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Modern job titles

(12 Posts)
Beswitched Tue 13-Jul-21 09:38:22

I was watching a very old quiz programme the other day and found it really refreshing to actually understand what the contestants did for a living - an electrician, a window dresser, a housewife and an architect.

Nowadays, when I watch programmes like Location Location Location I haven't a clue what any of the younger couples do - a wellness consultant, a retail designer, a marketing operative etc

Is anyone just a secretary or a bank official or a receptionist anymore? Or am I just way behind the times?

timetogo2016 Tue 13-Jul-21 09:44:16

I know what you mean Beswitched.
A bin man is now a refuse collector,he still empty`s the bins.
The hairdresser is now a stylist.
A cleaner is a home help.
The list goes on.
And yet the postman/woman is still just that.

Callistemon Tue 13-Jul-21 10:21:04

Shop assistants are colleagues.
They might well be colleagues but that is not their function or purpose.

Front desk executive used to be a receptionist.

Do they get paid more?
No

JillyJosie2 Tue 13-Jul-21 10:25:37

Train manager instead of guard always rankles slightly with me because guard always seemed simpler and friendlier I suppose.

I think there is a lot of unnecessary obfuscation in modern job titles, maybe they give people a sense of status?

MoorlandMooner Tue 13-Jul-21 10:31:28

Before I retired I was a gardener.

Now I'd be a 'Horticulturalist' or when mowing I'd be working in 'Turf Management'

Beswitched Tue 13-Jul-21 10:56:46

Yes some people seem almost ashamed to say what their job is.

"Barnby is a wellness facilitator and Sandra works in customer service"

Meaning "Barnby works in a gyn and Sandra is a hotel receptionist".

Perfectly respectable jobs. Why all the coyness?

HolySox Tue 13-Jul-21 11:04:51

The police force was something to be reckoned with. These days we have a police service. Feel their approach is more negotiation ("would you mind awefully not punching that chap please sir") and documentation (" sorry you've had your house ransacked but here's a crime number so you the insurance company can make it all better")

Mind you paramedics in ambulances instead of 'taxi drivers' is certainly a step forward.

Kate1949 Tue 13-Jul-21 11:29:06

Window cleaners can now call themselves Transparency Enhancement Facilitators if they wish to.

Calendargirl Tue 13-Jul-21 11:38:10

I was a bank clerk in my early career.

Later on, a Counter Manager, Customer Services Manager, Operations Manager and so on.

Same pay, more responsibility, still dealing with cash and customers.

Greta Tue 13-Jul-21 11:38:39

There was an interesting discussion on radio 4 recently: Bottom Line: Business Language.

By using longer words people feel more important. ”A window of opportunity” sounds more intelligent than 'opportunity'. Language is construed in a way that avoids pinning down the writer/speaker. An example: instead of ”Right now we don't have enough desks for everyone to come to the office every day”. This is dressed up as: ”At this point in time we lack sufficient seating arrangements to accommodate a full compliment of staff in the office on a daily basis”.

When I receive business letters I often have to read a paragraph several times to be able to understand it. The clever thing is to keep the language clear and simple.

dragonfly46 Tue 13-Jul-21 11:39:06

My DD is a scrum master!

eazybee Tue 13-Jul-21 12:32:17

The school secretary morphed into Headmaster's Personal Assistant, (she would have been surprised if she knew how much we knew about just how personal), and the caretaker became Site manager.