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13->''"A man who doesn't know how to do anything goes to work as a guard. A woman who doesn't know how to do anything goes to work as a prostitute. Both jobs are basically the same thing; sleeping for money."''
14-->-- '''[[RussianHumor Russian joke]]'''
15
16A {{Narrative Device|s}} especially common in film and TV, though not limited to them.
17
18This is the job where a once-famous, successful, or admired character is "reduced to this!" More dire than a day job, this is a stereotypical last-resort job to which has-beens, people who got fired or laid off from their regular jobs, {{Impoverished Patrician}}s, or {{Fallen Hero}}es have resorted, just to pay the bills. The Fallen on Hard Times Job is often the starting point for a protagonist's RedemptionQuest, or attempt to chase after their LifelongDream (with accompanying TrainingMontage). It can also serve as a recruiting station for a RagtagBandOfMisfits or PuttingTheBandBackTogether. Such jobs include:
19
20* Party organisers for actors (''Series/PartyDown'')
21* Hotel lounge musicians for musicians (''Film/TheBluesBrothers'')
22* Being a StreetMusician for professional musicians who are laid off.
23* Dinner theater or [[ClassicallyTrainedExtra background work]] for trained theater actors (''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'', ''Film/{{Soapdish}}'', ''Film/AutoFocus'')
24* [[AmbulanceChaser Personal-injury work for lawyers]] (''Film/ErinBrockovich'', ''Film/LegalAffairs'')
25* Cheesy ice capades shows for kids for figure skaters (''Film/BladesOfGlory'')
26* Circus sideshows for characters with unusual abilities or attributes (''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'')
27* Enforcer, {{Bouncer}}, or DumbMuscle for boxers (''Film/OnTheWaterfront'', ''Film/{{Daredevil|2003}}'', ''Film/{{Rocky}}'')
28* Youth coach for athletes or former professional coaches (''Film/TheBadNewsBears'')
29* [[PoliceAreUseless Rent-a-cop]] or [[Film/PaulBlartMallCop mall security]] for police or secret agents (''Film/NationalSecurity'')
30* Entertaining kids at birthday parties (''Film/GhostbustersII'')
31* Really any blue-collar work ([[TheTaxi taxi driver]], cook, [[SoulSuckingRetailJob retail]], [[BurgerFool fast food]], etc) for various commando/spec ops military officers and immigrants whose merits ([[WorthlessForeignDegree university degrees]], positions, nobility) in their country are worthless in this country.
32* [[{{Ghostwriter}} Ghost-writing]] or producing ExtrudedBookProduct for down-on-their luck authors.
33* [[SmarmyHost Hosting low-end talk shows]] for former news anchors or serious journalists
34* SculleryMaid for runaway FairyTale Princesses
35* [[PrivateTutor Governess]] or nanny for Real Life FallenPrincess (''Literature/AgnesGrey'')
36* [[SingleMomStripper Stripper, phone-sex operator, prostitute, or other sex worker for a poor single mother]].
37* {{Japandering}}
38* Appearing on D-List RealityTV shows and/or porn for a [[WhiteDwarfStarlet washed-up celebrity]] or FormerChildStar.
39* Working at BurgerFool, a SoulSuckingRetailJob, or some other menial position for people who have ADegreeInUseless, or {{Tragic Dropout}}s.
40* Primary care, or becoming a BackAlleyDoctor or "wellness practitioner" for doctors who are disbarred or laid off.
41* Giving tours of the family chateau and its grounds for the ImpoverishedPatrician.
42* Golf instructor, ski instructor, or local fitness club tennis coach for former sports pros.
43* Delivery driver for former racecar drivers.
44
45Compare RichesToRags, which may culminate in this. Compare FormerRegimePersonnel, when a lot of secret policemen, commandos, spies, and similar people end up falling on hard times at once. They may work as mercenaries or bodyguards. The most common FallenOnHardTimesJob for them is [[TheMafia mafia soldier]] or [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy security mook]]. Also compare WorthlessForeignDegree, in which highly educated immigrants end up in menial jobs. Contrast WaitingForABreak which is about aspiring actors and film writers doing a day job as a server or barista whilst ''attempting'' to make it big. Can lead to a ScrapHeapHero if the person is called back to duty. See also LoserProtagonist, AcceptableTargets.
