inBOIL

There's a lot of talk about taking any job you can get in this economy. Of course, few of us would literally take any job. I doubt anyone would take a job stomping on babies, but there are real jobs that make some of us uneasy.

Where would you draw the line between a job you should take and one you shouldn't? Are your criteria just for you, or do you believe they should apply to others? Does it depend on how desperate you are, or whether you have dependents? Does the amount of pay dictate whether a job should or shouldn't be taken? Does it matter if the job is illegal? Degrading? Dangerous? Immoral? Does it matter if you're incapable of doing the job competently?

I think there's a gray area, where the degree to which the job is undesireable matters. Taking a job under a manager who insults and belittles his employees is probably bad if you've got savings to live on for a while, but if your food stamps have run out and you've got kids to feed, you should probably suck it up and deal until you can find something better. Similarly, if a delivery job requires you to drive 5 mph over the speed limit, or drive through a dangerous part of town, that's a much better choice than letting your kids starve.

However, there's a point at which a job becomes so immoral, degrading, illegal, or whatever that it's always better to stay unemployed.

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And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.

Xerxys

I don't think so. When it comes to an occupation then only the law will draw the line. otherwise you will have to either forgo eating to hold on to your fragile psyche if you can't take an asshole manager.

ASU2003

I moved halfway across the country and left my friends behind because I wasn't able to find a job in the previous city that I lived in.

I don't think I would get a job clubbing baby seals, clear cutting rain forests, or being a stuntman anytime soon.

Charlatan

If in a situation where I had to get *any* job to make ends meet, I would draw the line at what is legal. There is little I wouldn't do to support my family.

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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

raptor9k

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SaltPork

After being layed off twice in as many years I contemplated many things. that being said, I was fortunate to have a good name in my industry and was snapped up pretty quick by the competition. Many others are doing exactly as you suggest, doing what needs to be done to make ends meet. Delivering pizzas, working at a nail salon, doing construction, etc. I was two weeks away from goinginto biz with my BIL and his landscaping company when i got hired else where. I needed the money and didn't just want to sti on my ass collectin unemp. there are options, though sometimes, the choices are difficult. Better to have a job and show ambition than to sit around for months and have a giant hole in the resume.....just my two cents.

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It was like that when I got here....I swear.

Dolores Haze

Anything that wouldn't involve permanent disfigurement. Or cooking perfectly innocent steaks to well-done. Unfortunately, you can't get away from that one in my line of work. Goddamn cardboard-eating rubes.

WinchesterAA

I'm a young, able bodied male. I can handle people, rain, sleet, hail, snow, and bright sunny weather all day long, every day, 365 days a year.

I refuse to do any job that requires me to perform morally or ethically questionable actions. As such, military, law enforcement, etc would be out of the question. The main reason is not because I can't handle it, but because I know I would end up in jail for causing problems. Otherwise, the only thing I have to worry about is getting fired.

I've realized, however, that working for other people sucks, and working for yourself is far more satisfying. I'm working now on increasing the money obtained as a result of my own independent work to levels beyond anything I ever had working for someone else.

Xerxys

^^ Good luck mate. Make sure you research the perks of self employment. The govt. is known to screw small time businesses real good.

WinchesterAA

Well, when societies start to break down, it becomes pretty easy to be a contractor. I've got insurance coverage up to $8e6 , pay my taxes, write things related to the business off as business expenses, etc etc.