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25 Industries Facing Really Big Troubles Nowadays, According To Members Of This Online Community
Someone wise once said that the happiest nation is the one whose history books are the most boring. Well, in that sense, I have some bad news for you—our history books are anything but boring. The world has entered another era of turbulence—or perhaps never emerged from one since 2008.
And this turbulence is reflected not only in worrying news headlines, but also in problems with the economy. And, accordingly, in difficulties with finding a job. For example, this viral thread in the AskReddit community has folks from various industries opening up about their fields heading for rocky shores. And Bored Panda offers you a selection of the most interesting opinions from this thread.
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Journalism. The world's press is now just basically 3 prompt engineers and a premium chatgpt account
Serious concerns ought to be raised about the wellbeing of the 4th estate.
ginshun 1 year ago
"journalists" killed themselves, and have nobody to blame for the decline of their industry than themselves. People long for actual objective journalism, it just doesn't exist anymore. That's not the consumer's fault, it's the so called journalists who are actually just partisan hacks in journalists clothes.
General Anaesthesia 1 year ago (edited)
And the owners escape criticism again. And the consumers escape criticism again. Fox is Fox because the Murdochs say so. Washington Post is Washington Post because Bezos says so. Sinclair is Sinclair because it is family controlled. All of them are in it for the money and so cater to the largest group, the lowest common denominator. They want rancid tabloids they get rancid tabloids. See how even BP has changed.
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Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Not long before AI is used to replace the human contributors to BP articles. I'm sure we won't notice any difference
Jrog 1 year ago
A slight improvement, maybe. It depends if they keep a couple editors out of the training set.
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Mimi M 1 year ago (edited)
If I was a news editor (which I most decidedly am not), I would ban journalists from using adjectives unless absolutely necessary. That would immediately reduce subjective judgements by half if not more. And even where it seems necessary ('a tall house', 'an old man'), an objective fact can be substituted ('an 8-story house', 'a 76 year-old man). Every time I read news stories the use of subjective adjectives jumps out at me, and not in a good way. Btw among other things my dad was a journalist, so I do notice these things.
Kyle Simonson 1 year ago
Capitalism killed objective journalism. When the money became more important than the information we all lost.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
Top ranked journalists and news anchors once reported the facts as they came in. Now it's pundits who deliver their version of the news. I don't want opinions, I want the facts. I'll form my own opinion based on the facts.
CP 1 year ago
You aren't watching the correct shows. They still exist and are not hard to find.
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#2
Live music. People see big concerts happening and assume live music is doing pretty much as well as it always has. Not true. Small and medium sized venues are struggling hard. Local bands are struggling hard and small to medium sized touring acts are struggling hard.
People don't go and seek out live music like they did 20 years ago. Small live music bars with built in crowds of regulars who would always show up to check out the band of the week used to be common place, today they are very very rare.
Bremusa4u 1 year ago
Get rid of ticketmaster, start selling tickets at reasonable prices, and ban cell phones use during the concert (as it was once upon a time), and maybe we'll get back to live music.
Jrog 1 year ago (edited)
These are exactly the reasons I stopped attending live concerts.
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Mark Childers 1 year ago
In my opinion, it's because every place that hosts live bands let them blast it so much the people there can't enjoy themselves. There's got to be a balance between people who are there for the bar/restaurant itself or to see the live music, and most of the time it's thrust upon the people who are there for the bar/restaurant. If I can't talk to the person I went there with, I'm not going. When I was younger, I went to a lot of concerts. I have hearing loss as a result. Music isn't worth damage to my hearing.
Nimitz 1 year ago
That's because of gentrification and capitalist min-maxing. You could go to an underground club downtown somewhere, get $5 beers, talk with people, have some cheap bar food, and see a show of someone local for a $10 cover. Now it's $16 f*****g cocktails, $25 appetizers, a $30 cover, and it's too f*****g loud to talk. Every bar is out to make as much money as possible. Gone are the days where someone made enough to live comfortably doing a job they loved running a place. Now it's all about the investors and the landlord who raises the rent like clockwork. Art can go f**k itself when capitalism is in charge
Trisec Tebeakesse 1 year ago
I wanted to see Bruno Mars last year. The cheapest seat was $300. Didn't even bother. Can't even get to the symphony or the jazz club anymore these days.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
I used to go hear a live band at least once a week, but no longer. I still love music, but getting to the venue on mass transit, having to walk several blocks through sketchy areas, then having to Uber home because the buses don't run that late put the kibosh on live music for me.
Ripley 1 year ago
In Sydney, people would buy houses close to pubs that had live music and then complain about the noise. Now there are very few pubs with live music.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
Idiots tried this in London with the globally famous Ministry of Sound - the council laughed at them.
Load More Replies... KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
Second comment on this... I don't want to pay a fuckton of money to see someone in 8 months' time.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
Would help if the ticket prices weren't so ridiculous and we didn't have to decide between eating well and seeing live music. Luckily for me, my local does live music every Friday and there are still a couple of places in Camden doing live music on the weekend. But I have not been to a big concert since before Covid because I am not paying £65+ to stand in a big crowd, never mind £80 to sit so I can actually see them.
