# Occupation: Student. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 2, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560 "2008-08-02T01:01:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/61 "2008-08-03T20:25:01Z")
So. . . the correct answer to the question “What’s your occupation?” should be, for example, “$55,000 before taxes”? And you started this, dear. You can’t expect all these people in their 7th year in grad school to say “I guess he’s right and I don’t really DO anything. . .” (I picked up a newsletter from a local environmental alliance yesterday and saw that their membership dues structure had an option for “Living lightly/ Student.” I like that.) ---
**Author:** ![mrsspooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@mrsspooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrsspooky)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/62 "2008-08-03T21:12:16Z")
Im a student full time (studing law) but I also work practically full time. I fully support myself and do expect any payouts from my parents. Sometimes when filling in applications the only thing (when chosing from a list of occupations) that seems to match is selecting student. I am afterall in full time education. I work anything from 25 - 40 hours per week to enjoy the finer things in life (food, shelter, law books, etc). I think being a full time student is a really difficult thing to do on top of working and perhaps some people are not smart enough to be able to work and go to uni. Obviously there are many lazy students out there who purely choose to not work and have mummy and daddy pay for everything. Please please please do not put all students in the same boxes! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/63 "2008-08-03T21:13:27Z")
[QUOTE=capybara] So. . . the correct answer to the question “What’s your occupation?” should be, for example, “$55,000 before taxes”? And you started this, dear. You can’t expect all these people in their 7th year in grad school to say “I guess he’s right and I don’t really DO anything. . .” (I picked up a newsletter from a local environmental alliance yesterday and saw that their membership dues structure had an option for “Living lightly/ Student.” I like that.) [/QUOTE] The amount of compensation doesn’t matter. Again, I didn’t say (or imply) that students don’t do anything. Others have said that I said that, though. Trying to bolster a weak sounding arguement, I suspect. Many, if not most, grad students do have jobs. If I were a law student working as a law clerk and was asked my occupation, I’d say “law clerk”. A resident doctor’s occupation is just that, though he/she is still a student. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/64 "2008-08-03T21:21:47Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Trying to bolster a weak sounding arguement, I suspect. OK, really, this is just comedy at this point. Do you really not see the irony here? You’ve spent this entire thread trying to squirm out of defending your argument with anything even approaching logic and reason. The closest you come is making shit up and then using it as a cite. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/65 "2008-08-03T21:25:58Z")
[QUOTE=mrsspooky] Im a student full time (studing law) but I also work practically full time. I fully support myself and do expect any payouts from my parents. Sometimes when filling in applications the only thing (when chosing from a list of occupations) that seems to match is selecting student. I am afterall in full time education. I work anything from 25 - 40 hours per week to enjoy the finer things in life (food, shelter, law books, etc). I think being a full time student is a really difficult thing to do on top of working and perhaps some people are not smart enough to be able to work and go to uni. Obviously there are many lazy students out there who purely choose to not work and have mummy and daddy pay for everything. Please please please do not put all students in the same boxes! [/QUOTE] Aren’t those who claim “student” putting you all in the same box? Please, somebody, read my OP. C’mon,from m-w: [quote] 2 a: please —used in cajoling or pleading b—used interjectionally to express astonishment, incredulity, or recognition of a put-on See! ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/66 "2008-08-03T21:39:42Z")
Okay, let’s do revisit your OP. > [@mangeorge](#): > > C’mon. If you don’t have a paying job, you’re (i)unemployed(/i). > Same for some other “occupations”. > Peace, > mangeorge After all this, it seems you should be able to either justify it or admit it was silly. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/67 "2008-08-04T01:29:25Z")
[QUOTE=DianaG] Okay, let’s do revisit your OP. After all this, it seems you should be able to either justify it or admit it was silly. [/QUOTE] "Silly’ is the exreme reactions to such a mild statement. Thanks for bringing it back to light. Now show me what would elicit such a response as we’ve seen here. It’s pretty obvious that I was simply expressing astonishment and incredulity. I’ve learned a lot from this thread. A lot about wisdom. And I live in a college town! One would think I’d have encountered this mystery affliction by now. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/68 "2008-08-04T02:11:15Z")
Okay, never mind. You’re clearly just kind of a tool. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/69 "2008-08-04T02:22:45Z")
Seconded. He’s not worth our time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Walking\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90ced4/32.png) [@The\_Walking\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Walking_Dude)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/70 "2008-08-04T05:27:50Z")
