Jobs come and go, and some just disappear as the world changes, technology develops, and everything becomes more digital.
This list describes 15 careers once part of everyday life but have since faded. Some you might know, some you might have done, and some you might not even have guessed were real jobs once upon a time!
Switchboard Operator
Switchboard operators were the original call routers from the mid-1900s until the 1980s when technology took over. You called in, said who you were calling, and the operator connected you to the right line.
Today, call routing is instant, built into your phone or customer service software. The panels are long gone; what used to take a person now happens in seconds.
Professional Rat Catcher
Professional rat catchers were a thing in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They dealt with rodent problems using traps, ferrets, and dogs, especially after outbreaks like the plague.
The work was dirty and risky, but someone had to do it. Luckily, pest control services grew, and regulations tightened. Today, you call an exterminator when you have a pest problem.
Scullery Maid
Scullery maids were the lowest-ranking servants who performed the dirtiest kitchen work: scrubbing pots, cleaning floors, and hauling water.
Scullery maids were common in the 1800s, especially in wealthy homes. They never cooked; they just cleaned up after everyone else. By the early 1900s, the role became obsolete as indoor plumbing, dishwashers, and modern kitchens emerged.
Human Computer
Back in the 1930s through the 1960s, many people—especially women—were employed to run math equations by hand for science projects, war efforts, and early space missions. The job was tedious and exact.
However, the job became obsolete when machines like the IBM 704 were developed. Today, you don’t have to think twice before pulling out your phone to use your calculator.
Town Crier
A town crier walked through streets ringing a bell and shouting news in the 1600s to early 1800s, long before newspapers were printed. The town crier would announce everything from law changes to lost items.
As reading became common and print media grew, criers retired for good. Radios, newspapers, and eventually smartphones took over. Now, you can get the news in seconds as events happen.
Knocker-Up
Before the alarm clock was invented, people hired a “knocker-up” to wake them. These individuals were early factory workers in 1800s Britain. They’d either tap on your window with a stick or use a pea-shooter to launch peas at your window to wake you up.
With the invention of the alarm clock in the 1900s, knocker-ups retired as they became more common and cheaper.
Pinsetter
You might not think about it when you go bowling, but pinsetters were a real job in the 1940s and 50s. Pinsetters were teenagers hired by bowling alleys to set the bowling pins by hand.
They would jump between the frames, straighten the pins, and roll the balls back. Today, all you have to do is bowl, and the machine takes care of the rest.
Film Projectionist
Film projectionists had to load, align, and monitor film strips when movies were shown in theaters, from the ’70s and ’80s. You couldn’t just press play—this took timing and care.
However, soon after, digital projectors were developed, and the skill was no longer needed. Today, it’s all about servers, automation, streaming, etc. You still get the same movie, albeit in better quality and with no effort.
Lamp Lighter
Before electricity, in the 1800s and early 1900s, lamp lighters were responsible for lighting gas lamps every night. These lamp lighters used long poles to turn each lamp on and off by hand.
However, the job faded by the time electricity became more mainstream. Today, with timers, switches, and sensors, the world looks much different, and many people don’t even think twice about it.
Leech Collector
Leeches are still used in modern medicine, but their means of collecting them have changed significantly. In the 1800s, people waded into swamps barefoot, letting leeches latch onto their legs. Women were typically tasked with this. It was risky, messy, and paid poorly.
Luckily, this role disappeared once leech farms and sterile labs were developed. Now, leeches are bred cleanly and under controlled conditions.
Resurrectionist (Body Snatcher)
Many folks made money digging up fresh graves in the 1800s. They were called resurrectionists—or body snatchers. Medical schools needed cadavers for training, but the laws made it impossible to get them.
Some saw the gap and filled it by digging up freshly buried bodies at night. By the mid-1800s, laws changed, and schools could get legal access to donated bodies for learning.
Soda Jerk
Soda jerks were once behind every drugstore counter, mixing fizzy drinks and milkshakes by hand. From the 1920s through the ’50s, this popular job was fast, hands-on, and a performance of sorts.
Eventually, automation stepped in, and button-operated machines replaced the person behind the counter. While some niche restaurants still have soda jerks, the job is exceedingly rare.
Milkmaid
While some farmers in rural areas still milk by hand, the role of a milkmaid faded by the mid-1900s. These women handled the daily milking, cleaned pails, and managed cows.
It required hard work, early mornings, and no time off. As milking machines started making life easier for farmers, the job disappeared from the industry. Today, dairy farms rely on automated systems.
Daguerreotypist
In the mid-1800s, daguerreotypists were early photographers. They used metal plates and chemicals to capture portraits without retakes or filters. If you had your picture taken, you had to sit extremely still for a few minutes.
By the 1860s, quicker, cheaper photo methods took over. Today, everyone with a phone is a self-proclaimed photographer.
Telegraph Operator
In the 1940s, telegraph operators were the middlemen for messages. The operators tapped out Morse code that turned short and long signals into conversations.
The job was necessary until telephones took over. Today, texting does what a telegraph once did, albeit faster, easier, and more straightforward.
