The Most Mind-Numbing Jobs?

[BristolCavendish]

For those who suspect that BC comes up with certain OP topics merely for sake of antagonizing the TRF community, here's one that I raised this afternoon at a casual lunch gathering and I'd like to pass it on.

The question was, "In your opinion what is the most mind-numbing job you can imagine?" While the responses were far too many to list, here's a condensed listing of agreed upon occupations.

(1) Processing driver's licenses/vehicle registrations at the DMV
(2) Being a toll-booth attendant at a bridge or turnpike
(3) A topless go-go dancer

There are probably innumerable others. Feel free to add your choices and/or previous job experiences. I've got a few of my own as well.

And for the sake of everyone's potential enjoyment, entertainment and perhaps even a key insight or two, let's keep it civil and pre-IBTL.

[Runnin' Rebel]

Being a (Mod)on here reading all (this) mind numbing trash. And (not) getting paid

Cheers (to) them if the enjoy it (all) the better

[brandrea]

I suppose it will vary depending on the person, but for me, any repetitive type of job like working on an assembly line.

[tamiya]

Drug trial guineapig for an experimental sleeping pill?

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

(1) Processing driver's licenses/vehicle registrations at the DMV
(2) Being a toll-booth attendant at a bridge or turnpike

#1 could be braindeadening if you're thinking Selma & Thelma Simpson... but the ones I've dealt with are usually reasonably alert. Some of them are even petrolheads & quite interested in what oddity I need inspecting

Ditto #2 if you're a fancy car spotter type... getting paid to spend all day staring at traffic could be a dream for some.

Heh!

[swils8610]

The person that holds the stop/go sign on a road construction job.


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[rr-nyc]

Toll booth attendant gets my vote, especially out of the ones you listed

[Star Ferry]

in korean corporations (and probably a few other countries), the company is not always in a position to fire unwanted office workers. as a result, I've heard stories of people collecting a paycheck for years without being assigned any work whatsoever. now THAT is boring, and I'd much rather be at the toll booth with a real task to complete

[GMTMasterII44]

Not sure if they employ these guys/gals anymore but outback used to employ people that all they did all day long was cut up those thick Croutons for their salads.

[austinp]

My first job was pulling weeds in a garlic field. Mind numbing indeed.

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[Old Expat Beast]

One of my first full time jobs, in the early 80s, was inflating footballs in a sporting goods warehouse. To break the monotony we could alternate this with the equally mundane task putting pairs of goalkeeping gloves in boxes. As soon as I had saved some money I hitch-hiked to the South of France and never looked back.

[Danny83]

Probably a mall cop

[Alexwwjd]

A cashier at Walmart.


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[Rock]

I'm thinking maybe a job that involves crap working conditions AND pressure as well as mindnumbing work, so maybe standing in a hot shed beside a fast moving conveyor belt sorting potatoes into big, medium and small.

For me it was in the '70s (pre-computers) working for Social Security manually calculating rates of welfare payments for clients based on changes in their circumstances.
You do 100 files a day and there were another 100 files to do the next day.

[KarlS]

polishing the heads of screws for all the watches we collect

[Wesley Crusher]

One cold morning this past winter, my boss and I walked out of the office to get some coffee and I noticed a woman sitting on the street corner sitting in one of those foldable chairs that you bring to sporting events. She was wearing a thick jacket and covered in blankets. She also had one of those tally counters in her hand.

My boss said that the city hires people to sit at intersections and count how many cars pass by on the green lights. This information is apparently used to make sure that the lights are working properly.

I felt bad for the poor lady because she looked miserable...

[MonBK]

Watching paint dry.

[Ruud Van Driver]

I don't know about boring but I couldn't clean public bogs for a living. Ew. Just ew.

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by KarlS

polishing the heads of screws for all the watches we collect

I've made and polished a few, it's fun to do.
Unless that is your ony job of course, that wouldn't be fun.

