What's your occupation? - Strange Question

tempnam

I noticed when we were registering our intention to get married that one of the questions that we were asked was what our occupations are...

We were also asked this when registering the birth of our baby and requesting a birth cert.

Whats the point in this question? I can't see any relevance in it....

Any thoughts?

smcgiff

tempnam wrote: »

I noticed when we were registering our intention to get married that one of the questions that we were asked was what our occupations are...

We were also asked this when registering the birth of our baby and requesting a birth cert.

Whats the point in this question? I can't see any relevance in it....

Any thoughts?

Historical reasons for one. People like to know what occupations their forebears were. Church and state records records compliment each other.

tempnam

But in this day and age people change jobs all the time. People are less likely to be defined by their jobs. Its not like past generations where you found a steady job and stayed in it for life, and that was your career.

Also, these days many people are out of work / redundant! Surely there's no need for this info?

Historical reasons isn't a good enough reason anyway.... just because "that's how it's always been done" should not dictate how things are done these days. If that attitude was taken with everything nothing would ever change!

I just can't see a good reason for this detail to be included!

Addle

Help to ID people/protect against fraud. Gather info for CSO. It's no big deal.
Why take offence at the question?

tempnam

Addle wrote: »

Help to ID people/protect against fraud. Gather info for CSO. It's no big deal.
Why take offence at the question?

I'm not offended by it. I just can't see a good reason for it.

How can it help to ID someone / protect against fraud?

Addle

tempnam wrote: »

I'm not offended by it. I just can't see a good reason for it.

How can it help to ID someone / protect against fraud?

Bigamy maybe?! I don't know.
I don't think it's a big deal.

clint_silver

statistics.

tempnam

Would anyone mind expanding on the reasons you are giving?

XxMCRxBabyxX

The same reason for the Census: Statistics and protecting against fraud. They will also be handy in the future if someone wished to look into their family history.

Re fraud: If someone was to be investigated they can have those forms to follow up on.

There's no need to be offended by it. The same questions are also asked when registering a baby's birth and on a death certificate.

whupdedo

Build a bridge and try to get on with life

Addle

Isn't your occupation on your passport too?

January

Addle wrote: »

Isn't your occupation on your passport too?

No...

tempnam

XxMCRxBabyxX wrote: »

The same reason for the Census: Statistics and protecting against fraud. They will also be handy in the future if someone wished to look into their family history.

Re fraud: If someone was to be investigated they can have those forms to follow up on.

There's no need to be offended by it. The same questions are also asked when registering a baby's birth and on a death certificate.

I'n not offended by it. Just puzzled. OK - I can see why it may be interesting to my descendants if they ever look me up after I'm loooooonngg gone. I suppose it would be nice to have a little info on what your ancestors did for a living...

But, you don't have to prove what you do. They just ask and put in whatever you say.... so you could just make anything up!

Maybe when we have another child I'll say I'm a spy/secret agent when they ask my occupation

whupdedo wrote: »

Build a bridge and try to get on with life

So I can't wonder about things?

Addle wrote: »

Isn't your occupation on your passport too?

No....

lazygal

Op I wondered the same too. And again when I had my children I was asked when registering for antenatal care. I don't understand how it's relevant unless for a census. No one needs to know someone's occupation just because they're getting married.

tempnam

Glad to see I'm not the only one who wondered about this!

Also, someone earlier mentioned looking into family history. But it occurred to me; you have to give your PPS number when registering the birth of your child as well as registering to marry. Surely once your PPS number is available all your (employment) information can be obtained anyway?

cee_jay

tempnam wrote: »

Also, someone earlier mentioned looking into family history. But it occurred to me; you have to give your PPS number when registering the birth of your child as well as registering to marry. Surely once your PPS number is available all your (employment) information can be obtained anyway?

Your employment history information could only be obtained from Revenue - due to data protection, this information would not be given to anyone else but the person to whom the PPS number refers.

January

tempnam wrote: »

Glad to see I'm not the only one who wondered about this!

Also, someone earlier mentioned looking into family history. But it occurred to me; you have to give your PPS number when registering the birth of your child as well as registering to marry. Surely once your PPS number is available all your (employment) information can be obtained anyway?

