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47 Older People List Once Popular Jobs That Have Since Vanished In 2024
Interview With Expert
Adapting to the world changing around you is a core part of human life. You don’t necessarily have to like those changes all that much. But if you want to survive and thrive, you have to be somewhat flexible. Enter—stage left—your career. The odds are that your current workflow is going to shift a ton in the near future due to changes in technology. Meanwhile, you might even find that your job, as a concept, goes extinct because the demand plummets.
It’s a part of life. And you’re not the first to feel anxious. In a viral online thread, the older professionals of Reddit spilled the beans about what jobs have pretty much vanished in their lifetimes, from telephone and elevator operators to ice and milk delivery people. Scroll down to read their experiences, Pandas. Oh, and be sure to tell your careers not to worry—it’s important never to panic.
Bored Panda got in touch with Jaime-Alexis Fowler, the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Empower Work, for her thoughts about the future of work and how to respond to change. Meanwhile, we also reached out to u/tshirtguy2000, who sparked the interesting online thread, for their insights. You'll find both of our interviews as you scroll down.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Telephone operators. aprehensivebad42:My mom was an operator for decades! She went from the switchboard (“number please”) to early computers (the mainframe took up an entire floor and you could walk around inside of it)
Michael Fernandez 1 year ago
One of my many part time jobs was as night operator for my college 45 years ago. One incoming phone number and about 20 simultaneous lines, and I’d have to plug them into the right campus extension on a switchboard that looked the one pictured. The worst nights were when earthquakes occurred, because every news organization would immediately call the same place: Caltech. I'd have to spend the rest of the night watching blinking lights, gradually connecting everyone who i'd put on hold as the one or two geology spokespeople finished up their calls. I developed a very clear, patient talking voice, though, which has benefited me greatly.
Bill 1 year ago
I saw a picture on here of them loading 8 gigs of ram onto a truck with a forklift years ago. It looked as big as a ... I got writers block here, should I compare the size to a random object like we americans do, or give the actual measurements and if so metric or imperial? Hmmm. It was as big as a giant crate of bananas.
TMTMTMTM 1 year ago
She doesn't care. She doesn't have to. She's from the phone company.
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aldebar 1 year ago
The story about why this job was phased out is even better: Almon Strowger was an undertaker who began losing clients because his rival's wife worked as a phone switch operator. He invented the Strowger switch out of spite, which automated the process and eventually caused his rival's wife to lose her job. The thing is, it also caused many other people to lose their jobs too.
Philly Bob 1 year ago
Telephone operator why can't I see ya later? - little Pete Shelley referance!
ZGutr 1 year ago
Ahhh the good old days I maintained the PBX for a European support call-center. One of my fist jobs and one of the most interesting ones too. Unbelievable all the functions and possibilities that lie beyond those 12 buttons. Moved to network engineering, same story. Everyone takes those functions for granted while there is a world behind it. The whole IT beyond the scenes is fascinating.
Plant Wizard 1 year ago
I had a short term job operating a telephone board for a local newspaper so I guess I fit into two categories here. :)
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
My mum worked the phone switchboard in her first job. She also took dictation that she wrote in shorthand before typing it.
John Nelson 1 year ago
When I was in the USAF back in the early 80's, part of my duties was the occasional rotation as a phone operator when the civilian operators came up short handed. It was the old style switchboard, bakelite headset, 1/4 inch jacks, etc. from WW2. I do a pretty decent Ernestine impression, and I couldn't resist! I had the girls in tears laughing, and I became top of their list of temp operator requests. Oddly enough, not one caller even caught on, and even asked about "her" now and then when I was back to regular duty. :)
Research shows that the rise and spread of generative artificial intelligence tools is going to have a large impact on the global economy. However, it’s unclear how extensive that impact will be. Some researchers believe that how we work will fundamentally change and are ringing the alarm bells. Others are more grounded and think that new and previously unheard-of job opportunities will replace (at least some of) those that fall by the wayside.
The Guardian reports that AI may displace between 1 and 3 million private sector jobs in the United Kingdom, based on research done by the Tony Blair Institute, a think tank. According to the Institute, you might see between 60k and 275k British jobs displaced every year, over the next couple of decades, as the peak of the disruption.
However, the “ultimate rise in unemployment will be in the low hundreds of thousands as growth in the technology also creates new roles.” Currently, over 33 million people are employed in the UK. The country is the 6th largest economy globally, by GDP.
RELATED:
#2
Gas station attendant, as in Pumps your Gas for you, washes the windshield, checks your fluids and performs minor repairs (ie.. Brake Lamps, Headlamps, Belts, Battery, etc...) (I was one and it was hectic at times but, overall a fun job).
Mich 1 year ago
Come to New Jersey! My mom, who is in her mid-80s and a lifelong New Jersey resident, says she does not think she has EVER pumped her own gas. (I love full service and it is cheaper than surrounding states.)
Gémeaux jumeaux 1 year ago
Came here to say, New Jersey at your full service! (Well, minus all the window washing and fluid checks -- those are things of the past. But the gas is still pumped for you.)
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Robert Trebor 1 year ago
I think New Jersey still requires an attendant to pump your gas, and maybe parts of Oregon.
David 1 year ago
I remember when this was common. They were frequently called service stations instead of gas stations (you heard both) because you actually got service. Then for years many stations had both. Self service pumps but usually at least one island dedicated to full service. That's also around the time they introduced savings for self serve. Full service was more for rich people or people who due to age / ability / whatever didn't want to pump themselves. TRIVIA - Oregon (my neighbor state) didn't allow self pump gas until 2023 and there is an effort going on to reverse that.
Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
My dad called them "filling stations." As in, stop at the filling station and get some gas.
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Plant Wizard 1 year ago
Yep New Jersey still has it as law. Cant pump your own gas. Dont really know why but saves me getting out I guess.
Ntandwenhle 1 year ago
South Africa has attendants at every petrol station, we do not even have to get out the car unless you need to go into the petrol station shop.
Sophia Petrova 1 year ago (edited)
In Bulgaria (and other parts of Europe) you will not find a gas station without such people. Once they were all busy and I did it myself and they looked angrily at me as I have done a crime...
Jallamedalla 1 year ago
I encounted this in Spain this summer. I rolled in, started pumping petrol and a tiny, spanish middle aged man came over and demanded he would take over the job. It was kind of awkward to me, as in "do you not think I know how to pump my own petrol?".
#3
Today it's hard to believe there was a need for elevator operators. But they weren't always automated. I remember growing up in the 50's, and what few buildings in our town had elevators, there was always an operator. A New York city operator strike in the 40's led manufacturers to create the elevators we have today.
The Mediterranean Fruit 1 year ago
I knew just about every job on this list once exsisted and I am the younger generation. I was raised on old TV shows and movies, they have a lot of random information
David 1 year ago
Fruit, Yeah, if a person watches older movies and period pieces you see a lot of (mostly true) stereotypes to set the mood / time frame. I've ridden in elevators with operators but only a few times as they were becoming less common during my childhood.
