read it? is it worth a read?

it doesn’t seem to mention the two most obvious types

  • agents - people whose only job is intermediating, forwarding emails between a business and a customer, but not letting then talk directly. like employment agents who won’t reveal the name of the company, because they know you could just talk to each other directly: the agent knows he is useless.

  • police, military, bouncers - people who spend 99% of their time doing nothing, standing around on street corners. when they do anything, it is only to fight, beat or kill normal working/productive people.

  • BartsBigBugBag@lemmy.tf
    11·
    1 year ago

    It’s really a great book, but if I were going to recommend Graeber to someone for the first time, I’d probably recommend Debt: The First Five Thousand Years. I think if you’re specifically after what Bullshit Jobs is offering, you’ll enjoy it well enough though. lol I just saw this was two years old.

  • OsrsNeedsF2P
    4·
    3 years ago

    I haven’t read the book, but based on the Wikipedia dissertation of which jobs are bullshit I kind of disagree. Take for instance this one, which isn’t a strawman:

    goons, who act to harm or deceive others on behalf of their employer, e.g., lobbyists, corporate lawyers, telemarketers, public relations specialists, community managers;

    Good luck having a gaming company without community managers. The developers are usually so boggled down with bugs and infrastructure they don’t have the time or are too burnt out to talk to the community. While you could then blame this on many other things, excellent community managers (I’m from the gaming industry and speak anecdotally) can nearly completely mitigate the problem.

    These jobs might not seem too important, but without them, customers don’t feel good, and if they’re spending money they’re spending it to have a good time. It’s not about practicality, it’s about giving them something that lets them live life in the moment.

    • roastpotatothiefOP
      2·
      3 years ago

      that probably applies to all his categories. lobbyists can be valuable too. like the local cycling advocate group who every year meets the local council and tries to explain how to fix the godforsaken road network.

      tbh there are special circumstances where even agents and soldiers can have a valuable pace in society. **" i had no idea what community managers are. thanks for explaining. i guess there are bad/useless ones too? maybe in other industries the vast majority are useless. I’ll have to read the book.

  • tomtom
    2·
    3 years ago

    I liked it.

    I do not think his book is so much about which jobs are bullshit, but rather about the social/psychological effects of working in a job you yourself find to be bullshit.

    • BartsBigBugBag@lemmy.tf
      11·
      1 year ago

      Lmao, that was a terrible critique. Thanks for sharing though, I always enjoy reading opposing viewpoints, even when they’ve no real constructed argument.

      • Tedesche@lemmy.world
        12·
        1 year ago

        I thought the argument was pretty clear: his claims aren’t backed up by the data.

        • BartsBigBugBag@lemmy.tf
          21·
          1 year ago

          It was less than a page of “critique” trying to address hundreds of pages of research. It doesn’t even pretend to examine his research thoroughly, and focuses on a single survey done, neglecting the entire argument the book makes, and nearly all data it presents.

  • leanleft
    1·
    3 years ago

    no job… is the best job.
    money is overated.
    do something you enjoy (or hate the least).