27 'Dream jobs' that are actually wack in real life: 'Working on a cruise ship sounds like a TV show, but you're worked to the bone'

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
May 25, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

At some point, every 'dream job' becomes a nightmare. 

Because we have inflated expectations of a rose-colored workplace, sometimes we as a workforce forget that every job is ultimately work. For some fields, and usually, industries that seem ultra-glamorous, hard work is rarely rewarded because the workforce will constantly be replenished with new, passionate hires who come in dreaming of their ideals. Take Hollywood for example–there's a reason people call Los Angeles the city of 'broken dreams'…

But what unconventional jobs do most of the populace think sound fun? When we have a friend who's a DJ, it's easy to say, 'Hey, that guy's job sounds great! You listen to music and you party all the time, but behind the scenes, DJ's are never sleeping properly, there's no job security, and they'll probably have hearing loss by 35.

Keep scrolling to read a few more of the worst dream jobs that seem idyllic, but in real life are quite terrible.

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  • 01
    What's a job that sounds fun but is actually pretty miserable?
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  • 02
    UslyfoxU. 6 hr. ago Video game tester. It was my son's dream job and he landed a gig working on one of the biggest open world games ever made. He claims to have spent most of his time running into walls.
    via UslyfoxU
  • 03
    Significant-Push-232 5 hr. ago Dog trainer. The animals are amazing, the owners are insufferable.
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  • 04
    • sp000kysoup 4 hr. ago Same goes for anything in vet med. People think you get to play with puppies and kitties all day. Definitely not. That's maybe 5-10% of my job. The rest of the work burns you out
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  • 05
    _tx. 5 hr. ago I was a lifeguard when I was a teen. I thought "cool, hang out in the sun with a bunch of people in swimsuits." Man, it's hot and boring as
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  • 06
    PianoCharged 5 hr. ago · edited 54 min. ago Musician Late nights; constant low- budget travel; and an endless process of schmoozing with people
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  • 07
    Whut4 5 hr. ago Graphic design! People assume it is soooo creative. You have to make a lot of other people's trite and dumb ideas come to life to get paid for it --- or there is so much to get done, you have no time to think of creative alternatives to the way it is usually done. The creativity is minimal.
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  • 08
    SkydivingAstronaut • 6 hr. ago Working on a cruise ship. Sounds like a TV show but really you're worked to the bone, forced to live below deck and you've got to do the same again and again.
    via SkydivingAstronaut
  • 09
    LOADING.... Mysterious_Fly_4510 6 hr. ago Zookeepers. Sounds like it would be fun, being Dr. Doolittle and scratching the chins of pandas. But for the most part you're just cleaning up after them.
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  • 10
    jeaimesart 5 hr. ago Photographer, people are too stupid to understand the work , and they don't know what they want, one client was so furious with me because he and her wife appeared too much in their weeding shoots, it was the most annoying and stressful stupid client Iv ever had
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  • 11
    V GUINNESS CTnaturist . 5 hr. ago . edited 5 hr. ago Some movies and shows making being a chef seem glorious. White chef coat. Barking orders at your staff. Meeting celeberties. Then other shows show the real side of it:
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  • 12
    • Long hours, never a Saturday night off. • Destroys your body. Back, legs, feet all take a beating.
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  • 13
    • Cooks don't get tips. Pay is not fantastic. Only room for growth is moving restaurants for a a buck or two more an hour.
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  • 14
    • Lots of work. Prep work, dinner rushes, breaking down the line after. • Burns. Lots of burns. • Surrounded by a lot of drugs people need to get through back to back to back doubles.
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  • 15
    • microkangaroo · 4 hr. ago Work that primarily involves travel. After a few trips, it just becomes a chore and you don't actually have time to have fun on work trips anyway
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  • 16
    secaxj650rj 5 hr. ago Working in a brewery. Back in the old days it was paid fun and beer was plentiful but with corporate takeovers and foreign ownership (think brazil) now its a soul sucking put a bullet in your head nightmare. Just glad i got my pension and got the outta there.
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  • 17
    DonMo999 5 hr. ago Veterinarian - you will be putting down a lot of animals, even in cases where treatment is available but simply too expensive.
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  • 18
    Moon_Jewel90.5 hr. ago Working as a flight attendant. 175 Reply Share Silver_Scallion_1127 4 hr. ago One of my good friends WAS one and hated it after 6 months.
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  • 19
    Perfect-Example8447 5 hr. ago Many believe working as a DJ is fun, but the late hours, irregular schedule, and physical demands can be exhausting.
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  • 20
    Wraith 31 6 hr. ago • Pentester. Is a mixed bag. Some of it can be very fun, other bits are extremely monotonous, tedious, and uninteresting.
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  • 21
    JimroidZeus 5 hr. ago Engineer. Turns out everything broken. is your fault and no one wants to talk to you when working properly.
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  • 22
    fitnerdluna 3 hr. ago • Running a company's social media. It's fun when you do your own, different story when you have an out of touch boss who wants to drive up customers using outdated/poor graphics
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  • 23
    SamDBeane 5 hr. ago • Concert sound mixer. If people knew what it takes to get there and stay there...
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  • 24
    PKinny 3 hr. ago Interior Designer. It seems like all fun, picking out paint and furniture but in reality, it's mostly paperwork and coordinating with contractors and getting bitched at by rich people.
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  • 25
    00 Materva 6 hr. ago Being an extra in a movie/TV show. 76 Reply Share bomber991 6 hr. ago Idk my dad seemed to like it. Minimum wage but free ham sandwiches.
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  • 26
    sleepingsysadmin · 6 hr. ago IT jobs in general? It's always about something that's going wrong.
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  • 27
    1_art_please · 4 hr. ago Fashion design. Low wages and no credit for the work you do. I also didn't realize at the beginning that people get so jealous of your job and they take it out on you which bothers me most honestly.
    via 1_art_please

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