Have you ever thought about the things around you and how they are made? Like, the smartphone in your hand now. Do you know who does it? What working conditions do workers find themselves in so you can get your hands on that unit? How about the food you eat and the road you pass on every morning? Who makes those and how hard is it for them to make those?

Have you ever stopped and thought about your job? People complain a lot about their jobs, bosses, and colleagues. What they fail to appreciate, of course, is that some jobs are so much harder than what they do? That, despite the bad co-workers and annoying bosses, they’re still in a far better place. Look at the people working in these jobs and how they are coping with it:

Road Markings

Do you know how road markings are applied? You pass by them every day and yet, completely forget to think about how these are put on the road. It’s through thethermoplastic road marking paint method. This is still the standard of road painting all over the world. Whether you’re in a developing country in Southeast Asia or a highly developed one such as in New York or Chicago, road markings are all the same.

Road workers use a kind of powder paint and hot melt kettle to paint on the road. The kettle is at around 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) to melt the powder. The workers have to work fast to apply the paint evenly. After it cools, the paint becomes the hard polymer line that you see on street and road markings.

Court Transcripts

You have seen stenographers in courtrooms-whether in TV or real life. Have you ever wondered how fast they can type? They can type up to 350 words per minute. The average person types somewhere between 38 and 40 words per minute. In the past, stenographers use shorthand to take note of court proceedings. They keep a personal dictionary of the abbreviation and words they use in the courtroom.

Over time, they began using stenotype machines. They type in syllables and a combination of keys (called chords) rather than letters. Before you can type a word, stenographers have already typed three or more words faster than you. For example, if they will type the word calendar, they will use only three syllables: cal, en, and dar. The normal person will need to hit eight keys to make up that word.

Hard Candies

Do you know that making hard candies may even be more dangerous than blowing glass? Sugar is melted at a very high temperature. The candy makers then transfer that melted sugar to a table to harden it up a little and make it pliable. Once it is a little bit formed, the candy makers will fold and stretch it until they see the desired consistency. This is also when they can start combining colors and building designs.

Making candies is not for someone with weak muscles. It’s a labor of love for handmade candies. Not to mention, workers surely cannot feel their arm and shoulder muscles after their shift. There’s so much twisting and turning going on in making candies.

Skyscraper Cleaning

Skyscrapers glitter and shine from high up above you. Why don’t these look dirty at all? Surely, dirt and dust exist that way up high? Yes, they do, and owners of these high-rise buildings invest heavily in professional cleaners who climb and rappel down the sides of the buildings to clean each and every window there. You’ve probably seen them do it. There’s nothing like being 100-story up to earn a living, right? Yet, most people don’t think about this as they look outside their penthouse windows.

Sushi Mastery

Do you know that those tasty morsels you had in Japan were prepared by someone who studied cutting fish for 20 years? Yes, sushi masters study for decades to earn that title. Universities and colleges don’t just confer these titles on sushi chefs. They have to study under the tutelage of sushi experts and masters themselves. Sushi chefs have superior knife skills because they believe that fish is so delicate that the wrong cut will affect the way it tastes.

These people take their jobs seriously that it’s a little embarrassing not to do your best, too. These are the everyday things that people take for granted. Actual people do these things-someone’s cutting that sushi precisely and someone’s cleaning the window in your high-rise office. You’ll have more appreciation for what you do when you realize how dedicated and passionate most workers are to their jobs.

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