Being a garbage man may seem like an odd job, but there are thousands of people out there who collect garbage as their profession to keep the streets clean. Our cities would be filled with piles of waste if it weren’t for these garbage men.
However, there can be setbacks in this line of work. This article will help you understand the pros and cons of being a garbage man.
What Features Make A Garbage Man A Good Job?
Have you ever thought of taking up a garbage man’s job as a prospective career choice? If you are looking for reasons to become one, we have a list of features that give you the positives of working as a garbage man.
Doesn’t Require High Educational Qualifications
Unlike most jobs, becoming a garbage man does not require a college or university degree. If you are applying for a corporate career, you must provide the educational qualifications the companies need. The companies will not employ you if you do not have the required qualifications.
However, garbage collecting companies do not require you to have college and university degrees. The most they might ask you is a school degree, but that is the least of their concerns.
Keep going even if you are performing poorly in your academics. The most important thing is you should be motivated to start work as a waste collector. Everything else becomes secondary.
What garbage collecting companies look for is a workforce, so you do not require a law or science degree to pick up trash in the streets. There is an increase in the demand for garbage collectors as the population is growing by the day. Since humans are disposing of more garbage, these companies need more workforce.
You can apply for a garbage man job as long as you have reached the legal age to start manual work.
Keeping The City Clean
Everybody wants to live in a clean environment, but it gets trickier with the garbage coming out of every house daily. There are garbage-collecting companies to help keep the human-inhabited areas as clean as possible.
A garbage man helps keep the city clean by going to all the areas and collecting the garbage in the garbage truck. Without garbage collectors, the cities will be filled with stinking piles of garbage. The cities and towns will become uninhabitable because diseases will start spreading due to the trash.
By becoming a garbage collector, you help keep the city neat, preventing the disease from spreading among humans. Cities and towns function smoothly because there is no trash in the streets.
It is a matter of pride when you realize that society functions normally because you help clean the streets. If you imagine a world of garbage scattered everywhere, it would not be ideal for humans to live in. So, being a garbage man is one of the most satisfying jobs when you reflect on the impact of your job.
You Don’t Have To Sit Behind A Desk
Working behind a desk might seem like an ideal career, but it can take a toll on your physical and mental condition in the long run. People working desk jobs always complain about back aches and other issues.
A garbage man’s job is to go around the city, in your designated areas, and collect waste. It does not have the comfort of a chair, but you do not have to sit down for 9-10 hours and strain your back and eyes.
Desk jobs these days usually mean being in front of computer screens for hours, which can strain your eyesight. Most people working corporate jobs have eye problems because of excess screen time.
The best thing about being a sanitation worker is you don’t have to work with a computer. Working with computers can be a pain in the ass, especially if the system does not respond at times. Collecting waste around the city enables you to move around, providing your body with enough exercise.
The sleep you get after a long day out collecting waste is also super satisfying, unlike a significant percentage of people working desk jobs. Those people usually have issues dealing with insomnia due to their work schedules.
No Need To Work On Holidays And Weekends
These days, getting your weekends off is a rarity, with most companies making their employees work from home during weekends too. Since most work can be done using the internet, people even work on Saturdays and Sundays.
However, waste collectors do not have to work on weekends and public holidays. You get to have the off days to yourself without disturbances from anyone. You can enjoy the weekend with your loved ones or even decide to stay in and sleep the whole day.
The work-life balance is entirely satisfactory since you have free weekends and holidays most of the year. If you look at examples of people working desk jobs, you will usually find them working on one of their weekends to prepare for the upcoming Monday.
Excellent Job Prospects
The job of a garbage collector is not one that everybody aims for, so there is a high probability of you being employed by sanitation companies whenever you go. If you have some prior experience, you will get selected even if you lose your job at your current company.
With the growing population, the amount of garbage is increasing. Even though waste is getting produced without mercy for the environment, few people are willing to take up the job of a garbage collector.
If you have worked as a garbage collector before, you will be highly in demand since there is a need for more qualified workers in the field. There is no need to worry about losing your job as a garbage collector. You can easily find a new one as these sanitation companies are always looking to employ more waste collectors.
You Are An Essential Pillar In Society
If you think about the job of a garbage collector, you will realize it is one of the most important jobs in this world. No other position can be as unique as being a garbage collector.
Without doctors, there will be no one to cure sick people. Similarly, garbage collectors play a crucial role in society. They clean the towns and cities and make sure the streets are clean.
If the streets are not clean, humans will not be able to survive because of the stench and the diseases that come with it. Waste collectors ensure that our quality of life is well maintained. Without waste collectors, the rest of us would not know how to manage all the waste produced in this world.
Taking up a job as a waste collector will have a lasting impact on society since you ensure that other people’s quality of life stays high. There is a lot of personal satisfaction in working as a waste collector.
No Need To Work At Night
Unlike other professions, the best thing about being a waste collector is that you do not have to work at night. Some occupations can be flexible with their work schedule, as they also need to work at night. Half of the employees work during the day and the rest at night.
For waste collectors, there is no need to work at night. They only go around the neighborhoods collecting garbage in the early hours. Once they are done collecting, they go to the dumpsite and dump the waste there.