#3
Local news. They rarely talk about local issues other than deaths and weather. Zero local coverage in the recent election.
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Our "local" news is done elsewhere in the country. Painfully obvious when they mispronounce the suburb names.
Hidalgo 1 year ago
A lot of writing is just conglomeration and isn’t even done in US.
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Michael P. 1 year ago
Most of the local TV news is very sensationalized. We have a 24 hour local news station here in Southern Ontario where they often repeat the same stories over and over again, it is very sensationalized.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
I've only seen local news from a waiting room, that's how little respect I have for these clowns. Oh, and Blooper reels. That's where local news really shines.
Foxglove🇮🇪 1 year ago
In Ireland all news is local. Maybe it's because we are a relatively small country, but we're just as likely to hear about an incident at the other end of the country as we are something down the road.
keyboardtek 1 year ago
And most of the country's radio stations are owned by a few media corporations that play a narrow playlist and no longer provide local news. During recent hurricanes and tornados, our locals could not even get any local news weather updates from the local radio stations.
The original thread currently has 15K upvotes and around 13K various comments, leading a person who doesn’t know much about the modern world to conclude that the world economy is in a state of severe crisis. Tthe list includes literally all industries—from machinery and agriculture to creative professions, which have never previously faced such issues.
#4
The newspaper industry. Everyone assumes it’s just a shift to online, but a lot of local papers are closing down or laying off staff left and right.
Marvin 1 year ago
I feel like every time I actually click on an article, it ends up being behind a paywall!
Carbonel 1 year ago
Because journalists and everyone else involved in producing the news need a salary.
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Riley Quinn 1 year ago
The 4th Estate has been letting us down for a number of years now, and having billionaire owners is further proof that news bias is inevitable. Journalist integrity isn't what it used to be, either. When the prime directive of journalistic objectivity covering the news is no longer followed, what's my incentive to pay for a subscription?
Jrog 1 year ago (edited)
It's a self-boosting loop. Less revenue -> cut cost -> lower quality -> less sales -> less revenue, rinse and repeat. Newspapers that invested significant effort in the online department and pushed for a reasonable subscription model came back from the crisis. WSJ was practically broke in 2017-2020, committed to the online channel and in 2022 they recovered the readers loss from print with the new online subscriptions. The Washington Post moved early on and in earnest and could navigate the worst of the late 2010s crisis, before finishing in the downward loop after fatigue from political reporting -following the end of the first Trump presidency- led to reduced readership, leading to cuts, leading to loss of quality, leading to less readers etc... They are trying to recover now but may be too late.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
My local paper has just gone from 2 times a week to 1, which is okay. More of problem is getting people to deliver them, because even young people realise how low the pay is compared to effort. The state-wide newspapers are still chugging along, though no more broadsheets. My dad still gets the weekend paper delivered.
#5
Customer Service - I honestly don't think people realize how bad this is going to be in a generation.
Jrog 1 year ago (edited)
It is already awful. If you get past the robotic answering systems, you may finally be connected to a random guy from India, Albania or Egypt that has no connection with the company you are trying to call, has ZERO power to help you, and whose only job is to try to get you drop the issue. Amazon is slightly better in this since the contractors have some discretionary power in refunds and returns, so sometimes they can help, but they are also worsening a lot since a few years. Nowadays even B2B companies are moving to the same approach to cut costs.
Hidalgo 1 year ago
It’s got to the point that I prefer the AI service to dealing with the offshored CS
Load More Replies... Trisec Tebeakesse 1 year ago
Good customer service is actually not a learned skill. Either you have it, or you don't; it cannot be taught. I've been in this industry my entire working career, I just know it when I see it.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
Bruh, I worked in CS in the nineties... the company I worked for was sketchy in the extreme (Colonial National Bank, if any of you need to relive that horror). Nothing about terrible customer service today didn't exist 30+ years ago. It's just that the "premiere" companies are now pulling the same nonsense sketchy companies used to.
Cee Grant 1 year ago
I'm wondering if the pendulum might swing the other way if customer service gets so bad that good customer service becomes a differentiator. There would have to be a way to spread the word about customer service superiority, though. I personally steer toward the few I know that have good cs.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
For the most part, it already is. That said, shout out to the fabulous TFL person this morning.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
How bad it's going to be???? For us old farts who've gone from shopping at businesses that drilled "the customer is king/the customer is always right" into their employees heads to automated answering, a series of menus that god help you if you press the wrong number, to at some point getting disconnected, then maybe, just maybe, getting an actual human on the line, this is akin to Dante's nine circles of hell. And don't even get me started on the odious music you're forced to listen to or the repeated promos. They hit you with the 9th circle right off the bat when the auto-voice explains to you how you are a valued customer before forcing you through the entire sequence.
