Which careers that look glamorous are actually nightmares? – 17 industries that just aren’t all they’re cracked up to be

Some jobs are just as terrible as you would expect, but others have a certain appeal to them from the outside.

Appearances can be deceiving though. Even the most attractive of jobs comes with hidden downsides. And people were lining up to tell CupIndependent3610 all about them when they put the following question to r/AskReddit:

‘What is a career path that looks “glamorous” from the outside, but is actually a total nightmare behind the scenes?’

Here are the top replies you should think twice about before pursuing…

1.

‘Game Development

‘Its cut throat, unrelenting, stressful, unforgiving and unthankful.

‘Used to be stressy but fun about 25 years ago.’
-Eerazor

2.

‘Zookeeping

‘People think we play with cute animals all day. But it’s super low pay, hyper-competitive to get into, heavy lifting and hard labor in rain and heat and snow…

‘Also the smells are enough to knock most people out. I threw up 3 times my first week, shoveling big cat dung and going through piles of roadkill that was donated to us to feed the vultures and other scavengers.’
-dizzyd232

3.

‘Wildlife rehabber particularly in Iceland…

‘There are these birds called Fulmars that are the bane of my existence.

‘When they get upset, they puke all over you.

‘They can rapid-fire it multiple times. They eat only fish, and it’s a defensive mechanism so it’s also mixed with this oil that makes it cling. If a drop gets on you you stink for 3 days.’
-hiti72

4.

‘Classical musician. Super competitive, and you have to work yourself to the bone (practicing alone for hours and hours every single day) to even have a chance and getting ahead. A lot of people are mean and egotistical. Lots of misogyny. You get tinnitus and injuries. And you get sick of music especially if you are teaching it too’
-hollyhockaurora

5.

‘Animation.

‘Low pay, unstable with short contracts, so much overtime, absolutely stressful to the point you lose so much hair.
Ever since AI came into the picture they just replaced a bunch of workers..’
-TheMinnieTee

6.

‘Running your own business. Everyone sees “be your own boss” and freedom. Nobody sees the 3 AM anxiety about making payroll, the months where you personally make $0 while your employees get paid, and the constant feeling that everything could collapse tomorrow. 13 years in and I still get Sunday night dread.’
-Dimon19900

7.

‘ER doctor.

‘Seems glamorous saving lives and doing crazy shit. But really it’s getting shit and spat on, figuratively and literally. And managing chronic diseases people ignore, untreated mental illness, and issues stemming from people who were never raised by loving families.’
-spongimp

8.

‘Fashion industry. everyone thinks its runway shows and cute outfits but it’s mostly unpaid internships and crying in a supply closet at 11pm’
-No-Biscotti-1596

9.

‘A lot of people get into programming because they love writing code and problem solving, only to discover it’s mostly dealing with bad architecture and technical debt, and attending meetings where nothing gets done. And this was before AI turned a lot of us into babysitters.’
-GenericFatGuy