Occupations that need to die

[BladeVenom]

politicians
lawyers
record executives

 

[jupiter57]

Real estate agents are one of the worst professions I think.
These days it seems most people do all their own research online. All they do is let people into the house and fill out a couple hours of paperwork. For that they expect tens of thousands of dollars? When the average person couldn't search the MLS it made sense as you'd need someone to place the ad and then someone to find the right house for the buyer. There is nothing an agent does these days that you could replace with a real estate lawyer for under a grand and paying someone $50 a showing to let them in. (They'd just need to have keys, no real estate knowledge.)

Travel agents are in the same boat on a much much smaller scale. The great majority of the time all they do is get in the way. At least their cut seems a more sane level.

Of course there are still some situations where these people are useful, but it seems the exception rather than the rule.

I've had some bad luck with Realtors as a seller, but when buying, I like the anonymity when negotiating.
Just bought the adjoining property, they had listed it with a local Realtor before I even knew they were thinking of selling (They were here at Christmas & didn't mention it).
We were not close at all, but I believe I would have had a harder time low-balling them face-to-face than with through the Realtor vs haggling (via Realtor)with complete strangers.

 

[Midwayman]

I've had some bad luck with Realtors as a seller, but when buying, I like the anonymity when negotiating.
Just bought the adjoining property, they had listed it with a local Realtor before I even knew they were thinking of selling (They were here at Christmas & didn't mention it).
We were not close at all, but I believe I would have had a harder time low-balling them face-to-face than with through the Realtor vs haggling (via Realtor)with complete strangers.

Do you think that is a $20k service? I bet your lawyer would be happy to send in an offer on your behalf at a straight hourly rate.

 

[jupiter57]

Do you think that is a $20k service? I bet your lawyer would be happy to send in an offer on your behalf at a straight hourly rate.

$20K?
I didn't buy the White House!
Got 2 acres w/ ~1K sq. ft., 2 BR, 1-1/2 bath Brick & attached garage for $65K.
@ 4%, Realtor gets $2600.00 (from the seller), asking price was $79,900.

 

[OverVolt]

Some professionals owe their sole existence to laws that create artificial barriers to entry.

Pharmacy is definitely one example. You can buy so much more over the counter in other countries IE Mexico.

 

[reallyscrued]

Some professionals owe their sole existence to laws that create artificial barriers to entry.

That right there pisses me off.

 

[Printer Bandit]

israel

 

[tokie]

Some professionals owe their sole existence to laws that create artificial barriers to entry.

Pharmacy is definitely one example. You can buy so much more over the counter in other countries IE Mexico.

I bought some medicine a few weeks ago OTC here in Europe and was shocked to find it was illegal in the US.

It basically is equivalent to NyQuil but the US thinks it is too dangerous for even pharmacists to give out?

 

[Dr. Zaus]

$20K?
I didn't buy the White House!
Got 2 acres w/ ~1K sq. ft., 2 BR, 1-1/2 bath Brick & attached garage for $65K.
@ 4%, Realtor gets $2600.00 (from the seller), asking price was $79,900.

... 200,000 is a reasonable price for a home everywhere but the butt-end of no where.

 

[Eureka]

... 200,000 is a reasonable price for a home everywhere but the butt-end of no where.

He's in KY.

Around here a decent house starts at $200k. And I'm fairly isolated from the nearby cities... I can't even imagine what it's like closer to NYC.

 

[crabbyman]

Not die but thinned out...road construction crews.

How many schmoes do you see on the side of the road "working" vs the number actually working? Especially state government road crews.

You will see 20 workers on the side of the road and actually only 3 - 4 actively working. The others are waiting on a command, an object, or just flapping their jaws.

 

[bignateyk]

Dentists -- stem cell research should eliminate these overpaid bastards
Plumber-- they make way too much money
Electricians-- same as plumbers over payed
Teachers -- most of them don't do anything

lolwat @ all of these

 

[bignateyk]

$20K?
I didn't buy the White House!
Got 2 acres w/ ~1K sq. ft., 2 BR, 1-1/2 bath Brick & attached garage for $65K.
@ 4%, Realtor gets $2600.00 (from the seller), asking price was $79,900.

