People Are Sharing Professions That Are Getting Phased Out, And It's Pretty Eye-Opening
The world is constantly changing and so are the ways that we work. So it's not incredibly surprising that some jobs seem to be becoming less common, to the point where they barely exist at all.
U/SilentJoe27 recently asked the people of Reddit, "What’s a profession you’ve seen phased out in your lifetime?" Jeez, this one's a bit eye-opening and you might be surprised about a few of these too:
1."Paperboys. Having a paper route used to be a thing. Now there are very few people who get a daily physical paper. The route must cover a lot of miles now."
—u/cmoellering
2."Back in the 20th century, there used to be small huts in parking lots where a person would develop your film in as soon as one hour."
—u/HoraceBenbow
3."Radio disc jockeys. They're not gone yet but they are dwindling toward extinction. Local disc jockeys are fewer and fewer as radio stations consolidate under corporations."
4."Judging by the advertising I see online these days, proofreader."
5."Executive assistant. When I started my career, even low-level managers had a person to write memos, answer their phone, and plan their travel. I worked in a company of 3,000 people and I bet there were 100 of them. Now, I'm guessing there are two."
—u/PriveCo
6."I used to make a nice living as a photographer. I worked for Warner Bros., Atlantic Records, Virgin Records, etc. There’s really hardly any money in that anymore."
7."The entire industry that makes pricing guns. Everything in the store had a small white sticker with the price on it. The UPC code and scanner eliminated this and probably half of the jobs that stock shelves."
—u/PriveCo
8."Door-to-door salespeople. You used to see them pretty frequently back in the '60s but you never see them now."
—u/javanator999
9."Cobblers. There used to be people that fixed shoes and shined shoes. Every town had one and every man had his shoes shined often."
—u/PriveCo
10."Repairmen. When I was a kid and something broke, you would just take it to the local repairman and he would fix it. These guys could fix anything. They had a small shop where they had parts for everything, in some sort of comforting chaos. I've been looking for a couple of years now to find someone to fix my '60s toaster. Even the company doesn't have any ideas where I could send it."
11."Bike messengers. There used to be hundreds of them in San Francisco and NYC, racing around to deliver envelopes, advertising art, court filings, etc. Now everything can be done with high-speed internet."
—u/jmeesonly
12."I used to be a projectionist at a movie theater. Most theaters are all digital now, with the projectors on timers."
—u/72scott72
13."Medical transcribers. Trained editors in medical language have resorted to spot-checking shitty dictation. Once an important profession, now replaced by technology."
—u/MYOB2023
14."Blacksmiths rarely use old-school hammers and tongs these days. Smithing is now a cross between mechanical and software engineering."
15."Typesetters, who would physically lay out all the fonts and arrange how a newspaper or magazine page would be printed."
16."High-risk obstetricians. There used to be at least one specialist at every large hospital. They were essentially sued out of existence."
17."Draftsman (as it was traditionally called). Required some amount of talent, a steady hand, training, and lots of practice. Replaced by CAD technician."
—u/eron6000ad
18."Full-service gas station attendants — the kind who would pump your gas and do your windows. They were still around when I first started driving 30 years ago but I can't recall the last time I saw a full-service gas station."
—u/aperson7780
19."Professional film criticism. It's still out there but the industry has shrunk to a shell of its former self, thanks mainly to amateur critics and social media. People would usually rather trust their friends' quick summaries than read a full dissection by someone who might have very different tastes."
—u/Nihiliste
20."I worked as a journalist for a local newspaper, which alone is an endangered species sadly. But so many jobs around the reporter are already extinct. I went to college from 2004 to 2008 with every intention of becoming a journalist — the exact years when they had a major decline. Then, I graduated into the housing crisis. My career took a detour and by the time I got a job as a journalist for a local paper, the office was nearly empty. The whole thing is tragic. I've since moved on. It was a fun job but it's even more fun to earn enough money to pay for both rent and food."
—u/huggalump
Agree? Disagree? Have your own additions? See you in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
