Preface
With the progress of society, people's lives have changed drastically, and most people have started to want to find a stable job.
But there are fewer and fewer such jobs now, especially since jobs that have been seen as "iron rice bowls" for the past 40 years are no longer so reliable.
There are even professions that have slowly disappeared with the times, and the people who used to do these jobs have long since grown old.
So let's take a look today, which professions were called "golden jobs" in the 80s, and why were they so popular at that time, but now there are vacancies and empty buildings?
Village postman
"In the past, the carriage and horse were very slow, and there was only enough time to love one person in a lifetime"
When it comes to letters, young people nowadays may know how to write them, although they rarely write them. Can't say they can't write.
However, when it comes to telegraphs and old-fashioned hand-cranked telephones, there must have been people who had neither seen nor used them.
These early communication tools were similar to today's text messages, similar to letters or newspapers, and were often used for emergency contact.
When sending a telegram, you need to pick up a blank telegram at the post office service counter and fill in the contents according to the form.
With the reform and opening up and the development of the telecommunications industry, the old telephones were replaced by program-controlled telephones.
This was followed by mobile phones, digital display pagers, digital telephones, and all sorts of mobile phones today.
Even in remote villages, the Internet and computers are universal.
In the past, village postmen were responsible for the installation of telephones, and the popularity of telephones gave rise to the position of post office lineman.
China Post originated from the ancient post post and has a history of thousands of years, mainly involving postal and telecommunication services.
In the 90s of the last century, postal and telecommunications carried out separate operational reforms, and telecommunications no longer belonged to postal management.
When it comes to village postmen, they used to be "iron rice bowls" and hardly had to worry about losing their jobs.
They wore dark green uniforms, large-brimmed hats, and rode bicycles marked "Post and Telegraph" in dark green.
No matter how rough the mountain road is, the letter will be delivered to the recipient.
In those days, the village postman carried the expectations and important tasks of many people, so it appeared crucial.
However, becoming a postman is not an easy task, and it requires graduation from a formal post and telecommunications school and a rigorous selection process.
Although they enjoy generous benefits and relatively high wages, the role of postmen has gradually been replaced with the improvement of rural transportation infrastructure and the spread of the Internet.
Coupled with the development of telegraphs, telephones and other electronic means of communication, the title of rural postman, known as the "iron rice bowl" thirty or forty years ago, gradually disappeared in the changes of the times.
State-owned studios
Chinese cinema started very early, and during the Republic of China, many excellent works such as "Fisherman's Song" were released, and even won international awards.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China's film industry flourished, and the main theme and literary films were equally emphasized, making Chinese films reach a new height.
After the reform and opening up, Hong Kong and Western culture poured in.
In particular, Hong Kong films have had an impact on the mainland film market, prompting Chinese films to enter a period of rapid development and a hundred flowers to bloom.
Beijing Film Studio was one of the state-owned studios at the time and had the largest filming base in Asia.
For children born in the 21st century, smart software at home can be said to be everything, and watching movies is also free.
But for friends born in the 70s and 80s, in that underdeveloped era, watching a movie was a very luxurious thing.
In particular, the outdated film projection equipment at that time needed to be supervised at all times, otherwise there would be interruptions.
With the rise of the film industry, the profession of "film projectionist" also came into being.
In the countryside, when a projectionist appears with projection equipment, they immediately become the focus of everyone's chase.
People will arrive early to find a good spot and get ready for the evening movie.
For each movie, the projectionist can earn between 10 and 20 yuan, and he can earn a lot of money in a month.
This was a lot of money at that time. It can be said that this industry is a way to make money quickly.
It's not very hard to work, but becoming a projectionist is not an easy task and requires a certain amount of connections.
With the reform and opening up in the 80s, many state-owned studios either declined or consolidated and reorganized.
The glory days of the past are gone, and the projectionists are gradually retiring from the stage of history.
Nowadays, the desire to watch movies in the open air has become a luxury, and you can no longer find the feeling of the past.
Bus conductor
"Get on the bus in xx place, please buy a ticket here", I believe many people are familiar with this sentence, especially on the bus in the town.
In the 80s of the last century, bus conductor was a highly sought-after profession.