Realtors bundle in the buyers cost into the sellers commission to perpetuate the scam. "Why wouldn't I use a realtor, it's free". But the reality is you pay for it when you sell.

There really is no use for realtors.

 

[Midwayman]

$20K?
I didn't buy the White House!
Got 2 acres w/ ~1K sq. ft., 2 BR, 1-1/2 bath Brick & attached garage for $65K.
@ 4%, Realtor gets $2600.00 (from the seller), asking price was $79,900.

LoL that's some cheap-ass real estate. Around here a home that doesn't require a lot of work starts about $300k. Also 4% is low. 5-6% is the normal range around here. $2600 is totally reasonable.

 

[JM Aggie08]

OP could not be any more wrong.

 

[bignateyk]

LoL that's some cheap-ass real estate. Around here a home that doesn't require a lot of work starts about $300k. Also 4% is low. 5-6% is the normal range around here. $2600 is totally reasonable.

That's the thing that doesn't make sense about realtors. Why the hell is it based on a percentage of the sale price? Is it really that much harder to sell a half million dollar house than a shithole in the ghetto for $80K? It's probably actually just the opposite.

A realtor probably has to do more work to sell cheaper houses. The entire profession just pisses me off. Everything about it is a scam.

 

[Maximilian]

Forum moderators :awe:

 

[Pray To Jesus]

who cares what you think we will let the market decide which jobs are needes

 

[nageov3t]

tier 1 tech support.

if you can't check that your computer is powered on, you should just have your computer privileges revoked and given a free Yellowpages book.

 

[bignateyk]

who cares what you think we will let the market decide which jobs are needes

Except that some professions like realtors have latched onto society like a parasite. Even if you want to do without them you're pretty much forced to use them because they run the MLS like the mafia, and are all in cohorts to keep their useless profession wedged into society.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Forum moderators :awe:

That's not a profession though, slave labor!

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[xanis]

Recruiters. I have a more politely-worded version of "If you're a recruiter, fuck off" in my LinkedIn profile, but I still get several messages every week from them.

 

[yhelothar]

Some professionals owe their sole existence to laws that create artificial barriers to entry.

Pharmacy is definitely one example. You can buy so much more over the counter in other countries IE Mexico.

Yup, unfortunately that's what a pharmacist job mostly is about, liability. They didn't go through all that rigorous scientific training to play the role of someone "preventing accidents." They went through that scientific training to think critically and to solve problems.

But the truth is, the vast majority won't be filling that role, but rather just drones on with dispensing and reading to you the label that you could just read yourself.

But on the other hand, they're the only ones who can read doctor's handwriting. I suppose that's a high skill job.

 

[exdeath]

Pickers and resellers. Can't find shit anywhere anymore unless its on eBay.

 

[kalrith]

I've had some bad luck with Realtors as a seller, but when buying, I like the anonymity when negotiating.
Just bought the adjoining property, they had listed it with a local Realtor before I even knew they were thinking of selling (They were here at Christmas & didn't mention it).
We were not close at all, but I believe I would have had a harder time low-balling them face-to-face than with through the Realtor vs haggling (via Realtor)with complete strangers.

That's my opinion as well. If I were selling, I'd probably go with a real-estate lawyer. However, when buying last summer, my real-estate agent was great. He was very helpful with evaluating how good of a deal a house is and what kind of offer to make. We turned away from houses for things he noticed that I didn't, such as a shared well with neighbors or easements granting the previous owner (farmer) access to part of the property.

Also, if I buy a property by myself from someone who listed with an agent, the selling agent will get 6% instead of that 6% being split between the selling and buying agent. In my case, each agent got $3,450 for my $115k property (10 acres, 2200 sq. ft., built in 2004, SW Missouri). IMO my agent definitely earned his share.

BTW, there are companies (like Assist-2-Sell) that charge a flat rate instead of a percentage. It can make a big difference when selling an expensive house, but it can also cost more money when selling an inexpensive house.

I'm really surprised at all the comments about plumbers, electricians, etc. While I do all that work myself, many, many people do not. It would be akin to saying that car-repair shops should all be shut down because they overcharge, they are dishonest, and I do all my own car work.