I’ll point out that I do have a paying job that is actually student. I have another part-time job as well, but we’ll leave that alone for now. Pretend it doesn’t exist. I work 12-21 hours per week “in the office”. In a classroom or lab, that is. I work at least that, if not more, at home dealing with many things, already stated, pertaining to that office work. I am paid, by various scholarship committees and by the federal government. Albeit that money goes straight to LSU, I still work my ass off for it. As a matter of fact, I am so damn good at my job that they even give me some extra in cash because I make more than I need for college. So, let’s review. The OP simply states that if you don’t have a paying job, you’re unemployed. I, a student who will forfeit his non-school job for this exercise, work many hours a week and am paid moderately well for my time. That means I have a paying job. That makes me, by your definition, employed. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/71 "2008-08-04T05:51:26Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Don’t forget that 4 1/2 hours a day keeping abreast of the soaps. :taps index finger: Guess I better put a winkie 😉 here. [/QUOTE] Don’t make me come over there and box your ears, whippersnapper! ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/72 "2008-08-04T06:53:45Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Don’t forget that 4 1/2 hours a day keeping abreast of the soaps. :taps index finger: Guess I better put a winkie 😉 here. [/QUOTE] Try bringing this up with your wife and see where you end up putting your winkie for the next few months. ---
**Author:** ![unstrung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a698b9/32.png) [@unstrung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unstrung)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/73 "2008-08-04T12:14:03Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] C’mon. If you don’t have a paying job, you’re (i)unemployed(/i). [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=mangeorge] The amount of compensation doesn’t matter. [/QUOTE] These two statements together are… confusing. But anyway, I think you need to clarify what counts as compensation. For example, I am currently working for a professor at my school. I don’t receive a paycheck for this job, but they are letting me take a certain number of credit hours free of charge. I’m very definitely receiving compensation for my efforts, but very definitely not receiving any income per se. As such, my occupation is student, and I am quite certainly not unemployed. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/74 "2008-08-04T12:35:11Z")
[QUOTE=Aspidistra] Don’t make me come over there and box your ears, whippersnapper! [/QUOTE] Promises, promises. And I haven’t been up to snapping a whip in a looong time. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/75 "2008-08-04T12:38:55Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] Try bringing this up with your wife and see where you end up putting your winkie for the next few months. [/QUOTE] Not in your lifetime. They (you) have soaps in Tokyo? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/76 "2008-08-04T12:42:09Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] Seconded. He’s not worth our time. [/QUOTE] And ratified. It is, after all, my thread. Bub eye. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/77 "2008-08-05T13:41:14Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Not in your lifetime. They (you) have soaps in Tokyo? [/QUOTE] There are soaps, but that word means something a bit different over here. And if my wife is spending her days checking them out, something very strange is going on. [link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soapland) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/78 "2008-08-05T14:30:37Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] There are soaps, but that word means something a bit different over here. And if my wife is spending her days checking them out, something very strange is going on. [link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soapland) [/QUOTE] I see. $1000? Hmmm. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/79 "2008-08-05T20:20:48Z")
I’m curious whether you make a distinction between different kinds of students. When I was in college I considered student to be my occupation. My schedule consisted of classes, studying, sports practice, and choir rehearsal. Now I’m in medical school and just spent the past month working 12 hour shifts in a busy urban ER. Not only do I not get paid for my contribution to the public health system I am paying for the priviledge. Would you consider medical student to be a valid occupation? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560/80 "2008-08-06T00:44:24Z")
[QUOTE=pendgwen] I’m curious whether you make a distinction between different kinds of students. When I was in college I considered student to be my occupation. My schedule consisted of classes, studying, sports practice, and choir rehearsal. Now I’m in medical school and just spent the past month working 12 hour shifts in a busy urban ER. Not only do I not get paid for my contribution to the public health system I am paying for the priviledge. Would you consider medical student to be a valid occupation? [/QUOTE] No. How hard you work doesn’t matter. I have no doubt that many students do work very hard. I’m freakin’ _surrounded_ by students and I love it that way. Some who aren’t gifted, mostly with a good memory, have to work harder than others. But if you are a student, and work as a “barista” at starbucks, then your occupation would be “barista”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupation-student/458560.md?page=5)