# What exactly was Chandler's job? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827 "2011-05-13T21:29:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/41 "2011-05-14T22:08:41Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Ahh, damn. I unabashedly loved this show.\ Me too. Sorry, that wasn’t right - Could I LOVE this show any more? ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/42 "2011-05-14T22:27:11Z")
> [@cat whisperer](#): > > me too. Sorry, that wasn’t right - could i love this show any more? i know! ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/43 "2011-05-14T23:11:01Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The only thing we knew about Chandler Bings job > > 1. He hated it > > 2. No one knew what it exactly was or entailed. > > 3. It the best paying of the friends jobs > > 4. It came with some substantial authority. In other words, he was a [BOFH](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastard_Operator_From_Hell). ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/44 "2011-05-15T00:17:42Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Nope, it was a promotion. A few episodes after that Phoebe goes to work for him as an assistant, and she tells him no one likes him now because he’s their boss. And they show him talking to his underlings at the end of the episode. We also see his underlings in Tulsa. Don’t forget Chandler the boss in Tulsa, which means he was already in a pretty high position in the company. He has hire-fire authority, since we see him having to fire at least one person. His opinion is regarded enough that he’s asked what he thinks of the guy who calls him Toby. Chandler’s opinion is enough to keep him from getting the promotion. In fact, Chandler has probably been promoted again at some point since the one in the first season. My theory is that he has enough authority that he can dump a lot of his work on his employees. This is the reason why he can be at the coffee shop at 10:00- my former boss often didn’t show up at the office until hours after we had started working. And he left an hour or two before we did. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/45 "2011-05-15T00:33:27Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The only thing we knew about Chandler Bings job > > 1. He hated it > > 2. No one knew what it exactly was or entailed. > > 3. It the best paying of the friends jobs > > 4. It came with some substantial authority. I know quite a few people in real life with jobs exactly like that. I’ve asked them what they do, and they either reply with some term that just floats between my ears and out again without happening upon any neurons in between, or they reply that it’s too complicated to explain or even that they don’t really know. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/46 "2011-05-15T02:53:12Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > B) _Weekend at Bernie’s_ I’m sorry, but the correct answer is _Weekend at Bernies **2** _. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/47 "2011-05-15T06:24:36Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > He grinds numbers and it doesn’t really matter what numbers he’s grinding. His type of profession could produce analysis of bank loans or widget sales. In other words, He’s presented with raw data, and he groups it in ways that can be easily disseminated for decision making. Okay, that makes things clearer. From that, Chandler would be doing (or delegating) the tally for tennis ball fuzz sold, look at the regions that buy tennis ball fuzz and then group the numbers so that the people above him can make decisions about opening a tennis ball fuzz factory in a new location. Or something like that… For some other Friends job related fun… how many different jobs has Phoebe had? Masseuse, obviously. Would the stock broker job in the “what if?” episode count? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/48 "2011-05-15T11:57:46Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Ross did very well. > > The whole point to Chandler’s job is that he Works In A Corporate Suit Job. It’s meant to be a middle management position that’s incomprehensible to anyone not in it, as in fact many such jobs are. I have a hell of a time explaining MY job to anyone who isn’t familiar with it. > > Chandler is, basically, A Suit. That’s all that matters to set up everything about how his job affects his life - its mundane boringness, office politics, nobody else really giving a crap what he does, his relative income, and various plot points like being transferred to Omaha. Not really. A managerial position has broad but easy to explain responsibilities. Chandler’s job is clearly fairly technical and he is very well compensated for the same. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/49 "2011-05-15T13:00:55Z")
> [@Grapefruit](#): > > For some other Friends job related fun… how many different jobs has Phoebe had? > > Masseuse, obviously. Would the stock broker job in the “what if?” episode count? I don’t think stock broker counts, since that was a fantasy. Phoebe was a caterer, with Monica. She also sold steak knives to help Frank, Jr. and Alice. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/50 "2011-05-15T15:27:14Z")
How about Salvation Army bell-ringer? Maybe not since it’s a volunteer thing and not a job. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/51 "2011-05-15T15:33:05Z")
FYI, some of the Salvation Army bell ringers are paid, not volunteers. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/52 "2011-05-15T15:37:27Z")
phoebe also worked as a telemarketer and a bellringer for the salvation army but i think those only lasted one episode. oh, and she worked as an extra on days of our lives. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/53 "2011-05-15T16:25:09Z")
She also worked as Chandler’s assistant. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/54 "2011-05-15T20:24:45Z")
Phoebe has been hinted to have dabbled in prostitution during her time as “street Phoebe”. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/55 "2011-05-16T00:50:43Z")
So, Chandler was a statistical analyst, then got into marketing. Monica, a chef. Ross, a professor / paleontologist. Joey, a struggling actor. Rachel, started as a waitress at Central Perk. Then a buyer for Ralph Lauren, if I remember correctly. Phoebe, a masseuse and bohemian musician. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/56 "2011-05-16T01:17:59Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > So, > > Chandler was a statistical analyst, then got into marketing. > Monica, a chef. > Ross, a professor / paleontologist. > Joey, a struggling actor. > Rachel, started as a waitress at Central Perk. Then a buyer for Ralph Lauren, if I remember correctly. > Phoebe, a masseuse and bohemian musician. Close- you forgot that Rachel spent about a year and a half at Bloomingdale’s. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/57 "2011-05-16T01:26:24Z")
I thought Chandler was an insurance company executive first, then became a writer of hard-boiled detective fiction, and finally a screenwriter. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/58 "2011-05-16T03:21:26Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I just figured Chandler was an early developer of web search engines. I believe the first time I heard Google mentioned on TV was by Chandler. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/59 "2011-05-16T03:46:11Z")
Rachel started out as a very well to do daddy’s girl - “I just want to get married” (in runs Rachel in a wedding dress) “and I just want a million dollars!” Phoebe’s twin was a porn starlet and a waitress at a different restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827/60 "2011-05-16T04:00:18Z")
Ursula waited on the Buchmans alot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-chandlers-job/581827.md?page=4)