Load More Replies... Dawn Woolley 1 year ago
I grew up in the late 1940s, early 1950s. They were often returned servicemen with some kind of war injury.
John Dilligaf 1 year ago
only in the USA. Japan still has elevator operators. Or at least they did last time I was there.
Michael Largey 1 year ago
An office building downtown had human elevator operators - all in their sixties - for all its elevators. Only when an operator retired were they replaced with an automated system.
On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund warned that AI might affect almost 40% of all jobs, globally. A poll by Adecco Group and Oxford Economics, looking at the opinions of executives, found something similar. 41% of the respondents said that they expect to employ fewer people due to AI.
Goldman Sachs sees things slightly differently. It predicts that 18% of global work could become automated due to generative AI, somewhat ironically affecting advanced economies the most. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum believes that most digitization and automation-related job losses will occur in administrative, clerical, secretarial, factory, and commerce roles.
We asked Fowler about the 'soft' skills that all employees can develop, irrespective of their career paths. "Skills that are uniquely human and connective will always have value," the founder of Empower Work told Bored Panda in an email.
"For example, the ability to listen deeply, ask powerful questions, and collaborate across differences are fundamentals of human interaction that can apply to tough problem solving or interpersonal challenges."
#4
Almost every job in the printing industry. Type setters, strippers, pressmen, etc. 1 in 5 jobs was associated with the printing industry at one point. Former paper salesman here. I watched it fade.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
Linotype: The Film - In Search of the Eighth Wonder of the World (2020) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDM-EbDCiQg
David 1 year ago
I find myself wondering how much is automation and how much is less printing of certain types. Even in the early 90s, color in newspapers was done my manual masking /cutting and burning a negative plate for each desired color. Ad photos were physically cut out and attached to the master with beeswax. (Advertising papers I was involved in) Now full color separations are just done on the computer and sent in on USB or online. But also - millions of tons of newspapers not being printed every day.
Gémeaux jumeaux 1 year ago
My maternal grandfather owned and ran his own printing press. Some 50 years after he had passed (prematurely), my parents were cleaning out my *paternal* grandparents' home, upon their passing as well (in old age). One item they came across in my father's parents' home was an old, old notepad that had been printed and stamped by my mother's father at his old printing press, all those years prior. My mother had never given any of her father's notepads to her in-laws... they just happened to have some in their home, and no one had ever realized the connection. The press was long gone, but the paper had stood the test of time!
Torben Møller-Nielsen 1 year ago
When computers entered to world of business in the 80ies, the first DTP programs came along. You could just cut out a whole section of the publishing industry and gain control of the final product - for better or for worse. But you saved a ton of money and lots of time.
Ripley 1 year ago
I remember reading about the heavily uniionised UK print industry, and how many of the printworkers were obscenely overpaid. There seems to be a fine line between worker protections and the industry just finding ways to automate the processes so they don't have to pay increasing salaries.
#5
Rag & Bone man (UK) would collect old clothes/ small items or bric a brac to recycle. Always a horse drawn flat back wagon
Coal man, the same as above by horse and full of sacks of coal
Chimney sweep, to clean out all the open fire hearths and chimneys.
Joe Reaves 1 year ago (edited)
We still have a rag and bone man and he has a horse and cart too! And yes one of my friends did ask me if I moved to the 19th century when I mentioned it.
G A 1 year ago
We have them locally but they use flatbed trucks with cages in the back.
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Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 1 year ago
Chimney sweeps still exist, although they are much more specialized these days
Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
Chimney sweep are still around and kind of hard to find. If you have a fire place or wood stove you are supposed to have a chimney sweep clean your chimney every 2 years for insurance coverage. My husband bought the right size brush some long rope and we did it ourselves. Our agent has known him since he was a kid and watched us do it. My husband was on the roof, lowered the rope down the chimney tied to a brick. I united it, attached it to the chimney brush and he pulled it up. He dropped the brush and we did it several times, I cleaned out the outside access and dumped that in the woods. The agent called the insurance company and told them he watched us clean our chimney and he was more than satisfied with how clean it was. That was after us using chimney sweeps and I have no idea of how much it was back then.
Tortitude 1 year ago
We had a sweep come when we had an open fire in a previous house. Was disappointed that he didn't turn up in a cap with a dodgy cockney accent
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Spencer's slave no longer 1 year ago (edited)
And the pop delivery truck! So many different flavours. I miss dandelion and burdock, we can't get it in NZ.
G A 1 year ago
Have a look and see if you can get the cordial version, and mix it with some sparkling water. Would be cheaper to import via post too than the ready mixed version.
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Pa Pa Panda 1 year ago
Chimney can be a DIY if your not disabled. I do mine twice a year, on Amazon I found a brush that hooks to a 1/2 inch drill and you insert the brush from the bottom rather than the top. No more getting up on the roof.
John Nelson 1 year ago
I need one of those. Our local sweep wants $300 for a low roof stovepipe of about 12ft.
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Mark Littlefield 1 year ago
Chimney sweeps are still a thing. Believe me, after a flue-fire I kept his number on my refrigerator.
#6
Delivery of Telephone books. I remember those big thick things being dropped on our doorstep.WirejackI was still receiving them up until about 10 years ago... Haven't had a land line in 25 years, so not sure why I was getting it. Glad they finally stopped, I always threw them straight into the recycle bin.
Gémeaux jumeaux 1 year ago
The phone book had the best maps!! I'd pore over those as a kid, learned a lot about how to navigate my way around by the time I was driving. So, telephone books went... and with them, printed maps.
ZGutr 1 year ago
Not just delivery! At school (the Netherlands in the 70's/80's) we held competitions in collecting the old ones after the new ones where distributed. They weight a ton so schools collected them, sold them as old paper to get some extra money. Okay ... not a job, just a trip down memory lane :(
linda harbin 1 year ago
I miss those huge thick telephone books! Sure could use one for my 3yo granddaughter to sit on at the dining room table!
Marno C. 1 year ago
You know, those could come back. People went to online search engines to find out contact information for local business, but thanks to the enshittification of search engines, search tag abuse and companies that pay for top placement, you often don't get relevant responses without scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.
David 1 year ago
Good riddance. Phone books served a need for many years. Then my use of them trickled down to not at all because it was easier to google a number than to walk over and get the phone book (and my reading glasses). The last several years I was receiving phone books I would put the new one in the cabinet, remove the plastic from last year's unused phone book and put it and book in the recycle. And for a while due to competing companies I was getting three different phone books delivered to me. So many wasted trees. Last I knew - still available at phone company and certain drop points if you want one, but no longer auto delivered to your mailbox.
