This question is not about the continued proliferation of academic degrees that have been alleged to be of marginal utility in the workforce.
What are some notably antiquated, obsolete, or charmingly old-fashioned vocational qualifications (e.g. certifications, professional licenses, etc.) that can still be obtained today? For example, can you still become a certified typewriter repairman? There has been some buzz over the fact that there are still typewriter repair jobs out there, but I’m not finding anything about how I can get the kind of certificate that grandpa had in '47 when he fixed Smith-Coronas for a living. Can I hop the next train to some rust-belt has-been industrial city and take the exam in some dingy warehouse? I once saw a picture of a mid-20th century certification verifying that the holder passed a test in Palmer Hand writing (the bane of many a '50’s kid’s school experience). Can you still get one?
Cost and utility are not in scope for this question. I’m looking at this question with an eye to having a good time and having an office full of conversation-starters. Certifications in homeopathy, chiropractic, and other similar alternative health fads don’t really count because practitioners are very much in demand. Certifications that relate to nearly-forgotten fads could be in scope.
I was wondering about medical transcription, and if it had been replaced by some kind of modern communication technology. Apparently it is still a going occupation, though growth has slowed.
The question wasn’t whether these fields still exist, but whether I can get a formal qualification in them, especially a qualification that was once well-respected in the heyday of those technologies. Consider that today you can go for a plethora of IT certs such as CCNE. Can you get a Certified VCR Repair Technician cert from Sony today? From a recording industry association (RIAA or MPAA maybe)?
They don’t describe the career track (heh!) to obtaining a certification to teach and certify firemen and engineers, but I can safely assume it’s sooty.
That’s a good one, thanks. It does look like it’s a fairly recent program as opposed to something that is left over from the days of steam engines, but it seems like it could have real meaning. They may hire new operators out of the graduates!
Anyway, that’s the kind of thing I was targeting when I mentioned interesting obsolete credentials. I’m potentially looking for this kind of experience:
Hiring manager: “Blah blah blah thank you for coming to the interview. Ah, Mr. robert_columbia, I see you are an MCSE.”
Me: “No, it’s actually an MCSO - a Maryland Credentialed Stagecoach Operator. I’m qualified in both two and four-horse coaches. I get called every few months for fantasy weddings and birthdays. Last year I hosted a big moonlight buggy ride through the streets of Old Annapolis. Made lots of money and had a really good time.”
Hiring manager: “Wow, you’re the sort of independent-path thinker we need here! Would you prefer a BMW or a Mercedes as your company car?”
I recommend starting w/ Gregg Notehand. It’s easier to learn, and once you learn it, you can pick up a book of short forms online for free, or hardback for a buck or so.
Why yes, I can take shorthand, and darned useful it is too.
I have a friend that is the IT manager for the Plimoth Planation (known more commonly as the Plymouth Colony site of Pilgrim fame). It is a ‘living history’ museum with lots of historical actors working on site using the old technology and techniques. Positions for things like blacksmith are surprisingly competitive and require people that aspire to it to go through the normal apprenticeships that blacksmiths always have through the ages because the work they will be doing is very real and not just for show. Other positions like the various ship jobs are the same. There are a number of living history museums like that such as Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg. They have their own selection and certification procedures but you can’t just walk in as a volunteer and start giving demonstrations unless you really are just as trained in that particular craft as a professional from times past.
You can still get certified as a farrier (horse shoer) as well. I don’t know that one quite qualifies as obsolete because good farriers are still in high demand among horse owners and the job pays very well per hour but it is a throwback art. It is a dangerous and difficult job because you have to custom fit metal shoes to very large animals that may or may not want to cooperate.
You beat me to the punch on that one. There is still a big demand for farriers, especially in certain areas where recreational horse riding is common, but horses still exist in small numbers nearly everywhere. I knew a certified farrier once. He was also a certified alcoholic and drug addict but he did know how to shoe horses quite well and that was all that mattered because very few people do these days.
Horse owners are generally affluent and don’t even blink when they get a multi-hundred dollar bill for services on their beloved animals. Shoeing horses is generally not a do-it-yourself job even for people that are extremely knowledgeable about other aspects of horse stewardship. Good farriers have to know everything from blacksmithing to equine podiatry. Even moderate hoof problems like splitting can get serious enough to lame or kill a horse if it is done incorrectly. It is also an extremely dangerous job. You have to work with the horse’s back legs in a vulnerable position even when the horse isn’t well trained or doesn’t want to cooperate. One swift kick can permanently disable or kill you like it has many others so it isn’t a job for the risk adverse.
Most rural farriers do the job part-time for extra cash but there are probably a few farriers in places like NYC and other big cities that make good money shoeing the police and tourism industry horses. Farriers that specialize in high end show horses and race horses make extremely good money based on hourly rates. The latter group can make well into the six figures a year.
Not quite completely obsolete—but then again, neither are steam locomotive engineers, technically—but you can get an FAA Type Rating in historical aircraft, some of which have only very few flying examples. The Me-262, for example.
Credentials? Conrad Black was a pompous ass who wanted to be a British Lord. Make a big enough donation to charities, etc. pull the right strings and apparently you could buy a House of Lords lordship. Not sure if knighthoods are equally for sale.
Of course for Conrad, he made his mark running newspapers, including British ones but mainly Canadian and American. He spent his career insulting the (Liberal) prime minister, only to discover that the requirement for the British government to get approval for titles to Canadian citizens from the Canadian government - was not a rubber stamp. He therefore renounced his Canadian citizenship to get the title.
He was later convicted and did time due to charges in the USA, but apparently that’s no hindrance for a non-Canadian returning to live in Canada - money talks.
So there you go - a fairly obsolete title, especially if you don’t intend to sit in the House and vote on legislation. (Do purchased titles allow you to do that?) Not sure if, as a convict, he still retains his title.
AFAIK there is not and never has been such a requirement. Chretien placed diplomatic pressure on the British government to change its mind, but legally Canada was not involved at all, and there are no consequences for Canadian citizens who accept titles without the approval of the Canadian govenrment.
I think it was more than diplomatic pressure applied to the British Government. Chretien advised the Queen not to grant the honour to Black, a Canadian citizen, while Blair advised the Queen to grant the honour to Black, a UK citizen. The impasse was resolved when Black renounced his Canadian citizenship, whereupon Chretien withdrew his advice, as pertaining to a matter no longer of any interest to Canada.
Black is still a life peer, and so still a member of the House of Lords in the UK. However he is on leave of absence, which means he is currently ineligible to take part in the work of the house. Leave of absence is usually granted to any member who has been absent for a while, unless they object. A member on leave of absence can give three months notice of his intention to return, and Black could do this at any time. As a member on leave of absence, he can’t use the library or research facilities of Parliament, but he can use the catering services.
It may be a law or an understanding or courtesy or precedent, but the British government will not grant any titles to a Canadian citizen without the approval of the Canadian government. Chretien refused to grant such permission. (Or maybe the governor general has to permit the honour, and listens to the prime minister)
This goes back to all the different threads about what the Queen can and cannot do. Technically, she grants titles, technically, she could do whatever she wants - until she annoys people enough that they change the laws. A smart queen, being told by, say, the British government to approve a title and the Canadian government to NOT approve a title, would probably tell the two - “work it out and let me know what both of you agree on”. A clever British government would probably not want to annoy the Canadian government for the sake of one pompous wannabee.
As an aside, here is the former Baron Black in full flow as he responds to reports of these unfortunate career events and jousts with the political interviewer Jeremy Paxman.