46
47----
48!!Examples:
49
50[[foldercontrol]]
51
52[[folder:Advertising]]
53* An old Discover Card commercial depicts a fictional HairMetal band called Danger Kitty (whose members are played by hair metal parody group Music/SteelPanther) rising to great fame and fortune in the early 1980s before falling into obscurity. At the end of the commercial one of the members of Danger Kitty is seen working at a hot dog stand.
54[[/folder]]
55
56[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
57* ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}''; after he's forced out of the company for refusing to fire employees as a cost-cutting measure in Season 4, Ton ends up working as a convenience store clerk to keep some money coming in. Retsuko eventually hires him to a more respectable position as her personal accountant once her "Aggretsuko" videos start taking off, and eventually he gets his old job back at the end of the season.
58* A strange invocation of this happens in Anime/Bakugan2023. Two episodes in, Bakugan Brawls are declared illegal, and all the Bakugan have to get minimum wage jobs. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer We’re not making this up]].
59* The {{Hentai}}, ''Cage'' revolves around a young woman who resorts to [[StreetWalker prostitution]] after her boyfriend runs off after having maxed out her credit cards, and emptied her bank account. [[DealWithTheDevil When she accepts the proposition of a guy to help her financial situation]], he responds by [[SexSlave pimping her out to random johns]].
60* One ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' episode revolves around a former boxer who's now an instructor ([[spoiler:and who's also making some extra cash through espionage]]).
61* In ''Anime/HeatGuyJ'', Kia is a struggling musician, and to make ends meet, he usually waits tables or works other odd jobs. Also, Shogun ''used'' to be a big-time [[TheMafia mob boss]], but he had a HeelFaceTurn and mostly retired from that life, and he now sells pottery and non-perishable foods (such as rice). While it is just something to support himself [[spoiler: plus Daisuke and Shun in their youth]], he does genuinely enjoy it and it gives him a sense of purpose. [[spoiler: He also moonlights as the leader of an underground vigilante group.]]
62* In ''Manga/ICantBelieveISleptWithYou'', Chiyo Kozuka, who quit her job at a game company after getting [[ReassignedToAntarctica reassigned to general affairs]], ends up taking a part-time job at a deli where she worked in high school. It's played with in that while this is not the job Chiyo wants, she's regained enough of her energy and confidence to work again, so the fact that she can do so is a sign of her recovery, rather than of desperation.
63* ''Manga/IdolXIdolStory'': Mimi Nagisa was once a talented idol whose career just never took off. She has resorted to working in a convenience store just to pay for her idol ''otaku'' lifestyle while lying to her family that she's seeking an office job she has no intention of actually getting (since that's less time to spend on idols). She continues this way until a younger idol she inspired shows up where she works and drags her out of retirement.
64* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': The [[GoldfishPoopGang Team Rocket trio]] usually resort to manual labor or running food/merchandise stands after failing each diabolical plot to capture Ash's Pikachu. Ironically, they're often [[CutLexLuthorACheck way more successful doing honest work]] and would probably have better lives if they stopped bothering the main characters.
65* In ''Manga/TheWayOfTheHousehusband'', a few former members of the {{Yakuza}} are forced to work in simple honest jobs after their crime groups were disbanded.
66** Torajiro, TheRival to Tatsu, was in prison when Tatsu wiped out his gang. He now sells crepes and bubble tea in a food truck after seeing everyone was gone.
67** Hibari Torii, former co-leader of the Torii Family, now works in a supermarket with three of her former subordinates.
68** Tatsu is the exception, as he willingly left the {{Yakuza}} life behind to become a HouseHusband and he's happy with his lot in life.
69* ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'': At the beginning of ''Revenge'', [[Characters/ZombieLandSagaFranchouchou Franchouchou]] has had to pick up part-time jobs to pay for a massive amount of debt from their EFS concert.
70** Sakura and Tae tend to a dairy farm.
71** Saki works night shifts as a construction worker.
72** Ai works in a production line at a dried squid factory.
73** Junko paints ceramic dolls at a cultural center.
74** Yugiri works a night shift as a bartender.
75** Lily does the only job available to an 11-year-old-looking zombie and works as a milk deliverer.
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Ballads]]
79* In the Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''Literature/TheLordOfLornAndTheFalseSteward'', the title lord, being [[IGaveMyWord oathbound]] not to reveal who he is, is reduced to working as a shepherd, and later as a stable boy.
