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I too worked as a civil servant, for a State agency as a matter of
fact. However, I didn't work as a firefigher or police officer--I was a highway maintenance worker for my state's Department of Transportation. People here have mentioned how dangerous that firefighting and police work are, and yes, I do agree. But, have you ever thought about how dangerous highway maintenance work is. Not only is your health threatened by the "everyday" work of things such as: getting squashed by heavy equipment (2 years ago, a collegue was squashed to death when a 20000 pound dump truck accidentally backed over him), injuring yourself with the physically demanding work, risk of skin cancer, and the list goes on and on, just like other jobs... But, how many of you have ever stood in a highway lane while literally hundreds, if not thousands, of vehicles pass by you at arms-length distances, traveling at speeds of 65-80+ mile per hour! Traffic is going by so often and so fast, that you as a person cannot keep track of it. And I've heard about job recognition, especially when a worker is killed in the line of duty. It is a proven fact, in my State at least, a highway worker has, by far, a more dangerous job--there are far more highway workers injured and killed on the job than police and fire personnel combined. Here's a thought: in my State, when a State police officer is killed in the line of duty, he/she has a HUGE State-sponsored memorial, and among other things, has an entire freeway named after him/her. However, what does a highway worker get when killed in the line of duty? His/her name included to the growing list of a tiny 2 feet by 2 feet plaque, and that's pretty much it! No memorial, no mention of his name in the news media... So, these kinds of civil servants receive very little, if any, recognition for how they put their life on the line. Not to mention their tiny salaries, compared to the other "dangerous" civil servant jobs out there. Public servant salaries are public record. Check the websites of any public agency--you'll see. And yes, they do save literally hundreds, if not thousands of lives every day (in a round about way, of course). Would you survive if your car was swallowed up by a 8-foot-deep sink hole while going 70 mph down the freeway? Heck, who do you thing is usually the first on scene of a freeway crash? Highway maintenance workers. Numerous times, I was the first on scene to provide life-saving methods to injured persons... But, the only public recognition we get is that "one-figered greeting", or the blare of the horn, or even persons stopping to threaten you. All for making them just a bit late while providing them with an efficient means to drive their prescious vehicles. Every job has its perks and negatives... |
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