Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: Difference between revisions

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May overlap with [[Honest John's Dealership]]. Compare [[Inexplicably Identical Individuals]] and [[Recurring Extra]], which is a less specific and less likely to be plot relevant version, and [[The Generic Guy]] where the character has little relevance to the plot at all. Also compare when a person has a steady job (for now, at least) but who seems to have had insane amounts of former jobs which pertain everything to plumbing for royalty to fighting to unusual research projects.

== Anime & Manga ==

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* The cast of ''[[Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service]]'' falls into this trope fairly often. Since the filling-the-last-wishes-of-the-dead business tends to be sporadic, they often fill it in with an astonishing array of contract or part-time jobs -- from moving tombstones to faking alien crop circles.

** It's usually the perpetually underemployed trio of Yata, Numata and Karatsu who are seen doing the heavy lifting, but Keiko often turns up in a number of unlikely consulting jobs due to her extremely-rare-in-Japan expertise in embalming. Sasaki seems to be the only one who holds a steady job. Of course, that steady job is selling celebrity gore photographs to fetishists, but hey, it's a living.

* Throughout the series, [[Everyone Calls Him Barkeep|the Landlady]] of [[Hidamari Sketch]] has been shown having a variety of jobs: delivering pizza coupon fliers and temping at the Berry-Mart, along with other, unspecified part-time jobs.

* Throughout the series, [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|the Landlady]] of [[Hidamari Sketch]] has been shown having a variety of jobs: delivering pizza coupon fliers and temping at the Berry-Mart, along with other, unspecified part-time jobs.

* In the first ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' anime, Psiren, {{spoiler|the local [[Phantom Thief]]}}, keeps changing jobs to avoid being caught by the police. The brothers Elric first meet her when she's working in a hospital, then changes to school nurse, nun, etc. This trope is called out by name by Edward when they meet her in her nun get-up: "Why the hell do you keep changing jobs?!"

* Tojo from ''[[Beelzebub (Manga)|Beelzebub]]''. One possible explanation for his constant shuffling of part-time jobs is because he keeps into trouble when rival gang members show up to fight him.

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== Live-Action TV ==

* ''[[Barney Miller]]'' cop Detrich had the question asked of him when he threatened to quit over a dispute with the Police Commissioner. His squad members listed all the other occupations that Detrich had attempted and abandoned (including Lumberjack and Beekeeping - his "wilderness period") and convinced him he was just making an excuse to quit yet another profession.

* In ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'', Bulk and Skull had a different job-of-the-week, sometimes losing it (or saying [[Screw This I'm Outta Here]]) onscreen.

* In ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'', Bulk and Skull had a different job-of-the-week, sometimes losing it (or saying [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here]]) onscreen.

* In ''[[Engine Sentai Go-onger]]'', Hanto's got a different part-time job every time his work situation comes up.

* ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' introduced Frank Nelson as the omnipresent clerk who gave Benny trouble across multiple industries, and at one point lampshaded in the above quote. (The role originated on the radio show, making this trope marginally [[Older Than Television]].) He was identifiable by his bald head, mustache, and [[Catch Phrase]] "Yeeeeeeeees?" Nelson played this same role on many other shows including ''[[I Love Lucy]]'', ''Sanford and Son'', and even a [[Garfield]] TV special. After his death, a similar character showed up on ''[[The Simpsons]]'', explaining his odd cadence with "I had a stroooooooke!"

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* Henry on ''[[Eureka]]'', complete with a different velcro patch on his uniform for each of his jobs. In season 3, he gets a "Mayor" patch.

* A [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Austin and Ally]]'' is that Trish gets, and gets fired from, at least two new jobs per episode.

* On ''[[Undercover Boss]]'', we have an unfortunate variation of this trope, where a woman ends up with three or four different jobs... ''[[Up to Eleven|all at the same time, and with the same company.]]'' Downsizing's a bitch. She literally runs from building to building, frantically skipping from job to job. After she's promoted in the [[Where Are They Now Epilogue]], her job is replaced by two people ''and'' an assistant.

* On ''[[Undercover Boss]]'', we have an unfortunate variation of this trope, where a woman ends up with three or four different jobs... ''[[Up to Eleven|all at the same time, and with the same company.]]'' Downsizing's a bitch. She literally runs from building to building, frantically skipping from job to job. After she's promoted in the [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]], her job is replaced by two people ''and'' an assistant.

* Nick on ''[[My Family (TV)|My Family]]'' had a new job in almost every episode. On one occasion, he was able to afford a motorbike because he'd been saving up the severance pay every time he was fired.

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== Webcomics ==

* ''Achewood's'' Ray Smuckles sees a business opportunity around every corner, from Williams and Sonoma Erotic Fiction to machine rolled marijuana cigarettes.

* ''[[~~Eight~~ Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]'''s Akbar runs a different shop every time he appears, always with [[Honest ~~Johns~~ Dealership|blatantly deceptive marketing]].

* ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]'''s Akbar runs a different shop every time he appears, always with [[Honest John's Dealership|blatantly deceptive marketing]].

* ''[[Real Life Comics|Real Life]]'' has this with Alan Extra, who is basically anything from a pilot to a movie theater worker, to a random guy on the street who gave the main character directions.

** In fact, one of the comics states flat out that Alan Extra is everyone who isn't a named character. Store Clerk? Alan. Tech Support? Alan. Guy in panel 1 who looks different from guy in panel 4? Both are Alan.

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* In an episode of ''[[Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends]]'', Coco takes several jobs at the local mall that end up relating to what the other main characters are doing. It is later revealed she saved up for a massage chair for Madam Foster's birthday.

* With [[Loads and Loads of Characters]], ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has a sizable subset in this role, each for a different kind of job.

** Troy McClure is an ''extremely'' prolific [[B Movie]] actor.

** Troy McClure is an ''extremely'' prolific [[B-Movie]] actor.

** Lindsey Naegle is a single successful businesswoman/TV executive. (The season 13 episode "Blame It On Lisa" lampshaded this when Marge asks Lindsay why she keeps changing jobs. Lindsay's answer: [[Fridge Horror|she's a sexual predator]].)

** Gil is perpetually dangling by a thread at his current job, whatever it may be -- one episode he was in real estate, another had him working at a shoe store, another was at a car lot, and another had him as a department store Santa.