Kayleigh haigh 1 year ago
My husbands friend delivered these did it up until last year they were BT phone books doncaster uk
According to Fowler, it's normal to feel anxious amidst many unknowns. "Worry is a natural human emotion and can be a signal for us to pay attention. The question is how to use that signal in ways that move us forward. For those who are feeling concerned about changes in their jobs, industries, and more, spending time reflecting on skills you have, areas you may need to grow, and getting support to think through areas you may be missing can be important," she said.
"There are great platforms like SkillUp where you can look at different career pathways or resources like Empower Work where you can chat with a trained peer counselor. The one known is that there will be change—and what we have control over is how we respond to it," Fowler suggested. If you face challenges at work and need support, you can visit the Empower Work website or contact their text line at 510-674-1414.
#7
TV repairman (and yes, it was always a man).Wards_CleaverMy uncle was a TV repairman for many years. After he passed, we cleaned his house out, and he had scores and scores of vacuum tubes and repair manuals.
JoNo 1 year ago
Years ago, a repairman came to look at my parents' fridge (where they got a repairman from I do not know). He said the fridge couldn't be fixed for a reasonable price and to get a replacement. "But this is the new fridge" exclaimed my mother, "we've only had it 12 years" lol. The old fridge had lasted over 30 years.
Load More Replies... Justin Tyme 1 year ago
My uncle repaired televisions for about 60 years. He also installed and repaired cable television system. He got out family free cable for a few years.
Awesome Rob 1 year ago
This one's funny. My family had one come for our LG flat screen to fix the HDMI slot that. Didn't work out anyway.
Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
When was the last time you saw "snow" on your TV screen? Or the vertical or horizontal hold was on the fritz?
David 1 year ago
My grandma owned the bunny ears in that photo. Kind of distinctive due to the round base and round UHF antenna. Much more common was the 'bowtie' design. Early 90s I worked for a franchised Radio Shack. He was one of the real deal old school Radio Shacks with lots of parts and an in house TV / electronics repair person. (I was the computer person). Upstairs in storage he had a ton of old vacuum tubes from back when they were commonly used. He still (rarely) sold one once in a while but mostly they gathered dust.
S. E. in Indiana 1 year ago
My uncle was one also. He had the neatest work bench in his basement to check all kinds of electronics.
#8
Going but not gone: we have a milkman who delivers up to twice a week. They come by every two weeks, delivering to the milkbox by our door. It's a luxury, but worth it.
Bill 1 year ago
Cold milk frrom a glass bottle. If you have only ever had it from plastic, paper, or in some places a bag. You would not believe how much better it tastes.
Ace 1 year ago
My childhood memories of drinking milk from a glass bottle do not include the idea of said milk being chilled. Daily deliveries were the rule for everybody, with a little indicator saying how many pints you need in case you've still got some left over from yesterday. We didn't have a fridge till I was 8 or 9 and I think the milk still lived on the marble shelf in the pantry even once we got (a small) one.
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Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
I remember the milk truck coming to my cousin's house in the late 70's maybe early 80's. They have always used a lot of milk, they still buy 4 gallons at a time, I don't remember how many gallons it was years ago.
Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
The milkman came to our house twice a week - 4 gallons of whole milk plus a gallon of skim for my mom. For a few years, the milkman would knock on the side door, open it and call out "milkman!" Then he immediately headed for the kitchen and put the milk right in the refrigerator. Family of eight, so yeah, we drank a lot of milk.
Load More Replies... Plant Wizard 1 year ago
Don't forget the yogurt pots to keep the tits from pecking the tops off and drinking the cream! (for those who don't know tits are a kind of small bird)
Philly Bob 1 year ago
The best, freshest milk!! We in Philly, had Sealtest and Harbingers. Early 60's when the cream was on top!
Brian Droste 1 year ago
I remember my mom always bought milk from the store but I had a aunt and uncle when I was younger I belived she had milk delivered to her house.
#9
My dad was a floor trader at the Chicago Board of Trade. Ya know, the kind that yells at the top of their lungs in brightly colored jackets. He didn’t even go to college. I used to work summers down there .
It’s all computers now.
ohmyjustme 1 year ago
My mom was a floor supervisor. No wonder she was always tired and headachy.
Vidas Zlioba 1 year ago
Those traders were loads of fun when you were having drinks with them (and they drank heavily). Every once in a while, you'd hear one casually remark, "I lost five million dollars in five seconds." They were never fazed by it.
Load More Replies... Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
The trading floors have always looked like total chaos to me! I will never understand how anything got done there.
MC C 1 year ago
actually, they still use chits at CBOT, it's the last trading floor in the US to still do so, they tried going to the computerized trading, but everyone hated it, all other trading floors in the US have gone this way, but not CBOT. for this reason, most stock footage you see of chits being swept up after a day of trading is from CBOT
Meanwhile, Bored Panda also got in touch with redditor u/tshirtguy2000, who was kind enough to share their perspective about the future of work. We were curious about their perspective on what types of jobs might be the most vulnerable to AI in the next few decades.
"I think clerical-type roles will be largely automated," the OP said, echoing the general sentiment among many researchers.
However, things aren't all grim. Other career paths might prosper because they're more resilient to being replaced.
#10
Fotomat attendant.Della-DietrichI loved this job during college! Once you sorted your envelopes you could do your homework, they didn’t mind. Also they would relocate you anywhere you wanted, they were everywhere.
In my area they all become locksmith shops; a handy place to get your keys copied.
Gémeaux jumeaux 1 year ago
The suspense of those undeveloped rolls and what mysteries they held!
David 1 year ago
LOL Have used. I more commonly dropped off my film at places like Costco back when that was a thing. Faster / cheaper. I don't miss it (much) though because I also remember traveling the world in the 80s, having to buy physical film for my camera and being limited on how many pictures I could take because both film and developing were kind of expensive if you were taking lots of pictures. I would LOVE to revisit some of the places I went with my Nikon digital.
#11
Toll collectors. There used to be manned booths on the PA turnpike, but that's completely disappeared.Ill-Vermicelli-1684You just took me back. I remember us digging around for change in the car to throw into the container as we went through the tollbooth.
Gémeaux jumeaux 1 year ago
I always felt for them and all the car fumes they must have inhaled
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
The second Severn bridge between England and Wales had toll collectors until 2018. Now the bridge is toll-free.
Auntriarch 1 year ago
When my dad found out how to tell if a pound coin was counterfeit or not, he always dropped the dodgy ones in the coin receipt tube.
Load More Replies... Philly Bob 1 year ago
Ya had to know someone in the higher ups to even get that! They made bank! I tried but it's a no go as it's politcal!
Ntandwenhle 1 year ago
South Africa...Toll collectors at all toll gates, but we have a new eTag or Cashless system too.
Linda Willis 1 year ago
In NYC the toll collectors were uniformed NYC Transit Police officers, carry guns. They finally figured out that it didn't take a trained police officer to collect tolls. I reckoned an orangutan with their long arms was better qualified for the job.
Nicole Weymann 1 year ago
Another one I skipped - no tolls in Germany (unless for trucks, and that is a recent development). The first three or five times paying toll in Italy, France, and Croatia stressed me out no end.