#6
According to a video I just watched; MLMs. Which is a good thing.
edit: this is the video
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
No industry (with the possible exception of fashion) deserves it more.
2WheelTravlr 1 year ago
Businesses that make unsolicited phone calls. But that's an absolute pipe dream since most of these now originate in other countries.
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 1 year ago
It's an unwritten law that you have to invest in an MLM at least once during your adult life. Most of us get burned and move on to steadier ground, writing it off as a valuable lesson learned. No one beats the system, and that's the take away with MLMs.
In fact, the advent of artificial intelligence has done for representatives of creative industries what the beginning of the industrial revolution did for artisans about 200 years ago. Back then, in the middle of the 19th century, a movement of Luddites emerged, who, for ideological reasons, deliberately smashed various machines. Today, fortunately, it hasn’t come to that...yet?
But everything will most likely end up about the same as it was then—two centuries ago. New revolutionary technologies will deprive some of the employed of their jobs, but they will also create many more jobs. And well, those whose work involves the use of these new technologies will become even more productive than before.
#7
One industry that’s struggling more than people realize is the traditional retail industry.. especially brick-and mortar stores. While e-commerce has been growing for years it’s becoming harder for physical stores to compete even with big names. The shift to online shopping while larger retailers are grappling with overstock shrinking foot traffic and increased labor costs. Even big box stores are now closing locations or shifting to a more digital first model. It’s a quieter crisis but it’s one that’s reshaping the landscape of how we shop.
Sven Horlemann 1 year ago
I used to be in the city twice a week. No I am there twice per year. No exageration.
Chich 1 year ago
Not always the case but nothing like driving for an hour to find out they are out of stock. I can put an order in online and it gets dropped off at my door. One delivery truck driving around vs 20-30 people driving in to town. Sad to say, but it is that simple.
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Stannous Flouride 1 year ago
Add to that the voraciously greedy appetites of people buying up commercial properties and raising rents to cover their loans. In my SF neighborhood commercial storefronts rent for $10-$15,000 a MONTH. There is no (legal) business with that level of profit margin. New businesses last about 2 years and then the space sits empty for months.
Jason C 1 year ago
If a retail store doesn't have working dressing rooms they are asking us to shop online. Literally the only thing that sets them apart anymore and they close them for their convenience. And...bathrooms for customers. Who shops in stores anymore? People with kids and the older generation. Both need bathrooms.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
Besides the grocers and CVS, I haven't been in a store for nearly 6-years. I rely on mass transit, which isn't the best way to transport unwieldy items/lots of bags, and it's not front door service so it entails walking a couple of blocks. Online is the only way I can shop now.
Nikole 1 year ago
Now that you mention it… I don’t think I have been either.
Load More Replies... 2WheelTravlr 1 year ago
The other thing that drives out brick and mortar businesses is shrinkage. Shoplifting and organized retail crime are completely eliminated when a company goes online-only.
#8
Every trade. They really think they can pay people 13-15 dollars an hour when the cheapest one bedroom not in the ghetto is 1200-1400 a month.
2 year degree, 8k worth of tools to get started in mine. The old heads wonder why the new guys quit when they get paid flat rate and you’re hiding their tools to f*ck with them at work.
This next generation wants to be paid a liveable wage, not be abused, and to come to work to work. I’m all for them. Shops charge 200 a flat rate hour for jobs and pay these guys 15-30. It’s abysmal. They can afford to pay people what they are worth. Every business can.
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Not true in Australia. Tradies are well paid and always have heaps of work due to all the natural disasters requiring rebuilding, and there is a shortage of skilled tradespeople.
Donald 1 year ago
Not true in the US either but you need to be in a union if you want any sort of rights as a blue collar worker. You certainly can cut your teeth working for a small business but 90% of those owners will run you into the ground and replace you with another non-skilled worker (laborer) that they can pay peanuts. If you do it right there are plenty of trades that will pay your 50-60k right after an apprenticeship.
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Peter Parker 1 year ago
Charging me $100 for a simple oil change, no thanks, I'll do it myself. Quoting me $500 to change two under-sink valves? No thank you, I'll do it myself. Quoting me $1700 to install a generator interlock and transfer switch, which is a 2 hour job, tops? No thank you. Trade isn't dying, they are right in the middle of price gouging people who don't know how to do stuff themselves.
UnicornSnotRules 1 year ago
My son loved being an automotive technician but HATED working for dealerships because of both flat rate and the ways the dealers wanted the techs to try to rip off customers. He would love to open his own shop but - guess what - it's just too expensive.
Boredandsomea 1 year ago
workers unite and stop feeding the top-leches, they produce nothing and still get everything your labor gains.