[fmc000]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

in korean corporations (and probably a few other countries), the company is not always in a position to fire unwanted office workers. as a result, I've heard stories of people collecting a paycheck for years without being assigned any work whatsoever. now THAT is boring, and I'd much rather be at the toll booth with a real task to complete

Happens every time and everywhere here in Italy, sadly. I have an extraordinary example of this in my office, a guy who just walks back and forth from his desk to the recreation room, every day, 8 hours a day.

[Rock]

I've worked with a lot of those folks - they're called "Managers".

[ejvette]

While working my way thru college I had a union job as a night custodian at an elementary school we were assigned basically 2.5 hours of work and had 8 hours to do it in and as a young man with a strong work ethic I found this horribly unbearable you had to pretend to be busy.

[superdog]

I see people packing ecommerce sales nto boxes all day, everyday.

Incredibly mundane.

[VaRobot]

Many mind numbing jobs are known as "Unskilled Labor".

Such a job is putting frozen chicken into boxes for shipment to Wal-Mart. This job is/was mind numbing and causing repetitive motion injury. No Human should be manually loading boxes 40 hours a week.

The company I work for replaced humans doing this with Robots. No more injuries, no more mind numbing job. "Unskilled Labor" is not a title you want associated with your name.

[THC]

The most mind numbing thing imo, is wanting a job and not getting hired anywhere

[Moggo]

I think any job where you are either not entitled to an opinion or your opinion is completely ignored even when valid.

I've worked for many managers who have no capacity to accept alternative opinion, that gets tiring quickly.


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[greggsiam]

Working retail, all the entitled and nasty customers
Working in a factor would drive me nut with repetitive actions

Top honors goes to this dude that has the job of cleaning sewers in India

[hugs]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

in korean corporations (and probably a few other countries), the company is not always in a position to fire unwanted office workers. as a result, I've heard stories of people collecting a paycheck for years without being assigned any work whatsoever. now THAT is boring, and I'd much rather be at the toll booth with a real task to complete

That would be a dream job for many people over here.

Especially these days when they can bring their smartphone to work.

[locutus49]

In the summer between college semesters, my job was to screw door hinges on wooden kitchen cabinet doors in a cabinet factory. Mind-numbing. At least I got paid to screw for a living.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by VaRobot

Many mind numbing jobs are known as "Unskilled Labor".

Looking back and from personal experience, some of my earliest jobs would fall under this category. In between college semesters (summer break), I've worked on an assembly line at HP mounting transformers and PC guides onto aluminum chassis, sorted/routed outgoing mail at the USPS, and manually collated/stapled stacks of paper (before stuffing them into envelopes) at a county office during the course of an eight hour shift + occasional overtime. About the only thing to look forward to (other than the paycheck) were 2-15 minute breaks, a 30 minute lunch period and finally being able to go home following completion of the shift. It was about this time that I began drinking beer after work (a tradition/habit that carries on into today).

These 'vocational' experiences encouraged me to complete college (although it took 5 years for a BA) and ironically, some of my earliest post-college jobs also fell into the 'flunky' category as well. Retail sales can be pretty mind-numbing (especially when/if you don't have a genuine interest in the merchandise you are selling) and warehouse work leaves something to be desired as well.

When it comes to fulfilling one's dreams/aspirations, times can be tough for any generation. While it's easy to look back and wax nostalgic for certain past scenarios and opportunities, the late 1960s through 1980s were oftentimes no picnic either which is one of the reasons I often find myself tired of hearing Millennials complaining about the world they have inherited from their predecessors.

[East Bay Rider]

In my younger days during a transition period I worked on an assembly line at a shoe manufacturing factory in Western Maine. My job was to assemble/glue the straps over a shoe-last in order to make women's sandals. My boss at the time once asked how I was liking the job. I told him that I found it a challenge. His eyes lit up - bosses love the word challenge. I told him it was a challenge coping with the mindless tedium of shoe assembly line work.