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Some professions seem too silly to be true, and some seem like scams. So we asked Reddit what they thought were the top 10 dumbest professions they had heard of.
1. Professional Stalking or Harassing
To some, it seems absurd people can make a living off stalking and harassing a person because they’re a celebrity. The people that watch it and read the articles only fuel the fire for the paparazzi to continue to do this job.
One user commented that celebrities fuel this career by calling the press themselves with tips about them just to make it on the cover of a tabloid.
2. Promotional Speaker
A promotional speaker makes their money by charging a consumer to listen to them speak about how to earn money. To some, the concept is just another pyramid scheme that they, themselves, want no part of.
To others who may not feel fulfilled in their current career or are currently unemployed, it seems like a get-rich-quick way to get out of their rut.
3. Opportunistic Advertising
A controversial topic was opportunistic advertising, or as they called it, predatory advertising. Opportunistic advertising places ads on websites, such as “win a free iPhone,” hoping someone will click it and download malware to their device.
Some users are stating this is not an actual job but the work of hackers. In contrast, others have a theory that the companies that specialize in removing viruses and malware are the ones who employ people.
4. Solicitors
A user commented about his job selling data center software. He stated an entire team was dedicated to making those calls or sending emails to get a meeting with their sales team. He said, “The funny thing is just about every business will utilize these forms of outreach.”
He continued to defend this role, “If only one person out of 500 phone calls buys something from us, we see a return on investment. So, yeah, it’s a profession that will likely only increase over time.”
5. Internet Trolls
An Internet troll looks to argue with random people on the internet. They will respond to posts or pictures somehow to get that person to react negatively. People believe “paid troll farms” are hired by political parties, media outlets, etc., to sway people.
6. Life Coach
Many solutions to life’s problems are simple, and the answers are easy to find. But a life coach charges for telling a person these solutions and how to live your life. If you think you’re overweight, here’s a gym regimen. If you want to learn to cook, here’s an easy recipe.
One user exclaimed, “These are all questions google would answer for you, for free!” these are all questions people used to turn to their friends for, but now either people don’t have lasting friendships, or they don’t feel comfortable opening up to the friends they have.
7. Social Media Officer
One user commented about a company she worked for that hired people whose job was to go through Instagram and “like” and comment on people they deemed attractive posts.
Another job was to follow a certain percentage of people each day. So people will see that brand X followed them and followed them back. Only those people don’t realize brand X unfollowed them the next day, so they could repeat the process of following more users.
8. Influencer Manager
Influencer managers make good money telling people how to optimize their channels and look for more ways to earn money outside social media. However, the one good thing they do is teach these people how to invest their money.
Being an influencer is a challenging job. Many have to sacrifice more than the 9-5 days and spend more than that on their content. But a few 18-hour days can turn into months of income. All for other people who think they need to follow the latest trend, or at least what their favorite influencer says is the newest trend.
9. Multi-Level Marketing
Multilevel marketing, or MLM, such as Avon, Mary Kay, Amway, etc., have been around for years. Some users argued this was not a profession but a scam. But, he said, “this is the newest pyramid scheme, designed to make your friend that’s trying to recruit you rich.”
But MLM is not new, just much more advertised now that we have social media, and the people who sell them no longer have to rely on going door-to-door.
10. Medical Insurance Companies
Several users stated the medical insurance industry is the United States’ biggest scam. They claim we pay more for insurance individuals than other countries charge to care for theirs.
One user said, “Beyond that, the cost-reducing policies of insurers create a product (the care itself) focused on saving a little now and not on the patient’s long-term health. So, an inherently inferior product, but at least it’s expensive.”
Read the original thread here.
This article was produced and syndicated by Femme on FIRE.