HolyDiver 1 year ago
The automotive industry in particular has been a huge part of this change. They have started to treat their technicians like their customers. They lie, manipulate and nickel and dime them to death for profit. I work in city transit and we always have auto guys, especially from dealerships, desperately trying to get a job here.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
If you can afford it, move. The days of $1/sqft rent are probably behind us forever, but I'm still paying (just under 1k for a 3BR that is not in "the ghetto"... and I'm in the third-cheapest area in my region, so had I been a touch more aggressive in my apartment hunting I could have done better. CHEAP HOUSING EXISTS You just have to go to the micropolises or rural areas. (for the record: northeast ohio. I'm in Akron. Both Elyria and Erie PA are, on average, slightly cheaper and in the same ballpark populationwise. Elyria, at the time I was looking, was one of the cheapest places to rent in the entire US.)
ginshun 1 year ago
Which trade is paying people $13/hr? Because I don't know of any that are starting that low. Mostly double that from what I have seen, if not way more. it's like a lot of others on this list in that not being paid well currently, doesn't mean that the industries are struggling, or that they are going anywhere. There may need to be a shift to higher pay, but that will happen.
Sherry Errera 1 year ago
Wonder what trade this person is referring to? Let's assume it's automotive. First, shops charge the rates they do for all the overhead they have to be in business. Each employee's pay, plus benefits and unemployment alone can eat up about 40% of that rate alone, then businesses have to pay rent, insurance, equipment investments and upkeep, advertising, etc...The owners get paid last and least. That said, why go to work for a shop fulltime when you can go independent and charge less than a shop without the overhead, and get paid at least half the shop rate in your pocket? Oh right, you'd then need to invest more in space or mobile capabilitites, advertising, insurance, etc. You see how these things add up? It's when a mechanic in a shop starts bringing repeat business and new customers, the get faster at diagnosis, faster at turning over to the next job - that's when they see their pay rise. Just like anyone else.
#9
The auto industry but, they really did it to themselves. Too much inventory, no one buying the high end trucks because they're too pricey.
I work for a plant that makes parts for the big 3 and we've been barely working 4 days a week, where pre-pandemic we were working 6/7 days.
Kelly Scott 1 year ago
What I want: a car that starts with a key. Window wells. No computer, no GPS, nothing that needs a subscription. Roll down windows. A radio and a CD player. Reliable parts that last longer than a year. Good gas mileage. An affordable price. What I see from the automakers: More bells and whistles than a circus cart. Computers with huge touch screens. Cars that spy on where I go and how fast I get there. Demands for money for things I'll never use (looking at you, heated seats). Cars that break down regularly every year. Headlights that I can't turn off in the daytime. Headlights that blind everyone else. Cars that need another computer to repair them. Cars that are too large. Cars with TV screens in back. Cars that cost so much I'd have to take a 30-year mortgage out on them. And then you have the unmitigated gall to ask why I'm not buying one?
Tabitha 1 year ago
Cars that are so expensive to get repaired it’s like paying full price for it all over again.
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Patty Panda 1 year ago
I really want (and need) a new used car to replace my 2009 Toyota. But the price of used cars is just so high! Can't even consider a new one
Fire Singer 1 year ago
Same! I have a 2006 Saturn. I could really use a new car by the actual NEW cars are too expensive and all the frills they come with now are ridiculous in my opinion. Used cars seemed the way to go, but those are almost as expensive as new cars!
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Schmebulock 1 year ago
But car prices are still extremely high so it doesn't follow the rules of supply and demand.
WalterWhiteSavannah 1 year ago
The price of trucks is absurd, but it has been for a while. Even 10 years back a Denali pickup could hit 6 figures. Nowadays Ford Toyota and chev all have 100k+ pickups (Canadian dollars).
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
Another "this ain't new". The first big auto bailout happened my senior year in high school... 1986.
"The global economy experiences regular wave fluctuations - in the short, medium and long term. This has always been the case, and the decline has always been replaced by an upswing," says Olga Kopylova, Ph.D., an associate professor of economics at Odessa National Maritime University, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. "However, recent years have indeed been difficult. Very difficult, to be honest."
"First the COVID-19 pandemic, and when the business world began to expect a seemingly inevitable rise in economic activity, a wave of military conflicts began in different regions of the world, which hit economic ties even harder. It is not surprising that along with the accumulated problems, this threatens the risk of a serious worldwide crisis."
#10
The Nightlife industry. Bars and Clubs in cities are dying, the high cost of living doesn’t help, people put way less money in social activities. On the other hand, there never has been this many DJ’s or people who want to be a DJ.
London, which is a pilliar for Electronic Music lost 37% of its Clubs in the past 4 years.
Edit: Lots of y’all are just getting older and don’t want to admit it.
ginshun 1 year ago
This one is not surprising. People in their 20's now, simply don't drink and party the way we used to in the 90's / 2000's.
Jrog 1 year ago (edited)
They do, but people in their 20s now don't have the disposable income we had, and -especially in the USA- prices are gone insane. This happens in a time when cheaper -either online or offline- options for hangin'out do not have the stigma they used to have.