David 1 year ago
I have paid at manual toll booths. I don't live near one so if the manned booths have completely gone, I'm unaware. Makes sense though if a barcode reader / computer makes it unnecessary to have a person standing in the booth. The closest I still see is the border crossings and of course those are still manned.
Sand Ers 1 year ago
There are a variety of reasons why billing the vehicle owner is not reasonable as the only way to collect a toll. Many of which (but not all) boil down to "driving somebody else's car". There's also the issue of it making it easy to quietly raise tolls without people knowing it's coming and having an opportunity to publically object.
Load More Replies... #12
VCR repair tech.ehbowenThey came and went during my lifetime.
Although, to be fair, there's still a shop on the north side of town here which will work on old VCRs, among other electronics.
David 1 year ago
Michael, Yes, true for a lot of small electronics / appliances. I recently purchased a switch and light to repair a small oil filled space heater I have. Cost me about $25 for the parts. Still a little bit cheaper than a new unit but not by a lot. Currently my 75" LG TV has what I assume is a fairly minor problem where part of the back lights drop out once in a while - then work again if I turn the TV off and back on. Probably a small transistor / other part or maybe swap out a circuit board. Squaretrade's solution is they want to ship me a new TV, I keep the old one.
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Horosho Bodka 1 year ago
The local TV repair shop also does general electronic repair. My wife surprised me by getting my Razor Star Wars Stormtrooper headphones repaired, the dog had chewed the cable off. They put a new one on, from Razor, and I can't even tell it was ever broken!
Philly Bob 1 year ago (edited)
I made bank fixing VCRs! And back in the day when they were really expensive and someone tossed one.... I'd fix it and give it to... maybe a single mommy with kids or a senior with nothing. You have no idea how much they apprecited that!
Richman “Richman” Aust 1 year ago
Any kind of appliance repair is pretty much defunct. So much built-in redundancy and no-one to counter it.
"On the flip side, healthcare and social services will flourish," u/tshirtguy2000 shared their perspective. This is very likely to come true due to the need for human connection, empathy, and communication in these lines of work.
Bored Panda also asked the author of the thread what advice they'd give anyone who hopes to change their career path if they're worried about automation.
According to them, it would probably be best to focus on careers that still require human traits, such as empathy, judgment, creativity, strategizing, or others.
#13
My first job was in the mail room of a large company. pretty sure that job has dissappeared.OkWelcome6293Mail rooms exist, but the concept of intra-office mail was completely killed by the widespread adoption of email. People forget CC and BCC used to mean something!
G A 1 year ago
Weird, so many of these that I either worked or remember! I used to have to write up envelopes for associated offices, line up all the envelopes and use a wet roller to get them wet enough to stick. Then do up these plastic bags with little plastic arrows that could only be busted out as a security thing.
Justanotherpanda 1 year ago
Still exists, we have a mailroom, fully functioning. Lovely people.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
Come back, to carbon paper! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGkiiYvRh0Y
#14
Door to door vacuum salesman. They’d dump dirt on your carpet and would vacuum it up.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
Still have these. We had a Kirby salesman call a few years ago. Didn't buy it, obviously.
Julia Mckinney 1 year ago
I haven't seen one in a while but I do remember seeing a Kirby salesman sometime in the late 2000's.
Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
Kirby is still around. My son tried it a few years ago. They had him riding with 3 or 4 other guys and THEY sold some but he didn't make any money. He had to drive to their office so it actually cost me money in gas and lunch money for him. He was getting tired of it so I told him to quit because it was a waste of time, most people don't buy Kirby vacuums anymore. A few weeks later he was hired by Home Depot
Load More Replies... #15
Word processors used to be people. (My mom was one; you were considered extra-technical to be able to format a paper on a computer. Maybe…an IBM 8086? On Word Perfect?).
Ace 1 year ago (edited)
The 8086 was an Intel chip whose architecture (in the slightly modified 8088) was used in the first generation of IBM PCs. (It was further developed into the 286-486, thence Pentium processor range.) WordPerfect is possible, it was one of only a very few wp applications available in the early years of MS-DOS.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
How many people know what "Reveal Codes" means?
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John Nelson 1 year ago
Between the mainframes and home computers they did have word processors, that had an 8080 series chip in them. Basically a glorified workstation, your text appeared on a screen, but unlike a computer, the software was hard coded into the machine, it's all it did. They were phased out pretty quickly when the microcomputers came along. Though in the early 80's, there were typewriter style word processors for home use, that allowed the user to read their page on a narrow screen before hitting print and having the typewriter type it out. I had one of those, wish I'd hung onto it!
Certain skills and jobs are more resilient to the flow of time than others. Sure, no career is ever completely immune, but it’d be naive to think that every job has the same potential longevity.
For example, until you see competent, independent, and cheaply produced robots walking the streets, your hands-on job that involves a lot of manual precision is going to be safe. Anything related to building and fixing things is going to be resilient to change, even though we’ve seen lots of manufacturing jobs replaced by machines over the centuries.
Meanwhile, jobs that require high emotional intelligence and social finesse—e.g. doctors, caretakers, consultants, psychologists, etc.—also won’t be replaced by AI any time soon. Artists with a unique, soulful style also shouldn’t panic because there’s always going to be a demand for creativity with a fundamentally human touch.
#16
Paperboy.
Huckleberry2419The sound of the paper hitting the porch used to gently wake me up every morning.
JoNo 1 year ago
I can still get the morning paper delivered. It's so good to read it while having breakfast.
David 1 year ago
JoNo, Have done, but these days I read news online during my morning coffee.
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Elladine DesIsles 1 year ago
This hasn't completely disappeared, yet; my dad still gets a physical paper delivered two or three times a week. It isn't a job for kids or teens anymore, however. Like food delivery drivers, these jobs are mostly held by young adults who are either international students needing a little supplemental income, or recent immigrants working whatever jobs they can get while trying to establish themselves. Here in Toronto, at least.
Julia Mckinney 1 year ago (edited)
I miss those days (sometimes). I had a paper route for a neighborhood shopping circular way back in the early 70's. Yes, I was the only girl and no, the boys didn't give me too much grief.
Philly Bob 1 year ago
In Philly! The "Inkwire" LOL! Inquirer and the Daily News. But remember the "Bulletin!"
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
We still get both the local and national paper delivered, though the former is twice a week and latter only weekends. The job never pays much so there is high staff turnover.
#17
When I was very young I can remember the Iceman bringing blocks of ice to our house for refrigeration. I was probably about 4 years old when we got an electric refrigerator.
Moonie Pinkslip 1 year ago
We had an ice man in Australia, he'd bring big blocks of that went in the cooling cupboard, for meat and milk and cheese. Unreal!!
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
And where did they get it? Local lakes here in Michigan thru the winter, packed in sawdust to slow melting.
