The Victorian Era ~ The Worst Jobs

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In Victorian England's poor neighborhoods, there was a daily struggle to survive and make a living. Life wasn't easy for the working class or the downtrodden and poor. Life wasn't just tough but hard. There were no child labor laws and even children held some horrible jobs. There were many bad jobs to be had. Here is a list of just a few: Rat Catchers-- Rats were everywhere in the cities. They carried disease and were an ugly part of life in the city. The rich families could afford to hire a 'rat catcher' to come and vacate the home of rats. A ferret would be brought in to drive out the rats then dogs would take over. Child Chimney Sweeps-- Young boys usually about six or seven would be used for these dangerous jobs. Many young boys were stunted from an early age due to malnutrition. They would climb up the chimneys and sweep them out taking into their lungs the smoke from the soot and many died of respiratory problems. Bone Grubbers -- These types would scavage through sewers and residential streets for bones from chickens and other animals. These could be ground up and used to make soap, manure, and other products. Grubbers were paid by the cartload. Toshers -- These were people who actually sloshed through sewers, beaches at low tide, and such horrible places hunting for coins, jewelry, and cutlery that could be sold for enough to buy food or a place to sleep. Other jobs were mostly scavaging such as cigar scavaging where they collected bits and pieces of cigars that were thrown down y smokers. They could add these together and sell them to cigar stores and manufacturers to recycle into cigars for resale. Hide tanners bought animal feces to be used in the tanning process. The feces held bacteria that were used. Label stickers have been one of the most boring jobs during that time. A person would just set all day and stick labels on jars for purchase. Humanbill board on the front and back human billboards is another boring job. Just walking around a given area with a board full of advertising on your person both front and back. Some even had ads on their hats.