• toynbee@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    That sounds like the kind of thing that could easily, and perhaps should, be automated.

    • addie@feddit.uk
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      3 months ago

      In which case, the job becomes transferring the bottled samples into sample tubes in trays so that the machine can process them, and usually adding a barcode to each sample tube. The sample tubes need to be kept immaculate as well - some of the things that we test water for, like pesticides, are only present in miniscule concentrations. Might not actually save a great deal of time, and you need to buy and maintain a very expensive automated sampler.

      When I used to work in the water industry, we were usually able to get PhD-qualified research chemists to do all this mind-numbing laboratory work. There’s a bit of a surplus of qualified chemists compared to the number of chemist jobs available, so you got absurdly over-qualified people applying for these roles.

      • Frostbeard@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        I specifically did not specialize in analytical chemistry because of this. It’s relatively easy to get a job, but it’s mind numbingly boring to do the same tests over and over and over.

        I did physical chemistry. No jobs but at least no one knows what the fuck you can do.

        (Incidentally I managed to get a job with energetic materials where my education is occasionally relevant)

    • way_of_UwU@programming.dev
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      3 months ago

      I did automation work for a sewage treatment center that did regular water testing as part of treatment. Most of these kinds of jobs are automated for the most part. There’s always a human operator present to supervise and to do some small function that is still cheaper to have done manually instead of by machine.

    • fckreddit
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      3 months ago

      Thing is most of water testing can be automated. There are electronic meters that can measure most important water properties like pH, electrical resistivity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, etc, which only require calibration from time to time. I am not sure why OOP was hired for manually testing water.

    • Comment105@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Why do that when you can provide jobs to the needy?

      Making people do work is inherently valuable even if it’s unnecessary, monotonous, pointless, soul crushing work, is it not?

        • Comment105@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          We can’t be feeding people who do no work. It is much better that they be put to it than have the task “solved” by some brainiac who would rob them of the fulfillment of employment.

            • Comment105@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              I would not joke about this, these are the serious affairs of adult men and women, who could and should do their best to contribute to our civilization.

              Where would we be as a society if those who craft advertisements were instead free to to roam about doing as they please all day? I’ll be dead before we are a nation of aimless frolickers.

              • JovialMicrobial@lemm.ee
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                3 months ago

                Aimless frolicking sounds like a great deal to me.

                Imagine how fit everyone would be if we could spend all day frolicking about instead of being at a desk 8+ hours a day.

                • howrar@lemmy.ca
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                  3 months ago

                  Imagine all the science we could do if scientists didn’t have to worry about funding to stay alive.

                  • JovialMicrobial@lemm.ee
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                    3 months ago

                    We would have a much better world to live in, and scientists wouldn’t be pressured to only study things that can be immediately monetized.

                    Have you ever heard of orphan diseases? They’re conditions that are so rare that it’s not profitable to research them and find cures/treatment because the population of people who need it is so small.

                    Some countries counter this by using government funding to research rare diseases but the progress is much slower since the funding is limited.

                • Comment105@lemm.ee
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                  3 months ago

                  An intellectual exercises his mind primarily, his body is well served by half an hour.

                • Asafum@feddit.nl
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                  3 months ago

                  They are absolutely trolling. Check the examples they use in their comments: “advertisers” and another comment pointed to “Mobil game development” specifically as important and useful work.

                  Poes law at work with them, they’re pretty convincing that they are serious while still leaving little hints that they are messing around.

                  • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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                    3 months ago

                    Right? The “craft advertisements” was definitely the one that is for punctuation of their trolling but I’ll give it the downvotes they want.

          • MonkderVierte
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            3 months ago

            We can’t be feeding people who do no work.

            But we could.

            who would rob them of the fulfillment of employment.

            A boring job isn’t fulfilling and mental underload leads to burnout.

            There’s exactly one reason to do work: getting living money. If you can make a living from your hobby or your job is otherwise fulfilling, that’s nice for you.