Moonie Pinkslip 1 year ago
I doubt that .... ours was in Australia. It's not all about America y'know, mate
Load More Replies... #18
Fuller Brush man.carwatchaudionutI sold Fuller Brush door-to-door while in Junior High. Probably around 69 ~ 70. Made pretty good money for a kid.
David 1 year ago
Patti, I believe you. I do too - I think. I remember seeing a few items when I cleaned out our family farm back around 2008 and I think I kept a couple of the brushes I thought I might use. Their products were generally well built.
Load More Replies... David 1 year ago
The Fuller Brush man is a positive memory for me. He'd come door to door every several weeks and if you let him pitch his wares you got a free item. Usually something small like a comb or a crevice brush but they were well made and stuff you would actually use. I was just the kid looking on but sometimes my mom let me have the free item. Especially if it was something like a comb.
Though it might seem like generative AI is ‘smart’ or 'gets' us, these tools are probability machines, not thinking or feeling ‘beings.’ Things might change in the far-off future when we get artificial general intelligence, but that’s likely a very long way off.
In the meantime, you can become more resilient to whatever career bizarreness comes your way by developing your personal brand, sharpening your skills (both old and new), networking with other professionals, and generally being a pleasant person to be around. You should never underestimate the power of being someone who it’s easy to work in a team with.
#19
Darkroom techs in Radiology departments. Everything is digital now. I remember our darkroom tech was blind. It was the perfect job for her.
#20
Tailors and dressmakers are rare now. Both those who do alterations and those who make clothes "to order."
Cobbler- shoe repair people. Also did other leather repair such as purse straps, luggage, etc.
Jewelry and watch repair for everyday items. Every little town used to have one. Now only at very high/expensive levels.
Small appliance repair. Toasters, coffee makers, waffle irons, wall clocks, etc. all used to be repaired.
Wallpaper hangers. There used to be people who did this full time. Now it's rare.
Photo studios. I know there are some left, such as wedding photographers. But there used to be many independent studios and in all the department stores, even KMarts, etc. where you could take your kids for photos or have engagement or other photos taken.
Upholsterers. Very hard to find now. I waited a year to get an old chair redone. My mom had her couch and living room chairs reupholstered regularly. Now people just buy new.
Catalog sales stores. There were small shops in rural towns like Sears stores where you'd place a catalog order and then go to pick up the delivery when they called you. This was not a Sears store like in the city. Just a small store with tables and chairs to sit at, go through catalogs, and fill out your order form. Or if you had a catalog at home, to drop off a pre-completed form there. Why do that? There was no shipping charge like if you mail ordered it to your home.
nomnomborkbork 1 year ago
I'm not sure where this person lives, but we have all of these stores/services except the catalog sales store in our town of 85,000 in northeast USA.
David 1 year ago
Nom, they exist but I think most of them are much less common than they used to be. Most clothing and shoes are throw away these days. Also a lot of jewelry and watches. Poorer countries seem more into fixing things. There are lots of little repair shops in the Philippines. Labor is cheaper / more available than new versions of the items being repaired. A SUPER common repair 'shop' (often just a patch of dirt on the side of the road) is places that vulcanize tires.
Load More Replies... Ripley 1 year ago
Many of these are still a thing. You can still get bespoke suits - they're just very expensive. Clothing alteration places are all over the place - I can think of at least 3 in malls in my area. Same with basic shoe repairs. Upholsterers do exist, but certainly are not as prevalent. I wouldn't say that any of these professions or services have vanished.
Auntriarch 1 year ago
I think it's more that they aren't so common. But they aren't even rare, much less disappeared
Load More Replies... PFD 1 year ago
Every shopping centre here has a cobbler (usually cuts keys, too). They seem to do small but steady trade. But most shoes today can't really be repaired.
Ace 1 year ago
Most high-street shoe repairers don't do anything involving stitching, largely limited to soles and heels; not exactly unskilled labour but nothing like the level of training and experience required to be a real cobbler. Thankfully a few still exist.
Load More Replies... Steve Robert 1 year ago
The last repair on my Rolex was $650. Still a lot cheaper than buying another one!
Moonie Pinkslip 1 year ago (edited)
Got all these in India--except the catalogue sales stores. Thank God.
Awesome Rob 1 year ago
"Catalog sales" still exist in some form. We can order things online and go for almost immediate same day pick up.
G A 1 year ago
There used to be a guy who would advertise in the paper from the Far East saying he was coming to make bespoke suits. I think he would hire a studio, measure someone up, phone their measurements through, and the suit would be made in the Far East and sent to the customer within days.
Heras buddy 1 year ago
I remember Hucksters they would sell fruits and vegetables of the back of a truck. Also sharpen knives. Don't know if they still exist but the companies that would hang canvas awnings in the spring then remove them in the fall.
#21
My father had a cigarette vending machine business. In his day, one of his employees put 2 cents change in between a double pack because it was 2 for 23 cents.
Bill 1 year ago
I don't remeber that cheap but I remember 75 cents from the machine. Everyone smoked everywhere. Restaurants, Department stores, Grocery store, Dr office, Hospital. Kent in particular had an ad that said Dr's say smoking is good for the lungs, then a cross section of the filter of asbestos lol. Now I'm 58 with cancer and copd and feel stupid for doing it to myself, for 43 years. I won't even get into the cost.
David 1 year ago (edited)
Bill, Sorry about your health. Yes to how they used to push them. I used to work for a property management company and one of the buildings they owned was a historic old hotel. When I was there - used for storage - since remodeled. But part of the carpet was pulled up and it was installed back in the days when they used old newspapers as carpet pad. It was wild looking at old Sunday comics that were sponsored by cigarette companies. Best price I remember for sure was when you could buy a carton for $10, so buck a pack.
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Bewarethere@gmail.com 1 year ago
I remember buying cigarettes. 4 the adults or out the vending machine. Aaahhh the good Ole days. 😁😁
Are you at all worried about your jobs getting replaced, dear Pandas? What careers or skills do you think will disappear in your lifetimes? Have you already seen some popular jobs (almost) completely vanish already? What career paths would you choose if money wasn’t an issue at all?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this. Grab your favorite beverage and scroll down to the bottom of the post to share your experiences in the comments section.
#22
I was a newspaper pressman for over 20 years. No luck getting another one of those jobs for me I think. After 2 layoffs from 2 different newspapers who ended production I would have to move out of state to find another newspaper job. This vocation is on the verge of extinction.
Gene Perry 1 year ago
My father was a pressman for 30+ years. Only job he ever had. Now, both he & the newspaper are gone.
Stephanie Lewis 1 year ago
my dad was also a pressman, he eventually got replaced by a computer system and took an early retirement package
Load More Replies... #23
Vacuum and sewing machine stores. My mom used to take hers in for repairs and had the same vacuum and sewing machine for years. Nowadays people just replace them every few years.
Julia Mckinney 1 year ago
I have to disagree with this one, there are at least 2 sewing machine repair stores in my smallish town.
