Cheers : Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

I know its the 80s and women hadnt made the jumps they had today but heck my mom was an accountant for a small company in the early 90s and she only had an associated degree. Surely Dianne could have been at least a clerk or something for a company. Instead she settled for a waitress, a check out girl and a few other minimum wage jobs when she was in a fight with Sam that didnt make sense. At the very least she could have taught school which I would have to assume would pay decent in boston even during the 80s.

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Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?


Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Because Cheers was a fictional sitcom. Real world logic need not apply.

In the real world, Cliff would have been fired for wearing his uniform while drinking, and Norm would never be allowed to run up a tab without paying at some point (unless Sam and Norm were lovers, which they were not).

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

You'd be surprised how many people more educated than Diane (with PhDs even) end up having to take crummy jobs. If you have arts degrees, you are really only qualified for highly competitive niche jobs, and Diane was eternally a student - we don't know if she ever even completed her studies. Essentially she was highly educated in lots of arts subjects but woefully unqualified even for the high-brow arts jobs her studies were geared towards eventually achieving.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

(As a grad student Diane *should* have been able to find part time teaching work, by the way, but then we wouldn't have a story. Again, not unusual to find grad students working minimum wage jobs even if they teach here and there.)

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

You see people with degrees working at Burger King. You take what you can get.

RIP Gene Wilder. One of the funniest people of all time. RIP Matt Roberts. You were great.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Diane, at the very start of the show, WAS a teaching assistant... for Sumner. I believe that's how that relationship even started. She did interview in season 4 for another teaching position, but like someone else here said, she didn't interview well and accused the guy of wanting to sleep with her (because he said Sumner gave her high marks). After Sumner dumped her, she maid a point of saying she was qualified to do nothing. In season 2 she was offered a job as a reader at a publishing firm, but refused the job after realizing the guy's intentions were sexual. It seemed almost every job she got was based on her so-called sex appeal.

I'm guessing Diane had some kind of educational trust that paid for her schooling. BU isn't exactly cheap, especially for grad school. And her chosen fields are not well-funded ones. Most of it would have to come out of her pocket. So being a waitress, and involved with the owner, afforded her the ability to continue to take classes AND probably paid decently. Carla said she banked roughly 26K a year in the mid-'80s. Diane may not have been as good of a waitress, but she was more attractive, which (sadly) yields a higher tip return. So I'm sure making in the 20k range while being able to be a student was appealing.

And yeah, she ended up leaving and got a job as a paid TV writer. So she translated her one and only skill to something higher than serving.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

And yet there's people who live to serve.

RIP Gene Wilder. RIP Robert Vaughn. RIP Carrie Fisher. RIP William Christopher. 2016 is the worst!

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

You'd be surprised how many people more educated than Diane (with PhDs even) end up having to take crummy jobs. If you have arts degrees, you are really only qualified for highly competitive niche jobs, and Diane was eternally a student - we don't know if she ever even completed her studies. Essentially she was highly educated in lots of arts subjects but woefully unqualified even for the high-brow arts jobs her studies were geared towards eventually achieving.

EXCELLENT ANSWER Deenglow!

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Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

I already said all that in the post above yours, shango.

RIP Gene Wilder. RIP Robert Vaughn. RIP Carrie Fisher.RIP William Christopher.2016 is the worst!

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

She was incredibly narcissistic, overly talkative, and had a poor work ethic. Don't get me wrong, I think she is hilarious and Cheers is one of my favorite shows.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

What was wrong with her work ethic?

RIP Gene Wilder. One of the funniest people of all time. RIP Matt Roberts. You were great.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

She was standing around reading a book in almost every episode, she was always late for work, she was always leaving early, she would take off work with no notice screwing over Carla on a regular basis, and she was rude to customers (perhaps unintentionally, and perhaps for comedic effect).

