Water testing is incredibly boring, but also an extremely important job. Quality of water available affects everything in society, from top to bottom. But, I get that it is totally monotonous.
I did automation work for a sewage treatment center that did regular water testing as part of treatment. Most of these kinds of jobs are automated for the most part. There's always a human operator present to supervise and to do some small function that is still cheaper to have done manually instead of by machine.
In which case, the job becomes transferring the bottled samples into sample tubes in trays so that the machine can process them, and usually adding a barcode to each sample tube. The sample tubes need to be kept immaculate as well - some of the things that we test water for, like pesticides, are only present in miniscule concentrations. Might not actually save a great deal of time, and you need to buy and maintain a very expensive automated sampler.
When I used to work in the water industry, we were usually able to get PhD-qualified research chemists to do all this mind-numbing laboratory work. There's a bit of a surplus of qualified chemists compared to the number of chemist jobs available, so you got absurdly over-qualified people applying for these roles.
I specifically did not specialize in analytical chemistry because of this. It's relatively easy to get a job, but it's mind numbingly boring to do the same tests over and over and over.
I did physical chemistry. No jobs but at least no one knows what the fuck you can do.
(Incidentally I managed to get a job with energetic materials where my education is occasionally relevant)
No, there's definitely a lot of professions that are completely pointless or even counterproductive.
Receptionists, administrative assistants, door attendants, store greeters, lobbyists, corporate lawyers, telemarketers, public relations specialists, middle managers, literally every job in insurance. I could go on.
We can't be feeding people who do no work. It is much better that they be put to it than have the task "solved" by some brainiac who would rob them of the fulfillment of employment.
who would rob them of the fulfillment of employment.
A boring job isn't fulfilling and mental underload leads to burnout.
There's exactly one reason to do work: getting living money. If you can make a living from your hobby or your job is otherwise fulfilling, that's nice for you.
I would not joke about this, these are the serious affairs of adult men and women, who could and should do their best to contribute to our civilization.
Where would we be as a society if those who craft advertisements were instead free to to roam about doing as they please all day? I'll be dead before we are a nation of aimless frolickers.
They are absolutely trolling. Check the examples they use in their comments: "advertisers" and another comment pointed to "Mobil game development" specifically as important and useful work.
Poes law at work with them, they're pretty convincing that they are serious while still leaving little hints that they are messing around.