Maisey Myles 1 year ago
There’s a place Near me that services sewing machines AND vacuum cleaners
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Damned_Cat 1 year ago
We have two stores where I live. Both have been family-owned for like 75 years or more. People don't realize it, but vacuum cleaners should be cleaned and inspected professionally every year or two to keep them in top working condition.
ohmyjustme 1 year ago
My 88 yr old mom gets my son to take her to the Singer shop every year for a clean and tune up.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
My mum and I still use the sewing machine repairman that she has used since she got her sewing machine in the 80s. He has had health problems recently so it takes longer for him to get them done but otherwise continues as normal.
Anonymouse 1 year ago
the trick is to find one with metal parts (gears) inside. Most of the cheaper ones are plastic... those are the ones worth repairing
Michael Largey 1 year ago
We have a vacuum repair shop that does excellent work. It also sells new ones.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
We have a vacuum cleaner store in my town. Been there forever and still going strong.
lenka 1 year ago
We still have a local sewing machine repairer. I've taken my machine in to him twice.
Auntriarch 1 year ago
I took mine to be serviced after lockdown, because I had used it so much. Wasn't cheap though, £45.
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Elladine DesIsles 1 year ago
The best vacuum I've ever owned was one that had belonged to my grandparents in the 1950s or 60s. I relied on it until they finally stopped manufacturing bags for it, probably 10-15 years ago? Since then, I think I've been through a half dozen new bagless vacuums, none of which were half as reliable. Although part of that is my fault, for my tendency to buy things that come in pretty colours instead of the ones with the best customer ratings!
#24
Repairmen in general. TV repair people. Stereo repair people. Even computer repair is probably going to be gone in a few years. We live in a disposable economy now where when things break they're replaced, not repaired.
Even big systems like central air conditioners are now becoming obsolete and no longer economically viable to repair (as the government keeps changing freon types and making the older coolants less available and more expensive).
The other day I bought a 1970s receiver at a thrift store. I was amazed at how "repair friendly" it was. While it didn't work properly when I bought it, I was able to get it fully-working in less than an hour with some basic electronics repair experience. It's a shame those days are long gone. Most modern electronics are difficult if not impossible to repair without very specialized, very expensive equipment.
Thee8thsense 1 year ago
Unfortunately, greedy mfs decided that built in obsolescence is ok, and given the attention span of the average consumer, they validate that greed by buying into some need for the latest, greatest itiration of devices.
David 1 year ago
Thee, UM... KIND OF? But much of the change in electronics is based on genuine advances in technology. I can remember when it was a big deal to own a digital watch and a hand held AM radio. I have owned / used tube based radios and TVs. Waiting for them to warm up, much higher power consumption, bulky / heavy, manual tweaking of signal adjustment trying to get it just right. Some stuff DOES have built in obsolescence but most of it is just BETTER.
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Robert Sissco 1 year ago
The big issue is that the components are getting more complex and difficult to repair without special equipment that costs thousands of dollars. I can repair my old Commodore computers no problem, but if my modern gaming computer has a broken component, then chances are that 9/10 times I do not have the equipment to repair it, and those that do charge more than it takes to just buy a refurbished part to replace it,
#25
Car Audio Installer. Best Buy even had a garage at the back for the techs to tear out the standard radio and put in those fancy new cd players...or cassette prior to that. As I recall, a cassette player was an upgrade on a new car that not everyone was willing to do.
David 1 year ago
These still exist (locally anyway) but the demand is less because the sound systems in many new cars are greatly improved from the cars of old. Back in the day, the radio in a car was practically an after thought. Most had a basic AM/FM and mono or maybe stereo speakers. But even my 2002 van has stock AM/FM/CD/Cassette with 8 speakers, decent volume, side and rear faders, lots of other features. And it is a dinosaur by today's standards. If you are not spending a bunch of money "pimping your ride" there isn't much point in custom stereo installs these days. Also, in the 70s you could usually access the radio just by laying on your back in the car. These days you might have to pull the engine and two of the tires. Exaggerating a bit for effect but you get my point.
Michael Largey 1 year ago
I live in a smaller community (200,000), and we have at least two businesses soley devoted to car audio.
Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
The Best Buy that my son got a new radio with Best Buy gift cards for Christmas wired it wrong. He went to another store and they thought he had done it himself until he pulled the paperwork out of the glove box. It was still under warranty but it was an installation problem and not the radio.
#26
Someone said 411, but if you are too young to remember, that was "Information". You called and could get someone's phone number. A live phone book, basically. I once called for the time...they were flexible.
Ace 1 year ago (edited)
In the UK it was known as "Directory Enquiries" and the number was 192, which is still used today in several websites offering similar services.
Moonie Pinkslip 1 year ago
Same in Australia, Directory Enquiries, and you'd ask for the number of a person: surname, address, and boom, you had their number
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Sven Horlemann 1 year ago
Oh, I remember, we sometimes dialled to get the exact time - some German number.
Heras buddy 1 year ago
555-1212 add area code for different city. There was no 411. Time and temperature was the electric company.
S. E. in Indiana 1 year ago
Information, Time, Weather, Movie times, etc. I was just fun to do. Miss those days.
#27
Drafting technicians have become CAD operators. Typist has become (different terms) but someone who formats documents instead of just typing them.
Data Entry Clerks are much less common. Instead of entering data, you just have to analyze supplied data.
John Nelson 1 year ago
I can still operate a punchcard machine... lol. If I could still write COBOL and RPG-II, I hear I could make the big bucks!
#28
Asbestos installer.
michiganwinter
And when they installed it, they do it without a mask or any dust protection with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth and now they’re wrapped up in plastic wearing a respirator.
Brian Droste 1 year ago
isn't asbestos a ban product now. If a older building needs to be torn down that has asbestos in it, whoever is tearing it down, don't they need to take extra precaution in tearing it down to protect the environment?
David 1 year ago
Brian, Yes, at least in the USA and I assume many other countries. This one is a bit misleading since an "asbestos installer" would basically be an insulator and those still exist, they just don't use asbestos. It's kind of like saying the job of "lead paint installer" doesn't exist. Painters still exist, they just use different paint.
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Papa 1 year ago
Asbestos siding on houses was common here decades ago. The carpenters would cut it with power saws, and it would have never occurred to them to wear any kind of mask to keep out the dust.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
And now the same thing is happening with silicosis for people using manufactured stone (actually they aren't still cutting it in Australia since a ban came in this year but still getting silicosis).
Load More Replies... Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
..and in our school's building rehab, mostly people who did not speak english. My understanding is they are paid quite well for the risk.
Julie S 1 year ago
We have asbestos in the roof of our garage and have just booked to have it removed it's costing £3,000.
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#29
Bike messenger. I moved to San Francisco during the height of bike messengers, and it was quite a sight to see hundreds of young, tattooed, punky-looking people with incredible calves riding up and down Market St. downtown every weekday.
Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 1 year ago
Downtown Houston still uses bike couriers for documents between companies where original copies are required. Mostly in regard to legal issues. Only a few companies still do it (usually part/branch of a bigger delivery service), and I've only ever seen them downtown, although the medical center may use them
Oerff On Tour 1 year ago
In Europe in innercity traffic, bike messengers are still a common sight. But now it's expanded with meal delivery bikes and even delivery of smaller home appliances and electronics. Much faster efficient
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
We still have a lot in Australia too. Easy job to get for people on working visas.
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Noyfb noyfb 1 year ago
In Washington DC in the 1980’s, bicycle couriers were THE way to get original paper documents fast. I always asked those sweaty road heroes what kind of bike they preferred. Some said road bikes with skinny tires. Some said mountain bikes with big, tough tires. A few preferred hybrids.
#30
Printing press operatiors.BabyKatsMomAs well as a slew of supporting jobs in the industry- typesetters, compugraphic operators, paste-up artists, process camera operators, scanners and Scitex operators, film etchers, strippers, plate makers, proofers, paper loaders, collators and bindery workers.
Robert Trebor 1 year ago (edited)
I remember in high school in 1965 going to the printer with the school paper. Oh the smell of molten lead, and the clickity-clack of the Linotype machine and there was an old Ukrainian man next door setting up his paper by hand from the fonts, which were wooden boxes withe types sorted in them. He was working with Cyrillic type, too.
#31
Secretary.
In the 80s and even early 90s every middle manager and up had a secretary to coordinate their schedule, type all sorts of things up, take their calls and messages, and often literally "guard" their door as they were generally stationed right outside your office. There were tons of them, they were always women. I had a shared one when I first started in my first corporate job as a junior individual contributor "manager" in the 90s.
Administrative Assistants these days seem more reserved for executives and serve as general purpose personal assistants doing what Secretaries once did and more. There are far fewer of them.
David 1 year ago
BLMA, Agree. Fewer of them these days (per x number of businesses) but every company with paperwork still has people who answer phones, prepare and file paperwork, schedule meetings and so on.
Load More Replies... Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
Dedicated Admins have always been reserved for higher ups. But every department I've ever been in, including current, had a shared Admin.
martin734 1 year ago (edited)
I still have a secretary and our department couldn't function without him. There is simply no way we could complete all of the admin work we need to, such as; updating patient records, scheduling appointments, liaising with patients and other healthcare professionals and doing the other 100 tasks that need doing, and still be able to actually treat our patients. He has been with the department as long as I have and when we have to hire temps to cover his holidays they are never as efficient as he is.
Andy 1 year ago
A lot of the physical work involved in doing a task though has changed though. If I want to set up a meeting now, in a couple of clicks I can set up the invite, add people from my contacts and send. It's in my calendar, I get automatic reminders that it is coming up, and before the meeting it takes seconds to search my emails for any relevant communication for it. In the past, if I wanted to have a meeting, I would need to provide a list of people to invite and a rough idea of when it should be. They would then need to go find the physical copies of the contact details in the rolodex, get out my calendar and find a suitable date. Then need call the attendees or their secretary to get them to check their schedule and set the meeting. In the run up to the meeting any historic paper correspondence or minutes from previous meetings that were relevant would need to be located and physically available in the run up to the meeting. What are now simple tasks took up a lot more of their work.
Load More Replies... Julia Mckinney 1 year ago
I could use a partial assistant just to help me whip my inventory backlog into shape.
#32
Y2K programmer. There were people who would travel to different companies and rework all of their software so that they would still work after January 1, 2000. They did a great job, and hopefully made a great deal of money, but after that, they had to go back to regular programming.
WindySwede 1 year ago
Someone: "but nothing happened!" - no, because they fixed it in time! Just like the ozone hole! Now still to fix it the rampage CO2 levels and hate/war..
Ace 1 year ago
I remember that I'd always worked on systems, from the early 1980s, that would inherently have been y2k proof. My first programming jobs were on IBM mainframes, dates would always be stored as simply numbers of days (or hours) from a set point in time. I couldn't get my head round how so many systems of the 1980s and 90s had been so poorly designed that they would need major re-work to fix them.
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Hidalgo 1 year ago
We brought back retired programmers who had written the original programs. At 100 k per year, probably 250 - 300 k in today’s money
Noyfb noyfb 1 year ago (edited)
The old computer languages — Fortran, Cobol, etc. — were long since obsolete, but MUCH old fundamental business programming was still written in those old languages as 1999 came to an end, and they did not know how to handle dates that did not begin with 19xx. The old programmers who knew the old languages had to be brought out of retirement to fix the current software of major businesses. Hence the Y2K ( I.e. year 2000) panic.
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#33
File clerk, 10 key operator, check manual processing at the banks. I was a bookkeeper at a bank.
ElfVibratorGlitter 1 year ago
Yas! 10 key! I'm a beast on those things but is it a skill anyone cares about?...not really.
#34
This has actually been one of the most ridiculous times for careers in mankind.
For hundreds if not of years, you could be reasonably certain that your children and their children would do what you did - or something similar (assuming of course, that they survived).
Now, the job that my father did (newspaper editor) is largely on its way out, while the job that I do (network engineer) will be largely affected by AI. I have no idea what to recommend my children do, study etc.
Hidalgo 1 year ago
In spite of the hysteria about technical jobs, the ‘soft’ skills as lawyers, trades as plumbers, and basic services have stayed pretty consistent. Really, virtually all the leaders and very wealthy studied history, marketing, or economics.
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
And any student who is unsure of what to do I ALWAYS urge trades. With boomers going out in droves the fields are wide open. "You can make $45k/yr starting BEFORE overtime".
Load More Replies... David 1 year ago
OP sounds kind of clueless. "For hundreds if not (thousands??) of years.." Yeah, NO. Printing has existed for thousands of years but the equipment / methods has changed drastically in just the past 100. Same for many jobs that still exist from carpenter to plumber to fireman. SOME jobs have become largely obsolete as other were created. Obviously less need for each town to have a horse stable now that so many people are driving those new fangled horseless carriages. /S People will always need some form of the basic services - eat / poop / shelter / clothing. Any job based on non-necessities or technology will come and go and evolve over time.
#35
I miss the fruit and vegetable trucks that slowly cruised neighborhoods in the summer with the dial and basket scale hanging off the back and the driver yelling “Apples! Bananas! Potatoes! Come And Get ‘Em!”.Few_Policy5764We had a seafood truck on Fridays come around. Very catholic neighborhood.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
We had one park outside our office building every day during the summer when I worked downtown until just a few years ago.
Elladine DesIsles 1 year ago
When and where did this exist?!? I remember the sharpening truck, and the occasional ice cream truck (which still exist, but they don't seem to cruise residential neighbourhoods anymore), but as an adult, a fresh fruit truck sounds so much more appealing! I have never seen or heard of one.
