50 Jobs Worse Than Yours

by Justin Racz

Guaranteed to make you grateful for the job you have and thankful for the one you don't. From Saddam Hussein Double to Telemarketing Script Writer to the guy who operates the "It's a Small World After All" ride, satirist Justin Racz has spanned the globe to find fifty jobs worse than yours, so we can all feel better about our own. Featuring fifty color photos of the awful, the pitiful, the hysterical jobs out there, and all their undesirable employment details, Fifty Jobs Worse Than Yours is the perfect gift for anyone stuck in a nine-to-five grind who needs to remember why it could be a whole, whole lot worse.
Justin Racz is a copywriter for BBDO New York. His parody J.Crewd was published by Doubleday in 1998.
"I've held a number of these jobs, so I speak from experience when I say Justin Racz has turned a painful and extremely depressing subject into high humor. I just wish I'd thought of this book first." - Tom Connor, co-author of Martha Stuart's Better Than You At Entertaining

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy

112 pages, Hardcover

First published November 13, 2004

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure what purpose a book like this serves. It's not particularly funny, nor is it particularly informative. I'm not actually sure they were even all real, paying jobs. But hey, if you're a writer who can make a little bit of money throwing together something like this, more power to ya.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I found myself with two days left in the month and I hadn't even started a book toward my goal of reading one book a month. Thankfully, I had this one, which I picked up at Goodwill a couple years ago. The good news? It was a quick read - I could have finished it in a single day but chose not to. The bad news? It's literally just a list of 50 "bad" jobs. It's literally the same as one of those internet lists you'd find on Buzzfeed or another site. Each entry is the same - the job is listed, a photo of a person doing that job is shown, and there are categories such as "Advancement," "Salary," "Attire," plus "Perks" and "Drawbacks." There's also the fact that this book was published in 2004 (and in fact, probably had been written earlier since one of the entries, Saddam Hussein's body double, literally has something like, "Job no longer exists" written on the page, which kind of seems like a last-minute edit from the publisher). I did laugh, though, so I will give the book credit for that. I don't really know what else to say - it's your basic comedy book you'd find at the bookstore, but I do wish there had been a bit more substance to it. Maybe interview people who had worked in those jobs to get their stories? I probably would not have read this book if I weren't in a hurry to get one done this month (although thankfully I have started my book for September already, so hopefully this won't happen again!)

[Félise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book was from 2004 and some of the salaries and things cited are outdated... most of these jobs really do stink! Disney wasn't doling out a living wage until getting sued a couple years ago. This is a short video that talked about the employees making less than minimum wage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P8fs...

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A list of 50 jobs that are pretty mundane or bad. Personally, I skipped over the Maggot Wrangler section. Eww.

[Norrin2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

well, really only 49. I would trade my job for #34.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for a chuckle when red during my dinner break at work. There's nothing wrong with my job, I love it. Still, it's interesting to contemplate what my future could be had I not gone to college and furthered my education. Some of the jobs in here are one-in-a-million, like Saddam Hussein's body double, the human regurgitator, or a grown woman who serves as a 'little boy' hand model in toy commercials. Others, like telemarketer, fast food produce chopper, or grocery store buggy wrangler are among the least desireable entry level jobs but someone's got to do them.
Overall, I've seen worse on 'Dirty Jobs', but I don't care to think about such jobs while eating my dinner, though the Webmaster of a website about vomit did turn my stomach and I had to put my hand over the accompanying picture.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up one day and read it cover to cover, which wasn't hard because it's very short, about one page of text and another full-page photo for each of the 50 jobs deemed worse than yours by the author. I'm not sure data entry is really that bad (I do it and my fingers are not currently bloody and bandaged). The one job that seemed pretty OK to me was "chicken sexer." It pays pretty nicely and you get to handle baby chicks all day. I mentioned it to my friend and she pointed out the biggest problem with that job (not mentioned in the book) is that they throw all the male chicks into a grinder. So I take it back about that not being a horrible job.

[Sheila · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started and finished this on my lunch hour. Eh. I've had some of the jobs in this book. However Mike Rowe has done far worse on "Dirty Jobs". Although I did skip one job as I have a SEVERE fear of it. Vomit. I think it was Vomit Inspector or something for a site called Rate My Vomit. Ummm no thanks. I'm all set.

[NuHunni · Rating 1 out of 5]

ehhh dont bother buying or borrowing this book, its pretty old and pathetic....and even if it was up to date..a job is a job, as long as it gets you money to live your life, then thats what it matters most....right??

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of these jobs really have "The Eww Factor" goin' on.
This is a quick and (sometimes) funny read.
Great for having on hand for those times when you are waiting in line somewhere and have a few minutes to read but not enough time to get lost in a novel.

[James Hollomon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Justin Racz has given us enough chuckles to justify the existence of this small book. And chances are good that most of the 50 jobs listed actually are worse than yours -- perhaps worse even than writing silly books for a living. :-)

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

a quick read and quite funny

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

( disclaimer: I feature as job no. 35 in this book )

[Abbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

My job isn't so bad!

[Lita · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever think that you've got the worst , bored work ever.... So I'll highly recomend this book to u .... Sooo many funny stories about other job that pathetic than yours.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing and quick to read but the book isn't much more than fluff.

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

now that Mike Rowe's 'Dirty Jobs' TV show exists, this book simply pales in comparison, but still a neat little quick read.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book. Although not all of the jobs were truly that bad (like temp, for example). And I've heard of worse jobs. But, a fun little book, nonetheless.

[Jennifer Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly I have aspired to hold some of these jobs. Adult store video clerk? Think of the interesting people you would encounter on the job. Or Human Canvas. Who doesn't love street performance art?

[Becki]

Entertaining

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these were quite good...

[Alli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read over the last few weeks whenever waiting for my department head to get back.

[Can0208 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haha

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Data Entry.
Sherpa.
Mop duty.
Adult-Video store clerk.
Rat catcher.
Hazardous materials remover.
Shopping cart valet.
Gravedigger.
Human canvas.
Temp.

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really outdated, but yeah there's definitely some jobs I'd never do in there.