At that time, bus tickets were thin sheets of paper, different colors represented different prices, and the conductor had to ask the passenger for the destination in order to sell the right ticket.
During peak passenger traffic, conductors need to quickly handle tasks such as collecting money, making change, and tearing tickets, while constantly confirming passengers' destinations and fares.
This profession requires people who are highly productive to be competent, because of the phenomenon of "fare evasion" among passengers and the frequent presence of thieves.
On buses, the driver needs to concentrate on driving, while the conductor takes care of the passengers.
Therefore, the conductor is regarded as the core of the crew, and even the driver has great respect for them.
At that time, taking the bus was the main mode of travel, and both the driver and the conductor enjoyed a heavy "iron rice bowl".
The job pays well, the benefits are great, and getting into the public transportation system requires a certain amount of connections.
With the popularity of technological devices such as self-service coin insertion and electronic card swiping, the conductor on the bus has gradually disappeared.
Now a driver is in charge of the operation of a bus, recalling the conductors of the 80s, still nostalgic.
Salesperson of supply and marketing cooperatives
On the occasion of the Spring Festival in 2024, the hit drama "South to North" is popular all over the Internet, especially showing life in the eighties.
In the TV series, Ma Yan, played by Jin Chen, decided to do her own business and no longer engage in her previous job.
She began to set up a stall outside to sell buttons, which made her father Ma Kui feel very angry, so he angrily lifted Ma Yan's button stall, which seemed a little unreasonable.
Some people think that Ma Kui is too stubborn and conservative in his thinking to be unworthy of being a father.
But some people also said that after understanding the background of the times at that time, you will understand that the reason why he overturned Ma Yan's stall was because he was a good father.
The TV series is set in Ningyang, and business is starting to take off in the coastal areas, which is not so obvious in the northern areas.
Ma Yan used to work as a salesperson in a state-owned supply and marketing cooperative, and was known as the "iron rice bowl" at that time, with a stable job.
Supply and marketing cooperatives are places that provide rice, flour, grain, oil and other commodities, which are equivalent to today's supermarkets and shopping malls, except that they are collectively owned.
In the 50s, China established a unified system of supply and marketing cooperation, in which the state allocated the supply of goods.
People have to go to the supply and marketing cooperatives to buy daily necessities with all kinds of bills, otherwise they can't buy the goods they need even if they have money, so the sales staff of the supply and marketing cooperatives have become very popular.
After all, they were selling state supplies, a job that was seen as an "iron rice bowl" at the time.
In the past, when every household could not get good things, the sales staff of the supply and marketing cooperatives could enjoy preferential prices every time a new product arrived.
At that time, many people were vying to become salespeople in supply and marketing cooperatives, but this position was not easy to obtain.
As a salesperson in a supply and marketing cooperative, whether it is relatives or family and friends, they will welcome you warmly, which shows that their status is very high.
If you have acquaintances in the supply and marketing cooperative, it will be more convenient.
Beginning in 1958, the supply and marketing cooperatives experienced twists and turns, with two mergers and two separations from the Ministry of Commerce.
At that time, the supply and marketing cooperatives played the role of a link between urban and rural areas, agricultural products entered the city through the supply and marketing cooperatives, and the goods manufactured in the city also flowed into the countryside through the supply and marketing cooperatives.
However, with the development of society, many supply and marketing cooperatives have gradually dissolved and become self-employed, and people have turned to self-employed people if they want to buy goods.
With the rise of the Internet, many people began to shop online, and the jobs of sales clerks in supply and marketing cooperatives gradually disappeared, and they also lost their "iron rice bowls".
Quality inspector of grain station
During that period of food shortage, the grain management department undertook the important task of allocating and storing grain to ensure the basic livelihood of the people.
In the era of the planned economy, people would exchange food at home for food stamps to meet the needs of eating.
Grain depots are stations set up by some enterprises and institutions to purchase public grain and distribute grain sold by the state.
For those who work there, the grain station can be described as a stable job.
People who work in the grain control usually need to have a certain relationship, because at that time there was a saying that "the work of the grain center is superior".
People also made up a mantra: "The poor have banks, the rich have food stations, and the smart have food stations......
It is no exaggeration to say that the staff of the grain station were like "soil emperors" at that time.