That is all there is to work as a garbage collector. Most waste collectors head home before the afternoon hours start. They get plenty of time to spend with their families and for their hobbies.
What Features Make A garbage Man A Bad Job?
Though being a garbage man has its advantages, it also comes with disadvantages. It is typical for everything in this world to have positive and negative impacts on us.
So, let us look at some disadvantages of being a garbage man.
Early Morning Duties
Collecting waste from different neighborhoods is most convenient when you do it early in the morning when there is no traffic. Most garbage workers wake up by dawn and start collecting until the sun rises.
Waking up early in the morning seems ideal, but it is challenging to get out of bed. However, if you don’t want to be stuck in traffic, you must wake up early morning and try to complete collecting waste as soon as possible.
If you are a person who wakes up late, the early morning duties might not sit well with you. Your coworkers might also not cope with your mood swings if you are a cranky person in the morning. Consider working other jobs if you are not a morning person.
Working On Rainy Days Is Challenging
Garbage collectors must work even if the weather conditions do not favor them. As long as it is a working day, there is no way you are getting off work because the waste will keep piling in the streets, and you cannot let that happen.
It is not only rainy days, but you have to work even if there is a snowstorm. Most other occupations are flexible, and can even work from home in extreme weather conditions. However, that is different for waste collectors.
When applying for a waste collector job, you should consider all these aspects. Make sure you are willing to work under extreme weather conditions if you apply for the sanitation job.
Dealing With The Unpleasant Smell
The most significant inconvenience about being a sanitation worker is dealing with the unpleasant daily smell. There is no telling the different waste products people dump in their trash cans.
It can be food waste, medicinal waste, industrial, etc. All of these combined can produce an unpleasant smell and get to your head. It also means you are susceptible to different airborne diseases.
Most sanitation workers say you get used to it as you get more experience, but it still affects your health. Imagine waking up early morning, and the first thing you do is pick up smell trash from the neighborhood.
If you can deal with the smell of garbage, then you don’t have to worry about the job. However, people who cannot tolerate stench should reconsider before applying for a waste collector’s job.
You Won’t Have A High Standing In Society
Being a sanitation worker has its highs and lows. The best thing about this job is you realize you help keep the world clean and disease-free. However, other people do not look at the job that way.
They think that waste collectors are down the pecking order in society. Of course, some people appreciate your contribution to the community, but most people will not admire you.
If you do not care about how others feel about you, the opinions that come along with the job should not bother you.
Lack Of Promotions
Being a garbage collector has little to no incentives regarding promotions. There is only one job in their line of work, and that is to collect waste from different neighborhoods in the city.
The companies increase the salaries the more you gain experience, but there is little to look forward to in this occupation. It doesn’t matter if you are the most experienced worker in the company; you will still do similar work to the fresher.
Declining Wages
Sanitation workers should be paid more for their work to ensure the cities are kept clean. After dealing with all the mess, they must go home with minimum pay.
Most workers have claimed that their wages have been declining in recent years due to the interference of third parties in the collection business. The workers have to deal with more working days and reduced wages.
This is especially true regarding the private waste management industry. The industry was paying around $30 an hour, but that has almost gone down by 50%.
People could work for one or two decades and call it a day, but new workers must work for a long time before considering retirement.
Hard To Change Careers
Once you become a sanitation worker, you might not get opportunities in other industries since the skill requirements are entirely different. If you are joining the industry, you must consider making it a full-time job.
Most companies will not hire people who have previously worked in the waste management industry. So, it is wise to consider all the possibilities before applying for a sanitation worker’s job.
So Is it A Good Job? What People Should Consider Becoming Garbage Men?
Being a garbage man has pros and cons, but we’d say it’s not a wrong career choice. First of all, you don’t need any educational qualifications for this job; all you have to do is show up!
There’s no need to undergo any training, as the job is simple enough for anyone to understand. On top of that, the world will always need sanitation workers, so demand will be steady for the most part.
You’ll only have to work a few hours as a sanitation worker, and then you’re free for the remainder of the day. There is no need to spend the whole day in the office like all the blue-collar employees in other industries.
Also, you’ll get the weekends off, which is not always the case for people in the creative, finance, or construction industries. Last but not least, the job keeps you on your toes and physically fit; you’ll get lots of exercise on the job.
Like every other job, the life of a garbage man is filled with ups and plenty of downs. For example, you’ll have to work early in the morning; there’s no compromising that. Garbage men often show up before people leave their homes for work, so you’ll have to be on the road by the time people still brush their teeth. So this might not be a great outfit for you if you hate waking up in the mornings.
The biggest con for garbage men would be dealing with the smells and odors they come across on the job. A mask might mitigate the foul smell, but it will still be there. If you take up this job, you’ll have to have a nose of iron and overcome the worst stenches imaginable. This might be an issue if you are particularly squeamish and are easily disgusted.
Finally, this job can come with surprises, as you never know what you’ll encounter. The possibilities are endless: a wild raccoon in the dumpster, a treasure in the garbage can, or a rotten pile of waste in the morning!
So, is being a garbage man a good fit for you? Well, you’ll never know unless you try it out! If you require employment and are ready to get your hands dirty, then by all means, go ahead and sign up for the role. Just keep in mind all the things we talked about beforehand!