| Pixabay |
Today's world is so complex, yet so intertwined financially and technologically, that any one of us may be out of a job someday if the economy changes.
Do you think it will always be here?
How about your career?
It may seem like nothing can replace hard work, but this article proves otherwise.
You might even learn something new that will help inform your future choices.
1) Death row executioners:
| Vice.com |
Charles Campbell was America's last professional hangman.
He had been a volunteer hangman previously and occasionally worked as an assistant to his father and grandfather.
The electric chair took over Campbell's grim profession in America between 1916 and 2000.
2) Dockmaster:
| Pixabay |
For centuries, harbors were controlled by a 'dock master.'
This person - who usually had a maritime background initially - managed the flow of cargo and passengers through a port by working on the quayside.
In today's computer-controlled world, dock master has been replaced by 'dock master' servers that monitor containers' movement according to pre-programmed instructions.
3) Ropemakers:
| Pixabay |
A good quality Rope can be highly durable, but proper making is essential.
Before machines were invented, ropes would be carefully crafted using hands on a wooden or hemp rope walk.
Workers would twist and turn the strands of material until they were tightly wound together into a thick strand of rope, before coiling it up and readying it for its subsequent use.
This process has now been largely replaced by machines that twist and weave the ropes much faster than can be done by hand.
4) Stocking frame knitters:
| Wikiwand.com |
However, this occupation has disappeared following the invention of knitting machines that can make sheets much faster and more efficiently.
5) Parish beadles:
| tate.org.uk |
These were known as 'the good men and true' in the service of their master.
In towns, parish constables were also employed to Maintain Law and order.
6) Coffin case makers:
| New York Police Department |
The coffin case makers could churn out so many cases by hand that they would even supply the local undertakers with their wares to sell on.
7) Parish constables:
| wellcomecollection.org |
In addition, they would have been allowed to use the force necessary to apprehend anyone who had committed a serious crime.
In today's society, their position has been replaced mainly by police officers as part of a broader society that requires specialist forces over widespread neighborhood policing.
8) Ditch diggers:
| allhailtheblackmarket.com |
At various times in history, road maintenance has been carried out by people with shovels and spades who dug out dirt and rubble from roads and carted it away to fill in the ditches along the roadside.
They would then return to refill the road and clear away any remaining debris - fixing the roads and maintaining them in good condition for others.
9) Whippers:
Before the advent of modern traffic signals, this role was necessary to keep pedestrian and vehicle traffic flowing smoothly and safely by clearing the road when needed, usually after an accident or to allow a procession to pass through.
Other professions, including traffic police, ambulance services, and volunteer marshals, have primarily replaced their duties.
10) Sheet makers:
| www.nutriplanet.org |
They can then be stitched along the diagonal edges to create the right-angled corners of the sheet.
This process is done by hand - whereas before sewing machines were invented, sheets were made by hand by sheet makers who would sit for hours on end, stitching sheets together.
