Muggleborns choosing WW

[stbjohn2]

No: HPFGUIDX 118282


Sandy wrote:
>Maybe I'm just stuck in Muggle thought processes, but I don't see
>that most wizarding jobs are all that much different from their
>Muggle counterparts, or "stripped of the unpleasant part of work."
>Teachers still have to plan lessons, grade papers and keep an eye out
>for the exploding cauldron or stray spell that turns a student into a
>water buffalo or causes their teeth to grow like a beaver's; civil
>servants still have to deal with paperwork and red tape; shop keepers
>have to be physically present during business hours, etc.

Ffred replied:
> I'm sure you didn't mean to imply that Muggle teachers have to deal with those eventualities (a fascinating thought if they did)!

Sandy:
I simply meant to imply WW teachers have the same tasks as RL 
teachers, plus, of course, the extra duty of monitoring students who 
can take a little magical knowledge and use it the wrong way. (And I 
suspect many RL teachers would be happy to deal with a bat bogey hex 
over the sort of RL dangerous things kids do.)

Ffred:
> But no, I'm not implying that work doesn't _exist_ in the WW, just that we haven't seen any canon evidence for useless or alienating work.

Sandy:
Well, maybe I'm misunderstanding what you mean about "useless or alienating work." You snipped my example of the apparently bored and unhappy receptionist at St. Mungos, who seems like she's just absolutely had enough of dealing with people suffering from magical maladies. And I'd add the bored security guard who checks Harry's wand before the hearing -- spending most of his day reading the paper. Neither of these people seem any more happy with their work than your average WalMart clerk. I've got nothing against work, and think people are happiest when they have something useful to do. But I don't think JKR is trying
to show us that the WW world is a utopia where everyone has the absolutely perfect job for their talents and personality. (You need look no farther than the faculty at Hogwarts, where a huge percentage -- including Snape, Trelawney, Binns and Hagrid-as-teacher, as well as four out of five DADA teachers -- are really not suited for the job.)

Sandy, snipped again:
>You can't just conjure up a flying broom, someone still has the tedious-sounding job of picking out the right sticks and twigs and putting them together properly, as well as adding the appropriate charms to guarantee it flies, is balanced and will brake when needed. An assembly line job to create a
>magical product.

Ffred: 
> Maybe a broom maker takes enormous pride in putting together the right sticks and twigs and it's a closely guarded craft secret, of course... This once again isn't something which canon tells us. _Are_ broomsticks made on an assembly line by miserable workers each of whom has the task of installing one particular twig, or are they made individually by time served craftswizards in a workshop, each signed by the person who produced them? (Coinage has the individual mark of the producer, but that's made by goblins so it would be risky to extend that analogy).

Sandy:
Well, I saw a bit on HGTV not long ago about a father and son team 
who do just that. I'm not sure if their brooms are for show or 
actually can be used to sweep the front porch
 Anyway, 
broommaking 
may in fact be a true art -- that would account for the high price of 
brooms. Perhaps cauldron making would have been a better example, 
since there seems to be a problem with shoddily made cauldrons. 
You're right, we don't really have any canon on wizard
manufacturing 
(and in fact I wonder if wizards don't count on muggle
manufacturing 
for a wealth of items, from the muggle clothing the kids wear to 
furniture and canned foods, but as you say, there's no canon
either 
way).


> Siriusly Snapey Susan, who, after viewing photos of the PoA launch party in London, wants to take some scissors to some of these young men's hair! 

Sandy:
Oh, but long hair is SO canon. Think about it, everyone we really like to write about here has long hair -- Snape's is described as shoulder length, and Sirius and Lupin are both described as having long hair. I don't think JKR actually calls James'"long" but since he likes it to look windblown, it's not a crewcut for sure. And DD and Bill Weasley are on the superlong bandwagon. (I think JKR is just giving a nod to her/my generation with the long hair on cool guys thing).
Sandy