You never really know what a job is like until you actually do it, so it’s always interesting to talk to folks about what they do so you can get down to the nitty-gritty of their work.

Let’s hear from folks on AskReddit who got real about things the general public doesn’t know about their jobs.

1. Organs.

“I work in organ donation.

The general public doesn’t understand literally any of it.

One notable thing is that when you register to be an organ donor, it’s a legally binding declaration about your wishes after d**th. It is akin to a will under gift law.”

2. Witchcraft!

“Laser printers basically shoot lasers at a rolled up Polaroid, magnetize tiny bits of chopped up crayons onto a belt in that pattern, blow it all onto a sheet of paper with electricity at an opposite voltage, and then melt it at a temperature hot enough to bake a chicken for a fraction of a second before handing the results to you.

This is a generalization, of course, but the fact that printers work at all is pretty much witchcraft.”

3. Comical.

“Working for giant companies, it’s comical how many systems are raggedy messes of bare-bones functionality.

All available money gets thrown at certain projects, leaving everything else to work on complete shoe-strings.”

4. Don’t lie to them.

“Anaesthetics.

We only ask about your illicit drug use so we don’t k**l you when we give you a general anaesthetic and that you have appropriate pain relief.

You’ll have a tolerance that we need to counter by giving you a variety of drugs and more of them.

No judgement from us on your choices – just want to actually take care of your properly.”

5. Easy does it.

“I work in IT support.

Legit about 80% of all problems are solved by rebooting the computer/terminal/phone.

If not, 20 percent is pure detective work.”

6. Wow…

“Crisis hotline.

Sometimes we get really disturbing prank calls. I always encourage people to call back if they are ever in crisis.

A lot of times, they (the prank callers) do.”

7. All mixed up.

“I was a licensed Cremationist for 8 years.

Regardless how hard we tried, that wasn’t just grandma or grandpa in the urn…”

8. Pretty please.

“I’m a massage therapist.

I don’t care if you didn’t shave, but please wash your feet.”

9. On the road.

“That as a trucker, that space I left in front of me is so I don’t k**l anybody, NOT your personal invitation to jump in front of my bumper because you forgot your exit or whatever reason. So many want to get in front of us and slow down and park in front my bumper.

Don’t believe the billboards those ambulance chasing lawyers put up about big truck accidents mean big bucks. Only survivors get money, most likely not you. If you do survive, more than likely your quality of life is going to be miserable.

These trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, 34,000 pounds empty and around 20,000 pounds without the trailer. How does that compare to your SUV or even your lifted pickup. Do us all a favor and give us some space, leave us room so that you can live and go home to your family

One final thought, NEVER assume the other driver sees you.”

10. Good to know.

“When you call 911, please say your address before anything else. It doesn’t matter if someone is actively d**ng, say your address first.

I’m from a rural area so this might just be a problem where I’m from but if you’re calling on a cell phone sometimes it can ping in a completely different spot then you are. If you call and don’t say where you are and we get disconnected, I might not have any clue where to send rescue/police/fire and therefore I cannot help you.

Say your address (if you don’t know then please give like a cross street or notable location) first, then preferably your name, THEN tell me what’s going on.

A lot of people assume that we automatically have a precise location where they’re at, and the systems can be pretty accurate but you can’t always rely on them. If you say the address and we get disconnected I can at least send someone to the area to figure out what needs to be done.”

11. Good luck…

“Ex-security guard here.

We’re not there to protect you. We’re there to observe and report. Don’t assume that just because whatever building you’re working in has security that you’re safe.

Especially if security is of the unarmed variety…”

12. That’s a relief.

“I work at a large biotech/pharmaceutical manufacturing company.

The drugs you take or buy from your local pharmacy are so insanely and meticulously regulated & inspected at every step of the journey – from petri dish to pharmacy shelf, that you could take a pill from a bottle and it can be traced back to the exact room it was made in, the exact equipment that was used, who was responsible for each step, and the time it was made down to the very second.

Seriously, there is no missteps when it comes to GxP.”

What are some interesting facts about your job?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know.

We’d love to hear from you!