History Main / WhatExactlyIsHisJob

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': Nobody knows what the hell Boomhauer does for a living, and attempts to find out inevitably fail. One character speculates that he doesn’t even have a real job and just lives off a trust fund. It really doesn’t help that Boomhauer is TheUnintelligible. It’s not until the final episode that we finally find out what his job is; [[spoiler:he’s a Texas Ranger.]]

* Initially, Bender from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. It's addressed in the early episode "My Three Suns", and he's given the position of [[LethalChef ship's cook]]. Even though he can't actually cook. However in later episodes he has been able to make edible meals, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman been referred to as a company asset]] rather than an employee, and in ''Bender's Big Score'' he's dubbed "Assistant Manager of Sales".

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': For most of the series it was unclear how skilled Cyber-Ninja Prowl fit in with a crew of SpaceBridge repair bots. A flashback in the series finale revealed that he wasn't actually assigned to Optimus's repair team and he only joined them when they accidentally destroyed his ship.

* Early in ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' Carl states that he "works out of the home." What he actually does is unclear, but he seems to live relatively comfortably. Similarly, after initially working as detectives, the Aqua Teens don't seem to actually have jobs and are hinted at being on public assistance.

* Jayne in ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' is this in-universe. When Simon asks Mal what he pays Jayne for in the first episode, Mal flippantly replies "[[BlatantLies public relations]]." While it's never stated, he's basically TheBigGuy and/or DumbMuscle who's not ''quite'' as dumb as he acts. He's also the team's sniper, and according to a flashback about when they hired him an excellent tracker and bounty hunter (albeit one easily bought off by his targets).

* In the HBO mini-series ''Series/JohnAdams'', the title character laments that the office of Vice President of the United States seems an awful lot like this, which is TruthInTelevision, as the only official job responsibilities of the Vice President are to cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate and to take over if the President dies in office. Some Presidents have averted this by finding other duties for their VP to perform, and others played it straight by essentially ignoring them once the election's over.

** One ad for the series blatantly lampshaded this. It introduced each member of the team, and their role; Dick, the mission commander, Sally, the security officer, Tommy, the chief scientist, and Harry, the...um...well, they had an extra seat.

** If Obelix needs a job done, he'll typically be shown swapping a menhir for whatever it is (trading a menhir for milk and a gourd to feed a baby in AsterixAndSon, for instance), but Asterix always pays with money, making one wonder ''where'' he gets money and why Obelix wouldn't get any.

** If Obelix needs a job done, he'll typically be shown swapping a menhir for whatever it is (trading a menhir for milk and a gourd to feed a baby in AsterisAndSon, for instance), but Asterix always pays with money, making one wonder ''where'' he gets money and why Obelix wouldn't get any.

** Once Worf moves to ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' his job duties become unclear once again. His title is "Strategic Operations Officer" and the duties are described as "coordinating all Starfleet activity within the sector", which sounds like a job for an administrator that would take up a lot of time. However, we ''never'' see him performing this duty. Instead, we see him performing almost any other job, such as small arms recalibration, communications duties, security related issues, and, most often, acting as XO aboard the ''Defiant'' (even being referred to as "first officer" of the ''Defiant'' in one episode). It was fairly obvious to viewers that Worf's "job" was little more than an excuse to have him join the show. Even in-universe the job's primary function was "keep our one Klingon officer from resigning and emigrating to a third party during our war with the Klingons."

* This topic comes up in an early dialogue within ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' when Aveline asks Varric if he actually does anything except "watch and talk." He answers that "coins flow when I talk and when I shut up. Like if you got paid to guard or unguard." When Aveline says he isn't making any sense, Varric simply replies "Good." If you're wondering what he actually does, he publishes short stories and ends up in charge of his family's businesses (though he avoids Merchant's Guild meetings if at all possible). Oh, and he may or may not have a spy network at his disposal (in Dragon Age: Inquisition, he confirms that he does have a spy network, but leaves it to Leliana because she's a much better spymaster than he is). His main job appears to be "information broker".

* Tom Smykowski, in ''Film/OfficeSpace'' has a job whose duties seem so light and so nebulous that even he can barely describe his job in terms that make it sound like he does any actual work. He isn't in sales, he isn't a programmer, and he doesn't even really interact with clientele, prompting the Bobs to repeatedly ask "What would you say you ''do'' here?"
** The ultimate case is Milton, who hangs around at Initech for five years without even technically ''having'' a job there. This is somewhat forgivable, as no one told him he'd been laid off, and due to an error in Payroll he was still receiving a paycheck until the Bobs fixed it.

* The ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' Anime: The fact that Misty is supposedly a trainer on journey with an ambition to be a better Gym Leader than her sisters yet, apart from the rare [[DesignatedGirlFight girl-]] or water-[[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman themed challenge]] (the latter of which Ash would also take part in), doesn't participate in any competitions lands her in this Trope.[[note]]Brock is definitely support, as is Clemont; May, Dawn, and Serena have a separate quest; and Max and Bonnie are too young. Iris and Cilan are a special case in that they split the support duties while also participating in smaller tournaments.[[/note]]
* Jersey Club from ''Anime/RinneNoLagrange'' does exactly this trope. Be it at being an extra participant in any activity or saving the Earth, Jersey Club does it.

* The ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' Anime: The fact that Misty is supposedly a trainer on journey with an ambition to be a better Gym Leader than her sisters yet, apart from the rare [[DesignatedGirlFight girl-]] or water-[[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman themed challenge]], doesn't participate in any competitions lands her in this Trope.[[note]]Brock is definitely support, as is Clemont; May, Dawn, and Serena have a separate quest; and Max and Bonnie are too young. Iris and Cilan are a special case in that they split the support duties while also participating in smaller tournaments.[[/note]]

* ''Series/Cheers'' Rebecca Howe became the manager of the bar when Sam had retired. Upon his return as bartender, and especially after he became owner again, her duties were so fuzzy that Carla actually asked "What does she do around here?"