Back in April, this column posed a variety of questions around the subject of meeting new people and telling them what you do for a living.
We asked: Just how do people react — initial, immediate reaction — when you reveal your line of work? Does working in a waste treatment profession still carry a hint of negative perception? When asked what you do, have you ever felt tempted, even now and then, to dodge the subject a little? Is this a concern for people on your team, especially newer people? If so, how do you deal with it?
The column must have touched a nerve, because we got a fair number of responses. Here are a few:
As executive director of a small county sewer district, as my first answer to the question, “What do you do for a living?” I often say, “I am a bureaucrat.” After a puzzled look crosses their face, I tell them, “I am a sewer guy.” They say, “Oh.”
James Fischbeck, Executive Director
Washington County (N.Y.) Sewer District
At age 72, I have had several jobs, including farming hogs, beef cattle, milk cows and crops. I also owned and operated three lumber and hardware retail stores, supervised and operated a water treatment plant, ran a backhoe business, drove school bus, ran a dairy supply business, and worked as a carpenter, to name a few.
I have now worked as a wastewater treatment operator for 22 years. I introduce myself in many different ways, depending on my perception of who I am talking to. My first perception will usually come from reading their body language. If I want to impress them, I will flower it up by saying, “I work at the No. 1 operation in the state, and in the Top 10 in the USA.” If it is an old classmate or an old friend I haven’t seen for years, I just say, “I work in a s*** plant.” If I am talking to a friend or co-worker of my wife, I say, “I work for the city.”
There are so many scenarios that every meeting is different. After the first meeting, I get a feeling for which direction to go. I am proud of what I do, but I try not to offend or embarrass anyone. I think as a group we do a wonderful job, and I feel my contribution is a plus. As in any job, there is always someone who has a better or more interesting job in their perception.
Rodney Collins
Durham, N.C.
I caught your article about wastewater work and the stigma that surrounds it. I’ve been at it since 1974. I was 24 when I started. Maybe back then I was concerned about it. I remember asking if the operator I replaced stank when he went to lunch.
All that evaporated pretty quickly. In today’s world, I still call myself the sewer guy when anyone asks. It breaks the ice. Then people want to know how it all works and ask for tours. I live in a resort community in the Colorado mountains. Maybe I’m lucky — the bulk of the population here is educated and young. They understand what it takes to keep civilization functioning.
It’s not a consideration about the subject being delicate. We have a lot of applications for jobs. I hadn’t thought about it for a long, long time until I read your article. It’s the bottom of the totem pole that holds it all up.
The FedEx guy dropped off a package today and asked us for a job. That’s the second person this week. People want to work here!
Butch Green, District Manager
Frisco Sanitation District, Frisco, Colo.
I am the superintendent of the City of Trenton (N.Y.) Wastewater Treatment Plant. I have been here for 20 years. I would never think of introducing myself in any other way if asked.
Patrick Raftery
To my considerable surprise, nobody came up with what strikes me as the most obvious and appropriate answer to the question, “What do you do?”
That answer is: “I make clean water,” or some variation on that theme. It’s straightforward, it’s positive and, best of all — in the words of an old mentor — it has the advantage of being true. Furthermore, it’s all but certain to trigger questions and help start an informative conversation.
I’m not sure why, but our industry seems intent on focusing on our raw material instead of our end product. GM and Ford make cars. Dell makes computers. Kellogg’s makes cereal. Treatment plants make clean water.
Perhaps it all starts with attitude. In the words of Janine Burke, executive director of the Warwick (R.I.) Sewer Authority, “We need to get proud.” Perhaps we’re proud already, but if so, we need to be proud in a more public way.