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Riley Quinn 1 year ago
Oh, Honey, I fully admit my age is keeping me from clubbing. I live in Boston, where our mayor hired a Director of Nightlife Economy, and with other city initiatives, the nightlife is thriving. Problem is, the T shuts down at 1 am forcing some to duck out early, and Massachusetts law doesn't permit serving alcohol past 2am. Still it seems to be on an upswing.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
We had [?have] a nightlife czar who is doing a p**s poor job of protecting it.
Load More Replies... Cee Grant 1 year ago (edited)
Where I live, some of the bars and clubs have developed time slots for specific audience groups .... folk music from 6 to 9, techno after 9. There's even a "geezer" time slot where older people dance their brains out once a week with music from their era. The change of shifts at 9 are fun to watch.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
Came to give London a shout out here - what was a thriving nightlife has sadly shrunk and it's getting harder and harder to find decent [imo] club nights. Mind you, most of my favourite EDM DJs are also middle age and have started putting on afternoon clubbing instead - all round win!
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
Well of course clubs are going to be struggling during and just after a total lockdown.
Snowy Ashton 1 year ago
Good. Less wanton drunkenness, d**g abuse, sexual attacks, and unwanted children.
#11
The alcohol business; the craft beer bubble burst, wine is failing to capture any young demographic. Younger demographics tend to drink less (for health reasons, cost reasons, and many just prefer [grass] instead). The biggest alcohol distributor in the country just laid off around 3500 people across the country.
Yes, people will always drink, but the worse the economy gets, the more people will trade down to the cheap stuff.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
We have some fantastic local wine, beer and spirit makers where I live. I always buy local when I can. Mind you, I've never been a massive drinker, so don't spend a huge amount on them.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
My favourite whiskey is Famous Grouse. I am mocked by snobs. if I could afford it, I would be drinking Japanese whiskey instead.
Philly Bob 1 year ago
In the US, wait until the tariffs hit. Jameson and other whiskies Irish and Canadian, imported, Scotch... imported, lots of popular beer, imported, wines, imported. The list goes on.
Dr Jimmy 03 1 year ago
There are six craft brewers within 30 minutes of my home; I patronize all of them. Haven't bought a Budweiser in 20 years.
#12
Dry cleaners — wfh and more casual wear, some places may never go back to anywhere near the same volume.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
Don't care if they all go out of business. Employees are exposed to hazardous chemicals, esp. perchloroethylene (PERC), a known carcinogen, that has a severe detrimental effect on the nervous system. Adios, and don't come back.
Nikole 1 year ago
My dad’s cousin ran his family’s dry cleaning business for decades… testicular cancer.
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Tammy Kirks 1 year ago
I work at a clothing boutique and can tell you that most items can be washed. You just have to be careful. My boss tosses blazers in the wash and they come out just fine. Most clothing items have been ruined by the cleaners than by washing at home. Cold water, delicate cycle, hang to dry.
Boredandsomea 1 year ago
this feels like the videorental if your business is not something people use anymore then it had its time
Cuppa tea? 1 year ago
Shoe repairs. In my town with population of around 78 thousands is now one shoe repair shop. The other one is just drop and collect point. Even 5 years ago there were around 7 of them.
"It just so happened that literally one after another, several ‘black swans’ - that is, unpredictable events of a negative nature, using the terminology of the famous economist and publicist Nassim Taleb - overlapped. However, the global economy has a fairly large margin of safety to cope with this. But still, for some time, turbulence will indeed continue to affect our lives," Olga Kopylova concludes.
Well, when viewed in historical context, the current problems are far from the worst the economy has ever faced. Especially if you compare it all, for example, with the times of the Great Depression. On the other hand, a historical analogy is little consolation for someone who has lost their job and cannot find a new one...
#13
I've been a professional video editor for the last 12 years, and have never gone more than a week without a job, I've made stuff for many of the country's biggest brands, and have a solid resume.
For the first time in my life, I've been submitting resumes every single day for the last four months and have not had one interview.
It's tough out there right now, fingers crossed my luck takes a turn!
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
For the heck of it Google "will AI replace video editor". According to the AI response, it's a definitive NO! But scroll down and you'll get a different response from humans, who report that AI is already heavily influencing this work by streamlining portions. However, AI will not replace all the human video editors, it'll just make it more difficult to find employment.
Sherry Errera 1 year ago
I graduated with a degree minor in video production in the later 90's and couldn't find a job then only to find it exploding about 10 yrs later. So I Ithink this is mostly economy related and will bounce back.
#14
Trucking. I have been in transportation for 36 years and you would be scared to drive on the same road if you met some of these truck drivers. Up until Covid you would have a bad driver come through once in awhile now it’s rare to have a driver that understands basic instructional. How are they passing driver tests?
I try to stay off the freeways whenever possible.
Cee Grant 1 year ago
Is this part of the "they're not paying enough for me to want that job" thing?