No because they don't have a system for checking things in different departments. Revenue and Social Welfare are not connected, HSE and Social Welfare are not connected etc...

clint_silver

tempnam wrote: »

Glad to see I'm not the only one who wondered about this!

Also, someone earlier mentioned looking into family history. But it occurred to me; you have to give your PPS number when registering the birth of your child as well as registering to marry. Surely once your PPS number is available all your (employment) information can be obtained anyway?

It statistics and timeline. It's not really that important but is a piece of information that in times to come will identify you to someone that's looking. A pps no is not tied to an occupation and births deaths and marriages aren't tied to revenue so if 200 years from now your descendants went looking for info on you how hard do you want to make it on them?
I know it's just curiosity but it's not a big thing. Fill it out if you want. Put scuba diver down if you want. It doesn't matter. In fact you could make yourself seem more interesting to your descendants by coming up with a really exotic job. I'd like be an island caretaker.

Just put down serial killer if you have a problem with the question.

grainuaile

I wondered the same thing! And you're right, you can just make anything up, they don't check it out. I'm unemployed so I had filled that on the form, but when we went in for the meeting the lady said how that would be on the form for posterity so did i want to put down what i used to be. I used to be a receptionist but i want to start my own business later this year so i said ara, put me down as a painter. I just thought it sounded a little more interesting .. i suppose i better make a go of the business now! its nonsensical to put something so irrelevant on such an important form. If someones looking up my records in 50 or 100 years time they'll have me as a painter, but i am not now and possibly might never be one .. its daftness.

ted1

tempnam wrote: »

But in this day and age people change jobs all the time. People are less likely to be defined by their jobs. Its not like past generations where you found a steady job and stayed in it for life, and that was your career.

Also, these days many people are out of work / redundant! Surely there's no need for this info?

Historical reasons isn't a good enough reason anyway.... just because "that's how it's always been done" should not dictate how things are done these days. If that attitude was taken with everything nothing would ever change!

I just can't see a good reason for this detail to be included!

Most people do stay in the same profession all be it in a different company

ted1

tempnam wrote: »

I noticed when we were registering our intention to get married that one of the questions that we were asked was what our occupations are...

We were also asked this when registering the birth of our baby and requesting a birth cert.

Whats the point in this question? I can't see any relevance in it....

Any thoughts?

Could be for statistics and civil planning.
If they know that baby A is a bit whose father is an engineer, they may know that there is a 80% chance if him being an engineer and so on

pwurple

I'd be VERY surprised if it was for planning. They can barely keep their heads above water with current affairs.

It's just for historical purposes.

Besides, occupations are not as simple anymore. People can get into very specialised areas these days. If I gave them my full title, I don't think more than a handful of people in the same industry as me would know what it meant. So I lob in Engineer. Same for people in IT, there are system analysts, and software developers, and application specialists... but you put down IT.

schmanga

a marriage certificate is a snapshot of your lives on the day you are married. it's your occupation at the time. it's just what you are doing when you get married. if you were an astronaut at the time of notification and then a bodybuilder on the day of the wedding there is an area on the marriage registration form for making late amendments. at least it asks both parties, on older birth certs it used to be just the fathers occupation that was recorded. and that's not too long ago....

clare82

we filled out our occupations in the birth cert form. i was sitting next to the lady inputting the data into the computer and when it came to the mothers occupation there was a default occupation...anyone care to guess what the default occupation is for mothers? :rolleyes:

Triangla

clare82 wrote: »

we filled out our occupations in the birth cert form. i was sitting next to the lady inputting the data into the computer and when it came to the mothers occupation there was a default occupation...anyone care to guess what the default occupation is for mothers? :rolleyes:

Hedge fund manager?

tempnam

Housewife / Homemaker?? :pac:

lazygal

Former spinster?

schmanga

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker ???

clare82

tempnam is right....it was housewife

tempnam

clare82 wrote: »

tempnam is right....it was housewife

Wahey! whats my prize? maybe a home-baked cake??? isn't that in the housewife manual?!