Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>>> But consulting work does pay well; generally, it pays very well.
>>>
>>> Presumably because it's extremely high-stress work with no job security?
>>
>> But at least we *know* that we don’t have job security ;)
> 
> Heh, well, these days I think probably everybody knows there is no job 
> security...
> 

Then you don’t owe any loyalty to your employer.


>> And it is not as stressful as knowing that people could die or be 
>> severely injured if you make a mistake.
> 
> True. I've always though being some kind of doctor must be the worst job 
> ever. 

But the benefits, knowing that you have helped others, saved lives and 
made lives more bearable. Not to mention the money :)

>Millions of people dead, their screams haunting your dreams. Every 
> waking second you walk the surface of the Earth, you know that you could 
> have saved them, if only you had tried harder. 

That’s why doctors and nurses develop “graveside humour”. It distances 
you from the human suffering. Sometimes it goes too far, though.

>The look of hatred and 
> anger in their loved one's eys. The lawsuits and charges of incompetence 
> and negligence. The violence from enraged kin. It must be hell on Earth.
>

I think that you overstate it ;)

> ....or, maybe a fireman. Yeah, because that way, you have all of the 
> above, *and* there's a totally real possibility that _you_ will die 
> today as well. Or maybe just be horribly injured and maimed for life. If 
> you die, your body will probably never even be found. That must be great.
> 

Well my father was a fireman and I grew up in a fire station, from the 
age of 3 to 22. The job can be dangerous but they are trained for it so 
it is not as dangerous as you would think. I did a few fire fighting 
courses when I worked offshore; putting out hydrocarbon fires in burning 
buildings, rescuing people (dummies) in the smoke and heat while wearing 
breathing apparatus. Once you know what you are doing it’s not so 
dangerous. As for your body not being found, that seldom happens. My 
father told me that one of the worse things was the smell of burning 
meat. But if it is not you then it is not that bad :P

> I guess compared to that, being screamed at for 8 hours by irate 
> customers isn't do bad.
> 

That has its own stresses. I believe the average burnout rate in 
customer service factories is about two years. Although I have worked 
for companies (Coca Cola UK in MK for one) where people worked for years.
-- 

Best Regards,
	Stephen

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