# Any countries where certain professions don't exist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313 "2014-03-10T00:37:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Frank\_Merton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Frank\_Merton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_Merton)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/61 "2014-03-11T13:26:11Z")
I would say they have pretty much disappeared from societies where women are treated as full people. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/62 "2014-03-11T13:50:49Z")
No railroad engineers in Iceland. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/63 "2014-03-11T13:50:56Z")
How do you figure? There are plenty of matchmakers here in the US. Matchmakers mostly just introduce people; their decisions aren’t binding. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/64 "2014-03-11T13:57:52Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Do matchmakers exist in every society? Not the ones where cigarette lighter use is widespread. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/65 "2014-03-14T00:24:41Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Isn’t it the case that in some American states, at least, a coroner doesn’t need to be an MD? In some places, like Orange County CA, the county sheriff is also the coroner by default. In CA, a coroner is more an administrative position that oversees the pathologists and investigators. A medical examiner is an MD though. I work as an embalmer, and I’m pretty sure that my job is non-existent in many countries, especially in the middle east. We’ve gotten bodies shipped in dry ice, or at best, embalmed at a medical school like a cadaver, which makes my life hell if the family wants a viewing on our end. Actually, there are some states in the U.S. where I wonder if anyone knows how to embalm. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/66 "2014-03-14T01:20:27Z")
No one flipping hamburgers at McDonalds…in Cuba. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/67 "2014-03-14T01:27:26Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’ve started watching a private detective series set in Ireland on Netflix called _Jack Taylor_. In the very first episode there’s a claim that there are no private detective in Ireland, that is “smacks of informant” and the attitude of people would make that a particularly dangerous career. Of course the lead guy is an ex-cop, and manages to get away with it. > > That sounds extremely far fetched to me, and if anyone can confirm or deny this claim, great. But it got me thinking about what professions might not exist in some places for various reasons. And I couldn’t really think of any. Prostitution is illegal of course in most places, but it certainly exists in most places too. (everywhere? I dunno) > > So, are there professions that don’t exists in some places, and if so, why? I think we should exclude failed states like Somalia – as the whole economy there barely exists. Great series and in the past that was true. I went to Ireland when I was stationed in the UK in the 1980s and they didn’t have PIs. They DID , however, enjoy American series with them and they would ask all sorts questions about if the shows were true or not. They were sadden to hear that most were bullshit. However, according to this article from Cork, Ireland’s newspaper, private detectives are now legalhttp://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2012/0524/ireland/investigators-help-snoop-and-protect-194903.html For a long time the country **Nauru** had no military members. It now has a tiny guard force which has both military and police powers. **North Korea** has no political campaign managers. **Andorra, Grenada,Samoa** and **Tuvalu** all have no standing military. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/68 "2014-03-14T05:37:43Z")
Looks like Grenada has a police force which I think de facto could function as an army. Wikipedia implies it’s a military. And a Coast Guard. And I wouldn’t invade Andorra at least. Jokes about the French Army aside, that doesn’t sound like a good plan. Tuvalu would of course pull all .tv web addresses, causing the world to accede to their demands (or at least in the early 2000s when .tv was really popular). I think there are no/not many snake handlers outside of the US and Canada? Especially in countries with no Evangelical or even Christian influence. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/69 "2014-03-14T12:06:10Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Alcohol is absolutely prohibited in Brunei and a few other countries, even for foreigners, so I guess bartenders are right out. Not necessarily, since it’s perfectly possible to serve non-alcoholic drinks and even non-alcoholic cocktails at a bar. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/70 "2014-03-14T12:15:32Z")
There are no US-style court stenographers (court reporters) in Germany - courts do not keep a verbatim record of proceedings; if in exeptional circumstances testimony is to be entered in the record verbatim this is done by dictating to the clerk (for short passages) or by taping and later typing up (for longer testimony). There are persons with the skill of verbatim real-time recording, though - they record parliamentary debates. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/71 "2014-03-14T14:28:40Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Not necessarily, since it’s perfectly possible to serve non-alcoholic drinks and even non-alcoholic cocktails at a bar. A “bar” that served _only_ non-alcoholic drinks, however, would generally not fit the normal usage of bar in Western countries (without qualifiers such as coffee bar or milk bar). A bartender is presumed to be someone engaged in selling alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/72 "2014-03-14T16:57:56Z")
I’m a little confused- are we looking for places where 1. certain job functions don’t exist (bail bondsmen in a place where it is illegal to post bail for a profit) , or 2. places where the functions are organized into job titles differently ( the US doesn’t have barristers or solicitors , but the single job title of “attorney” includes people who perform both functions) or 3. places where the job function exists but the title is different because the location of the job is different ( places where verbatim stenography exists, but isn’t used in courts therefore no title of “court reporter”) Or do any of these situations count? ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/73 "2014-03-14T17:13:14Z")
There are no Zamboni drivers in Zimbabwe. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/74 "2014-03-14T17:41:52Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > There are no Zamboni drivers in Zimbabwe. Are you sure? According to Frank Magazine, Chretien’s government spent a lot of money subsidizing Zamboni sales to Africa. Several conservatives at the time waxed very indignant about this waste of money in interviews with the magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/75 "2014-03-14T18:09:12Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Are you sure? According to Frank Magazine, Chretien’s government spent a lot of money subsidizing Zamboni sales to Africa. Several conservatives at the time waxed very indignant about this waste of money in interviews with the magazine. [Yep.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ice_hockey_countries) ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/76 "2014-03-14T20:15:19Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I think there are no/not many snake handlers outside of the US and Canada? Especially in countries with no Evangelical or even Christian influence. umm…how about [India](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_charming) ? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/77 "2014-03-14T20:39:10Z")
Costa rica has no military, so no assault troops. I would assume many developed nations do not have lobbyists. North Korea probably doesn’t have a weight loss industry. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/78 "2014-03-14T20:51:10Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > umm…how about [India](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_charming) ? See post #7. The fringe Christians get their jollies from holding snakes. These guys hold them but are less about that; it’s a job to get some tourist dollars, mostly. Snake handlers don’t typically live in tourist meccas. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > North Korea probably doesn’t have a weight loss industry. It’s called “everyday life.” But I’m sure that Kim Jong-un’s (current) arm candy gets some sort of training or exercise program. Wouldn’t want her to look chubby next to her dashing, svelte husband. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/79 "2014-03-14T23:06:59Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Isn’t it the case that in some American states, at least, a coroner doesn’t need to be an MD? Certainly. I just learned for instance that in Louisiana, if any MD runs for the elected Coroner position, the MD always wins-but if no MD is running anyone can win the election and serve as Coroner. Of course, in most circumstances even the MD Coroners (it is a part-time position) hire pathologists to perform the actual autopsies. In most places the Coroner is an primarily an administrative position, not a technical one. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313/80 "2014-03-14T23:31:40Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I was going to say: I bet there are no prostitutes in Saudi Arabia. But then: of course there are, just probably no streetwalkers. right here “mutahfucker” [http://www.cifiaonline.com/prostitutionlegalized.htm](http://www.cifiaonline.com/prostitutionlegalized.htm) the quoted item will make sense if you read the article [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-countries-where-certain-professions-dont-exist/683313.md?page=5)