send you out to different places to work anywhere from 2 weeks to six months.
It was fun and interesting cause you never know what your going to be doing. When you’re at the job you don’t really worry about impressing the boss because you know you’re only temporary.
One company had me as an assistant to the department lead as a gofer carryng papers around the building. He eventually had me reviewing all the office trigonometry mathematical calculations because I was more accurate than all of the employees. He eventually wanted to hire me permanent review all the documents before he looked at them. It was a big office where he sat at the front observing everyone sitting at their desks and they were not happy with me.
A benefit is that it gets you in the door of companies that may want to hire you later.
A great way to meet people.
Nope, surely not. David Graeber even put up comparisons of real value created by a job or destroyed vs salary. In general the less the salary, the higher the economic benefit. Few exceptions - research, production itself (not the management which is often a bullshit job as there are way too many management jobs vs producing jobs), and medical doctors are paid well and provide very high output to the conomy at the same time. Cleaning staff, nurses, harvest workers on the other hand provide high value but shitty pay and are prime examples for low paid not bullshit jobs.
Even when I’ve been paid well in a good job… it is still bullshit.
that is the essence of the book - the better paid the more it is a bullshit job. Read my reply above.
And when it is not paid well it is bullshit for that reason.
I’d rather have all my time for myself.
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This is what I’m talking about when I say he’s way too optimistic about human nature. He thinks all that production work.is going to get done without people overseeing them? Companies like taking away from profit to pay those guys just for kicks? WTF is the thought process? I get the idea that these jobs shouldn’t need to exist, but the premise that the world would be better or wouldn’t notice if they didn’t? C’mon now.