KittyMommy 1 year ago
Probably. It's lousy pay, never or rarely seeing your family or home, frequently hazardous, depending on what your hauling *you* get to hand unload it, employers demanding you do illegal s**t in order to get the load delivered, and lousy health since your always on the road. My dad drove and I did too for a few years
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 1 year ago
I wonder if OP has just sent a wave of terror through every motorist on this site. Most vehicles will not withstand an impact with an 18-wheeler.
HolyDiver 1 year ago
California DMV has been cracking down on fly by night "commercial licensers' using various programs. I grew up in a diesel shop and so many truck drivers today don't hold a candle to those I knew growing up. Complete ignorance or willingly disobey so many traffic laws that endanger people on the road.
ginshun 1 year ago
Dying breed regardless. It's all going to be AI within a decade or two anyway. Nobody is going to be an over the road trucker in 20 years.
Nikole 1 year ago
Goods will still need a way to get where they’re going and it can’t all be done by train (oh look, there’s another thing with a crumbling infrastructure)… Sigh. Yeah, we’re fúcked.
Load More Replies... Trisec Tebeakesse 1 year ago
Driving across any industry. I'm a bus driver - it's increasingly difficult to find anyone decent.
Sherry Errera 1 year ago
The government has allowed way too many people who have never been to a driving school, and never even learned to drive on their own get drivers licenses so that they have transportation around towns that don't have bustling public transportation systems.
#15
Since COVID, hospitality. Where I worked used to be packed all weekend, now we have nights on the weekend where we have more staff than customers. We used to never leave before midnight, now we can be cleaning by 10 and having our shifties by 11. I've been working at my place for 5 years now, bar COVID (obviously) this summer was the least busy I've ever seen it.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
This is true of US but here in London there used to be waiting lists for some places, now you can get same day reservations.
Load More Replies... john doe 1 year ago
My wife and I went out once a week to a sit down restaurant before COVID. After it's a few times a year and here is why, the service is terrible our orders are always messed up and the food quality is awful. We both worked food service jobs 10 years ago and stuff that would have gotten you fired then seems to go by now with little care from management, so we stopped going out, it's kinda their fault the way we look at it.
Schmebulock 1 year ago
Part of this is due to the poor service usually caused by understaffed restaurants but the main culprit is most likely inflation.
Boredandsomea 1 year ago
Pay people in your community and they will spend money in your community.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
I'm not US so the tipping thing doesn't apply but I wonder how much covid taught people they can actually cook up culinary feasts themselves now and don't need to go out for it.
WinterLady 1 year ago
People can't afford to go out anymore. They also got used to staying in due to COVID and don't really have the urge to go out.
PeepPeep the duck 1 year ago
So true, I’m moving out of hospitality now for this reason not so much covid, it was dying before that too.
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
Now that home delivery is more accessible than ever, of course the restaurant trade is going to suffer. A lot of the take-out places nowadays run from a business unit, where they may share it with multiple other 'businesses' serving different cuisines but from one kitchen. This obviously slashes overheads and makes the prices much more reasonable. Restaurants have to add something that the consumer wants and is prepared to pay for, but people are tired, the restaurant experience has deteriorated, and the expectations for huge percentages as a tip can't be helping.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
I think Covid did us all in, and forced us to look at ourselves in a different light, esp. when it comes to spending. Salaries/wages aren't what they should be, yet prices are rising. I enjoy the occasional dining out, but I'll be damned if I'm paying for tacked on fees for who knows what, in addition to the meal and tip. I've always been a good tipper, but I tip based on service, and too many places aren't allowing the customer to make that decision.
Be that as it may, life today is not easy, and you and I are definitely living in an era of change, and this—as another wise man of antiquity once said—you wouldn’t even wish on your worst enemy. On the other hand, forewarned is forearmed, so please read these stories from netizens and maybe if you are more aware of the troubles that await people in different industries, you’ll be better equipped to cope with the approaching adversity.
#16
This one's a bit niche, but being a luthier in the US is about to get a whole lot more expensive if those tariffs end up being put in place. Pretty much every kind of wood used on violins guitars and other adjacent instruments is imported, not to mention all the tools you need.
If all goes well, I'll be making and repairing violins professionally after I graduate in spring, which is pretty cool. I picked a bad time to get into the field though, at least there's a high demand for it.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
Tariffs are going to have hideous consequences if they're implemented the way we've been hearing. I'm kind of hoping I get deported before that happens, as long as they're willing to do so by buying me steer age back to ye Olde family pile in Edinburgh. I ain't picky, I'll ride in the hold with the freight...
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
Oh, those tariffs are going to effect more than just luthiers and their customers. The yokels who voted for Trump due to increased costs are in for one hell of a shock when companies pass the increased tariffs onto the consumers.
Sven Horlemann 1 year ago
As a guitar player, I say, all the best. I made it a point to have a local luthier build me a custom guitar (I am in Germany). That feels so good on so many levels...
#17
There are rumors that Broadway is about to collapse. No one can afford the ticket costs anymore.
