Gas fitting or academia
The news (if you can call it such) that an academic has quit his job and is to become a gas fitter sets the scene for all kinds of terrible British snobbery. The most normal manifestation of this is when you hear comments such as, 'Don't plumbers in London earn a lot of money' and 'I might quit my job and become a plumber'.Two things stand out. First, those saying the former usually earn more money than plumbers, in far nicer conditions and with much less effort. Second, those saying the latter never seem to quit their jobs and become plumbers, despite urging from people like me. Hence the Doctor deserves our praise.
The reasons for both the above are pretty obvious -- plumbing isn't as easy or as nice or as well-paid as you think it is. You never hear people say, 'gosh aren't those lawyers well paid' (well you do, but not in the same way). That is because people think lawyers deserve to be well paid because it is difficult and they couldn't, or wouldn't, want to do it themselves. There is some truth to this, but what is true for lawyers is more true for plumbers. And gas fitters, I expect.
posted by Matthew @ 2/24/2004 09:05:00 AM
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