PFD 1 year ago
There used to be some kind of meat truck here. They even played music like an ice cream van - in fact for quite a while I assumed that was what it was. Only stopped about 15 or so years ago I guess.
Load More Replies... Brian Droste 1 year ago
Every summer there is a vegetable stand where you can buy home grown vegetables close by where I live.
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
Where my daughter and SIL live in NC, there is a dedicated spot in a lot for a local seafood company. Fresh fish/shellfish trucked in every morning.
#36
Circus clown. Please don't make this about hating clowns. It was an awesome profession till John Wayne Gacy and the movie "It".
PFD 1 year ago
There have been circus clowns at every circus I've ever been to. Never once have they been funny - and that's nothing to do with hating clowns.
Ace 1 year ago (edited)
Clowns were never supposed to be 'funny'. Pathetic, stupid, figures of fun, a safe target for everyone to laugh at without fear of redress. Went to a Cirque de Soleil performance in Geneva a few months ago, the main main, sort of storyteller, protagonist, continuity person, was something like a clown figure, but in this case it's more often as an object of pity rather than scorn.
Load More Replies... Julia Mckinney 1 year ago
I used to be a clown or a mime in some of our local festivals and had a lot of fun with the kids. I've never been afraid of them, until "It".
David 1 year ago
Disagree with OP blaming IT movie. Or even King's 1986 Novel. Clowns were very much in decline long before either of those. Clowns were a form of entertainment wen there were fewer choices in entertainment. And they were "filler" material in circuses to entertain audiences while they prepared the next act. But a balloon animal and lapel flower that shoots water only entertains for so long in a modern environment. And "old school" circuses with lions and tigers and such have been on the decline for decades. I have never been afraid of clowns, but I have been bored by them.
#37
Change people on casino floors have disappeared. No more carrying forty pounds of quarters and nickels for the slot machines.
David 1 year ago
Janissary, Probably only if they are leaning into the nostalgia. Casinos make more money both ways with digital. Less hassle / employees with no change but also (probably bigger), people lose track of how much they are spending when it is digital. If you were watching your tub of change get empty you knew you were losing no matter how pretty the flashing lights looked.
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#38
Stenographer. My mother did that for years before she had kids.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
Yes, and they're in high demand. "One current crisis is the severe shortage of court reporters. There just aren’t enough of them, and the question of whether their numbers can somehow be significantly enhanced is now front and center." From 11/18/2022: https://www.lawcommentary.com/articles/where-have-all-the-court-reporters-gone-and-what-can-be-done-to-find-more
Load More Replies... #40
Xerox machine operator. There used to be a large room full of Xerox machines and people would made copies for the office.
Brian Droste 1 year ago (edited)
I remember having Xerox coping machines in like a major retail store you could make copies for like 10 cents a piece. That was like back in the eighties.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
Used to work in a factory ten years ago. We still had them since the Union considered copy machines a "take away". It sucked.
#41
Electric meter readers.
I work for a power company and everything is electronic. Data is transmitted via radio frequency now. That used to be an entry-level job for us.
David 1 year ago
My electric meter has phoned home for years. Data transmitting for power/water meters is a great use of modernization IMO. When I was younger the meter reader had to physically walk to every meter, left up the cover, write it down, move on. Then at the other end someone would have to enter all that data. So many (now) unnecessary man hours.
Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
My ex worked at a power company for 41 years and was a meter reader for 2.5 years.
Julia Mckinney 1 year ago
Not in my town. I see the meter reader all the time. No, I don't live in Mayberry.
#42
Keypunch operator
Milkman
Gas station attendant
Telephone repairman
Newspapers (home delivery).
David 1 year ago
Heras, I've never met a tinker in person but around our old farm we did have a few pots that had been repaired. I think by my stepdad or his dad. The farm was homesteaded / draft horses (tractors by the time I was there) and you made things last. Old metal coffee cans of used nails because you could pound them straight again and so on. A few pots had a tiny little screw / bolt through some old hole. One was brazed. Mostly 'demoted' to non-kitchen use, such as in the chicken feed or out at the dairy barn.
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Tim Douglass 1 year ago
Gas station attendant is still around in the US states of New Jersey and Oregon where self-serve gas is (or was) not allowed. Oregon has just started allowing pump-your-own and it's amazing to see how many jobs have disappeared in just a few months. Stations have gone from 5-6 attendants on duty down to just one.
Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
I took a keypunch class but never got a job because if was on the way out so it was a waste of time and money for me. There are still some phone repairnen
#43
Tea Lady - 1st 2 companies I worked at had them - mid 1980s.
Thomas Francis 1 year ago
If you want to know what's going on/latest scandal within a company then ask the tealady.
#44
Travel agents? I never hear anything about them. Or maybe it’s cause I’m poor.BlueMountainCoffeyThey are still around. They do a lot of package tours which are hard to put together on your own especially when multiple people are going. Worth their weight in gold IMO.
#45
Data entry. It's basically non existent at this point.
There used to be data entry jobs just typing data from paper copies into the computer. Now that is 99.99% done by scanning and OCR.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 year ago
This one was suspect to me. My wife's company (Fortune 100) has a large data entry footprint. She used to manage part of it.
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#46
A long time back, I was the telephone guy along with other duties. Set up and programmed the PBX and added lines where needed.
Kayleigh haigh 1 year ago
I miss the fishmonger that would travel in his van with variety of fish and seafood all on ice to stay fresh would come every Tuesday at 11.45am Also there were those on the buses ( see what I did ther) that collected fares so driver could just concentrate on driving think jack if u know who I'm on about
#47
Secretary has, to a very large degree. Like when you watch those old movies where every man with an office (always a man, of course) has a secretary out front who takes all the calls, types all the documents, takes dictation and types up memos or letters, handles all the correspondence, intercepts visitors and handles the boss's schedule for him - all that makes up the stereotypical secretary job.
Also, this was seen - along with teaching, mostly the younger grades - as the main job opportunity for women - with training courses for shorthand, typing, etc etc very common starting in high school or even earlier.
I mean there are still some positions that handle some of those tasks - mostly in a quite different way now - and some very few people, mostly at the very, very top, who have personal assistants or whatever that handle a bunch of this for them. But everything is handled so differently now that you can say that in essence that old position of "secretary" is just gone.
Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
Doctor's and lawyers have secretaries or admin assistant or whatever you want to call them now.... Still a secretary no matter what word you use.
What do you think ?
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
How about the obvious one: Computer. Computer was originally a job largely done by women, whereby they would make complex calculations. They literally "computed" and hence were called "computers".
Steve Robert 1 year ago
I sold Collier's Encyclopedias door to door during the summer of '73 while going to college. That was the "Google" before the Internet and smart phones.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
How about the obvious one: Computer. Computer was originally a job largely done by women, whereby they would make complex calculations. They literally "computed" and hence were called "computers".
Steve Robert 1 year ago
I sold Collier's Encyclopedias door to door during the summer of '73 while going to college. That was the "Google" before the Internet and smart phones.
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