Here’s a little experiment you can try next time you’re at happy hour. Ask a random stranger at the bar what they do for a living and then ask them if their job matters.

Everyone thinks their job matters.

-A pilot doesn’t just fly a plane, he or she brings families closer together.

-A bartender doesn’t just pour drinks, he or she provides escape to the exhausted.

-A movie producer provides the masses with much needed entertainment and escapism.

-A garbage man keeps your homes and neighborhoods clean.

-A radio DJ helps those stuck in traffic cope with the situation.

-Shawn Webster makes agencies more productive while helping others find jobs.

You get the idea.

And then there’s us.

We interrupt others who’d rather be watching TV. We create annoying pop-up ads. Sometimes we may even cause computer systems to crash. We put billboards up in natural habitats..

I saw one of my former teachers give a lecture recently. He runs a tourism agency. He told his audience that it has been proven that the more people travel to new locations, the less likely they are to hate. So, since his audience was made up of people in tourism advertising, he said that they were all making the world a better place.

I’ll give him that. But, I don’t work in tourism advertising. At least I don’t anymore and when I did I advertised for the redneck Riviera, Panama City Beach, in Florida. I’m sure that place didn’t make people hate less.

Anyway, if you can explain why our jobs matter—please share in the comment section below.