SAF saf 1 year ago
The majority of these are self inflicted. Dealerships near me are still tacking on $8-10k "adjustment fee" to base model cars.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
Similar to the Opera industry, Broadway productions are costly and people are choosing to remain home with their streaming services. Not that I'm a patron of either industry, but I do hope both industries can be salvaged with some tactical adjustments.
#18
Agriculture industry.
keyboardtek 1 year ago
And if Trump uses the military to round up and eject all the illegal workers, our farms will not be able to produce our food.
#19
Public works - we are all wildly understaffed and any applications we receive are wildly unqualified for the work. When roads, bridges, drainage, snow maintenance, etc fail in the near future, there won't be anyone to help :(.
SAF saf 1 year ago
Alot of this is self inflicted. Most entry level County jobs and water district openings have ridiculous experience requirements.
Fire Singer 1 year ago
I was curious about the "unqualified" remark. Like...my job requires an associates degree which is not at all needed. Anyone willing to learn the job could do it. I think the problem is we're putting too much stock in whether someone has a degree or not and less in whether they can actually do the job. I know nothing about public works though, won't pretend I do, but it does seem they could train people on the job and many people would be willing and able to learn.
Load More Replies...
#20
Teaching.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
Once we have neuralink, it'll all be personalized. And full of ads, but we'll put that part aside. After all, our new south African overlord has our best interests at heart, right? RIGHT?
Riley Quinn 1 year ago (edited)
Wait until Linda McMahon finishes the destruction Betsy DeVos started. Low wages, having to buy supplies out of those low wages, having to deal with nasty parents... there are no perks to teaching. And for those who say it's a vocation based on love, let me explain that love never has, and never will, pay the bills. The Beatles were wrong, and The Flying Lizards were right.
Nikole 1 year ago
I would say I can’t believe he’s putting her forward for the job, but I *can* believe it. Jesus Christ.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 1 year ago
So hard to get the amount of teachers needed where I live. Not surprising with the pay level and unrealistic expectations. With so much burnout, more and more teachers are choosing part time or casual rather than full time teaching jobs.
Katie Barnes 1 year ago
As a full time teacher (in a high expectation school) I worked 50-60 hours a week. As a part-time teacher I work 40 hours a week. Pretty sad that I have to be part-time with part-time pay to work full time. Even sadder that before my amazing school I worked at schools where teachers rolled in at 8:45 and out at 3:45 every day with no evenings and weekends. That is extremely rare, in my experience, but does happen. Their poor students. I get it... but couldn't.
Load More Replies... #21
Restaurant Industry is struggling way more than it seems.. sure, some high-end spots or fast food chains are thriving, but independent, family-owned restaurants are still reeling from the pandemic. Rising food costs, staff shortages and tighter margins are making it nearly impossible for many small restaurants to stay open, even if they seem busy on the surface. It’s an industry that always looks lively but hides a lot of financial struggles behind the scenes.
Jrog 1 year ago
Since 2020 restaurant food prices on average have continued to outpace grocery prices by a factor of 1.5-2x, up to 4x in 2024 when restaurant prices increased on average 4,1%, while cost of groceries increased barely 1,1%. On average, restaurants since 2000 increased their prices 3.3%, against an inflation average of 2.6%.
frederick clause 1 year ago
Don't forget the 20 to 30% the customer is expected to tip regardless of the quality of food or service.
Load More Replies... Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
I do my best to support local mom and pops, but I'm only one person (and a lot of WoM to try and drum up business). If I could find the magic words to get the competing around-the-block lines at Chick-fil-A and Cane's all taking their business to Taste of Bangkok and Fred's Diner, I'd use it in a heartbeat. (eat at Fred's, people, the chicken and waffles are outrageous!).
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
I'm doing well in retirement, but it does keep me within a budget. I allow myself an occasional restaurant meal, and I only order at family-owned places.
#22
Retail pharmacy.
Complete lack of PBM regulation and corporate greed is going to lead to massive closures across the country.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
AP News 4-hours ago: The study found that more than 29% of the nearly 89,000 retail U.S. pharmacies that operated between 2010 and 2020 had closed by 2021. That amounts to more than 26,000 stores.
Thomas Francis 1 year ago
UK government expects pharmacies to take the simple prescribing work traditionally done by GP doctors but many are going bust/closing due to negative margins on d**g costs, etc.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
NEOh recently lost Rite-Aid, previously the third largest pharmacy chain in the US, as well as about 25% of our Walgreens locations. It'll take a bit to really see the fallout, but I expect things are gonna get weird in 5 or so years.
Papa 1 year ago
I suspect online pharmacies will take up the slack. I only learned recently that you can get prescription medications from Amazon, and it comes with each day's dose in its own plastic envelope (because we didn't already have enough plastic waste floating around).
Load More Replies... #23
Lineman for powerlines. All the experience is retiring.
It's a huge change right now.
Jrog 1 year ago
This is simply not true, possibly related to some very limited personal experience from OP.