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

It's totally indicative of Diane's character that she took the job at Cheers after being deserted at the bar by her "mentor" and lover. At first, she was delusional enough to think it would just be a momentary blip and then she would be magically whisked off again when Sumner came to his senses. Once she realized THAT wasn't happening, she seemed to enjoy what she perceived as her intellectual superiority over the gang. And of course, it was Sam who clinched the deal. She could manipulate him, get him to give her unlimited time off to take classes, go to concerts, and generally swan around acting like the clueless, pretentious little twit she really was. If it seems that I'm not a Diane fan, guess what? I'm NOT. Shelley Long did a fantastic job creating Diane, along with the wonderful writers and directors, as well as the rest of the great cast. But Diane was without a doubt the most maddening, self-obsessed little fools ever depicted. The moment that defined her best, and also demonstrated Long's acting chops? When Diane, who has been taking ballet lessons, watches a video of herself dancing. We know she is just terrible, but after reading a doctored evaluation of her abilities, she stands in front of the TV at Cheers, completely spellbound, just glowing at her own non-existent genius. Someone that delusional could never hold down a job where any element of reality could possibly pop her little bubble. And when her bubbles DO pop, she just can't seem to learn anything, and departs on the next ego-train leaving the station. Where else but Cheers could she last five minutes?

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Taxi? Lol.

RIP Gene Wilder. One of the funniest people of all time. RIP Matt Roberts. You were great.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

And yet she was the conscience of the bar. As much as they said they hated her she was the one they confided in whenever they had a problem.

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Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Greatest show of all time.

RIP Gene Wilder. RIP Robert Vaughn. RIP Carrie Fisher.RIP William Christopher.2016 is the worst!

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

This is AgentSparkyX sock account, CJ doesn't even post on the Star Wars board, but Agent does.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

You're correct, sir.

RIP Gene Wilder. RIP Robert Vaughn. RIP Carrie Fisher. RIP William Christopher. 2016 is the worst!

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

They confided in Sammy a good bit, too.

RIP Gene Wilder. RIP Robert Vaughn. RIP Carrie Fisher. RIP William Christopher. 2016 is the worst!

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

That's true too. It's just something I've recently noticed while re-watching this series is that Carla hates her and is so mean to her, but then confides in her whenever she needs a female friend to talk to.

YOUR VOTE MATTERS! Please vote in every election. Thank you.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Carla is a lowlife, sha.

RIP Gene Wilder. RIP Robert Vaughn. RIP Carrie Fisher.RIP William Christopher.2016 is the worst!

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

She has to confide in some woman from time to time. And Diane is close enough. Lol.

RIP Gene Wilder. RIP Robert Vaughn. RIP Carrie Fisher. RIP William Christopher. 2016 is the worst!

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Sounds pretty realistic to me. I knew a guy with a Master's who was working at a gas station.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Definitely, Crust.

RIP Gene Wilder. One of the funniest people of all time. RIP Matt Roberts. You were great.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

I cannot see Diane interviewing well. She is a know it all and so egotiatical.
I am sure she couldn't even put those annoying traits on hold for an interview. And even if on the off chance she could, she would blow it quickly at any job.
She wouldn't even have made it at Cheers if Sam wouldn't have first had pity for her,followed by attraction, and then an eventual relationship.
And didn't she come back once and mention being fired from writing on "Dr.Qunn, Medicine Woman", because of her crazy antics? Or maybe that was on "Frasier" :)

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Dr Quinn wasn't around during Cheers' time. Had to be Frasier.

Movie Theater: Young Frankenstein 10/10. RIP Gene Wilder. One of the funniest people of all time.

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

She mentions it during one of her guest appearances on Frasier -- ep 3-14:
http://www.kacl780.net/frasier/transcripts/season_3/episode_14/the_show_where_diane_comes_back.html

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

JDoe18, a few thoughts:

1. Was your mother's degree in accounting or something related? If so, then she had job-specific skills which Diane -- with her liberal-arts background -- did not.
2. Bad recession in the early 1980s, with very high unemployment. Under those circs, you take what you can get.
3. Someone close to me with an excellent education and a strong resume in publishing has worked in retail during tough times; publishing (the one field Diane is qualified for) is notoriously shaky.
4. Diane, fancying herself a student of life, could rationalize working in a bar, because it enabled her to study human nature and theoretically gather material for her writing.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

Excellent points, Helena.

RIP Gene Wilder. One of the funniest people of all time. RIP Robert Vaughn

Re: Why did Dianne work dumb jobs if she was so educated?

She wanted to work dumb jobs to do research about the lower classes for her grand masterful novel, of course.
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