Because the peasants' lives were very hard at that time, if they could not pay the public grain on time or delayed the payment, they would have to face fines.
It is difficult for those who have not experienced it to understand that it is much better to hand over the public food than to leave it at home.
However, even if the food handed in is good, it may not meet the standards sometimes.
Sometimes they waited in line for five or six days at the grain station, and finally failed the acceptance, so they had to take the grain home and dry it again.
Most of the food had to be handed in, and the rest was only enough for the family.
At that time, production was extremely low, and the saying was widely spread that there were "poor teachers, rich clerks, and laboratory technicians at grain depots and grain management offices."
At that time, the quality inspectors of the grain station were the most important people, and they decided whether the grain accepted was qualified or not.
As long as the relationship with the grain station staff is good, even if the quality of the grain handed in is poor, it may pass the acceptance.
But if a good relationship is not established, the grain is of poor quality or contains impurities, and it will be returned.
At that time, people also used donkey carts, instead of today's four-wheeled vehicles, which were relatively slow.
Imagine walking dozens of miles and painstakingly pulling the rice that had been dried for several days to the grain station.
The staff at the grain station took a look and said that it was unqualified, and it may be because of excessive moisture, too many impurities, etc., and you may be asked to pull it back.
It is conceivable that the personnel of the grain control office were very authoritative at that time, and the villagers tried to curry favor with them, hoping that they would not be too critical.
However, as early as 2006, the rations were abolished.
However, the mainland's grain output has increased year by year, and it has long met the food needs of 1.4 billion people, so the grain management institute has also withdrawn from the historical stage.
"Giving birth to a second child" will be fined by the Family Planning Office
"Only one is good", I believe this slogan is very familiar to many people in the 80s.
Today, the slogans that used to be ubiquitous on the streets and alleys are gone, not even on the walls of the countryside.
In the 80s of the last century, the mainland began to implement the family planning policy, and then family planning offices were set up in various places.
The staff often walked through the villages and alleys to publicize the policy of eugenics. Once it is found that someone has an overbirth, corresponding measures will be taken.
However, the traditional ideology of the time was patriarchal, and many people believed that sons were the guarantee of family inheritance.
This is especially true in rural areas, where families without sons are considered "out of the house" because sons are considered greater than heaven.
Quite a few people will take the risk of violating the policy, even knowing that they will be fined, and some will even give up a stable job in order to have a baby.
It can be said that the family planning policy at that time played an important role in controlling the growth of the Chinese population.
With the implementation of the "two-child policy", family planning institutions have gradually withdrawn from the stage of history and have now been integrated into the health department.
The "commando" that once terrified families with many children no longer exists.
Family planning workers are facing unemployment, job transfers and early retirement, and the sector is facing a gradual disappearance.
But nowadays, it's rare to have five or six children in a family, and it's common to have one or two children.
Whether in urban or rural areas, getting married and having children requires a house, a car, and sufficient financial resources.
This has led to more and more "single aristocrats", and the number of older single men and women is also increasing year by year.
In fact, many single people are not reluctant to get married, but because housing prices are too high to afford to buy a home.
Now, if a man does not have a house, he may encounter a situation where his mother-in-law opposes marriage, and women may also be reluctant to get married.
Try your best to save money to buy a house, but wage increases can never keep up with the rate of house price increases.
Try to start a business, but the result may be that the work is fruitless, or even debt, and marriage becomes more out of reach.
Even if you can scrape together a down payment, the amount of the loan can seem huge due to the high housing prices.
For example, 20 years ago, a house was 300,000 yuan, with a down payment of 70,000 yuan and a loan of 230,000 yuan.
Today, a set of ordinary housing prices in second- and third-tier cities is about 1.2 million, with a down payment of at least 360,000 yuan and a loan of 840,000 yuan.
For young couples, such a loan amount already brings a heavy burden of life and makes them afraid to spend it.
The high housing prices are breathtaking, and even if you buy a house, the standard of living may fall to the poverty line, what is the meaning of life?
epilogue
I have to say that at the end of that year, the people who were able to work in these units were really as energetic as they were.
But now they have stepped down from the altar, and the life of rural people is becoming more and more prosperous, and they no longer have to worry about other people's difficulties!