I'm refusing to agree or disagree on the issue of what is and
is not appropriate, alike, or different.
However, can we take a break here and
look at how we are treating someone who asked an innocent, perhaps naive but
innocent question? Perhaps the original poster has begun
to reconsider his choice of occupation after his brief experience on the
board. To add to his consideration, I suggest he search the archives for
our discussions on the difficulty of finding work in the field, the paucity of
pay and related topics which we frequently bemoan.
Let's change this to looking at why we decided we wanted to work in this
field to begin with and why we keep working in it.
I suppose I started when I discovered that I could get paid to work with
"stuff" and "stuff" had always fascinated me. As a child, a trip to the
dump was a wonderful adventure. (Yes, I predate landfills!) I'll have to
contemplate why I continue.