Scott Rackley 1 year ago
My brother is a foreman lineman, his only beef is that he needs more apprentices. It's not a lack of work either. Lineman that work storms make an absolute killing. It's rough though.
Load More Replies... Sherry Errera 1 year ago
Well, the need for lineman isn't going away. I think a significant segment of the population is retiring without sufficient replacements from the younger generation to fill those roles. Many of those who are retiring have not had anyone to share their knowledge with. While I don't believe the demand for skilled workers is diminishing, the focus on college degrees over vocational training has greatly harmed our society. It's clear that a large number of college graduates are entering a job market that offers low-paying positions with few opportunities compared to the number of applicants. In contrast, many trades tend to offer much higher salaries than those associated with numerous degrees. The extensive system created by the academic industry has largely served as a promoter of these ideas, obscuring the variety of career options available. We need to reverse this trend as soon as possible.
Jrog 1 year ago (edited)
"many trades tend to offer much higher salaries than those associated with numerous degrees." Once again, this is a urban myth. Trades pay better in the first career decade, then the gap progressively increase in favor of higher education. Overall, people with STEM college degrees gain far more over their career than the average tradesman. Also, companies founded by people with college degrees on average have lower risk of bankruptcy. Sources on an old comment, I'd gladly link but BP search engine is three hamsters in a trenchcoat (and several old comments are now paywalled because BP is a bunch of greedy AHs).
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 1 year ago
Despite a growing need as lineman age out, and a growing interest for this work because the pay/benefits are good, the requirements are rigorous, which eliminates a lot of people from pursuing this as a trade.
Thomas Francis 1 year ago
True in the UK. New powerlines are needed due to EV demand and windfarms, etc, but National Grid has admitted that they do not have enough staff to cope.
#24
Film and TV. Barely anything has been shooting so most of us are out of work. We're literally using the motto 'Stay Alive Til 25'.
ginshun 1 year ago
When was this comment written, mid 2020 during lockdowns? There is more TV and movies coming out now than there ever has been.
WalterWhiteSavannah 1 year ago
Tbf look at the numbers movies are doing lately. Hollywood is struggling aside from the very infrequent success. That said they deserve it. Stale remakes, rehashes, tired franchises etc... if they'd actually take a damn chance on something new and different once in a while they might be pleasantly surprised.
Load More Replies... Boredandsomea 1 year ago
Pay people and people will spend money.... give money to the a selective few and the rest fall apart. stop paying bosses start paying workers
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
BBC report in 9.2024 states: As a whole, the number of US productions during the second quarter of 2024 was down about 40% compared to the same period in 2022. Globally, there was a 20% decline over that period, according to ProdPro, which tracks TV and film productions. That means fewer new movies and binge-worthy shows for us.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
There's a whole lot more non-studio work than there is studio...but that's absolutely not new. Hasn't been since at least the fifties. But first with video rentals and now with streaming, it's much easier to access the indie stuff than it used to be... do the industry has changed much less than the perception of the industry.
Papa 1 year ago
Scripted television took a big hit back when TV had the writer's strike. "Reality TV" wasn't a thing before that.
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#25
Emergency medical services, Paramedics and such.
ginshun 1 year ago
Why would anybody think that these jobs are going to stop being required. Now, that nobody wants to work them for what they make - that I get. There will have to be a shift in pay and places are going to have to start paying more. Its not like these jobs are going away though.
Chich 1 year ago
Jobs may be there but if they aren't being filled they are essentially gone.
Load More Replies... john doe 1 year ago
Former paramedic here, the pay is terrible! For what you have to do through in a normal day you should be making close to the 6 figure mark, but I was paid only 25$ an hour and had to go to school for 2 years, pass very difficult national level tests both practical and written. Part of the problem in my area is nearly every ambulance service is run by a private for profit company, they skimp on every thing, you would think an ambulance has modern navigation systems with all the bells and whistles but the company o worked for had nothing, we had a phone holder for you to put your own navigation on to get to a life or death call, honestly so many problems. We just need to tax the wealthy and spend money on critical infrastructure and we will see alot of these problems start to get better.
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
It's grueling, dangerous work for a lousy $25 an hour, which is the median hourly wage. Cities generally pay higher at $35-42 an hour, but places like NYC and Boston also have a much higher cost of living.
Kimberly Bailey 1 year ago
They don't get paid for what this kind of work does to your physical and mental health!
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What do you think ?
ginshun 1 year ago
A lot of these people have a really weird idea as to what a "struggling industry" is.
Justbecause 1 year ago
Im in Australia and farming is becoming very corporate. The banks wont give loans for land to new farmers and at 1mil per 100ac no one can save up to by a farm especially when you need around 500ac to be a full time farmer.
ginshun 1 year ago
A lot of these people have a really weird idea as to what a "struggling industry" is.
Justbecause 1 year ago
Im in Australia and farming is becoming very corporate. The banks wont give loans for land to new farmers and at 1mil per 100ac no one can save up to by a farm especially when you need around 500ac to be a full time farmer.
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