80* In the Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''Literature/TheFamousFlowerOfServingMen'', the heroine pulls a SweetPollyOliver and works for the king, rising to the position of his chamberlain. (That is the servant in charge of his chamber. Still a very high status for a servant.)
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Comic Books]]
84* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'', this has happened to the pirates a few times, usually as a consequence of the Gauls' sinking their ships:
85** At the end of ''Recap/AsterixAndCleopatra'', it's revealed that the pirates are working as rowers on the galley taking Asterix's team back to Gaul.
86** In ''Recap/AsterixAndTheCauldron'', the pirates try their hand at running a restaurant. Unfortunately, Asterix and Obelix assume they are the thieves of the titular cauldron's money...
87** Midway through ''Recap/TheMansionsOfTheGods'', it's revealed that the slaves who earned pay and freedom thanks to the Gauls' antics were none other than the pirates.
88* When ''ComicBook/SoulsearchersAndCompany'' temporarily split up, Peterson earns money by exhibiting Stanley as a talking prairie dog and selling tickets.
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
92* In "Literature/TheBrownBearOfTheGreenGlen", John works for the smith.
93* SculleryMaid, in "Literature/CapORushes", "Literature/{{Catskin}}", "Literature/MaidMaleen", "Literature/KingThrushbeard", Creator/AsbjornsenAndMoe's "[[https://web.archive.org/web/20200226104106/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com:80/cinderella/stories/katie.html Katie Woodencloak]]", Creator/JosephJacobs' "[[https://web.archive.org/web/20191113202612/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/moreenglish/rushencoatie.html Rushen Coatie]]", Creator/TheBrothersGrimm's "[[https://www.grimmstories.com/en/grimm_fairy-tales/all-kinds-of-fur_allerleirauh All-Kinds-of-Fur]]", "[[https://web.archive.org/web/20200221220140/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/kingdaughter.html The King Who Wished Marry To His Daughter]]", and many, many, many more.
94** Also in Creator/JosephJacobs' "[[https://web.archive.org/web/20200502212540/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/english/fishring.html The Fish And The Ring]]", where it is a chance to fulfill a prophecy as it turns out, not a place to go to the ball from.
95* In "Literature/CatherineAndHerFate", Catherine goes through an entire series of jobs before she finds one abject enough that her Fate doesn't ruin it for her.
96* In the Italian fairy tale "The Devil's Breeches" -a "Literature/{{Bearskin}}" variant-, the impoverished hero ''tries'' to support himself working as a valet, but [[SoBeautifulItsACurse either the wife or sister of each master falls in love with him for his beauty]], and he has to quit to avoid complications.
97* In "Literature/FairBrow", the titular character was kicked out of his home by his father, and his wife paints to support them.
98* In "Literature/TheGooseGirl", the goose girl is actually the true princess.
99* In "Literature/IronHans", the prince works first in the kitchen and then gets demoted to gardener.
100* In Creator/FranzXaverVonSchonwerth's "Literature/KingGoldenlocks", the runaway prince finds a job as a gardener after fleeing his country.
101[[/folder]]
102
103[[folder:Fan Works]]
104* In ''Fanfic/TheAFRUniverse'', [[VideoGame/Persona5 Ryuji]] ends up a TragicDropout after a year in college. He'd spend the next five years working in backbreaking part-time jobs just to help his mom get by in their apartment. What kills him the most about it, as he explains to Haru, [[spoiler:is that he feels like he can't propose to Hifumi like he wants until he knows he can support them]]. Things do improve for him as Haru uses her connections and knowledge of higher society to introduce Ryjui to, and getting an interview for, Private Security.
105* The two-part ''Series/Daredevil2015'' fanfic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/series/280353 Marci Stahl Is Better Than You]]'' is based on this trope. [[RetCon Written before season 2 was released]][[note]]Early in season 2 of ''Daredevil'', we learn that Marci has gotten a job at Hogarth Chao & Benowitz[[/note]], the premise of the work is that after turning against her Landman & Zack colleagues who were aiding and abetting Wilson Fisk, Marci Stahl ends up having to take a job as a contract attorney with Nelson & Murdock as her past association with L&Z makes other Manhattan law firms unwilling to hire her.
106* In ''Fanfic/MarinetteDupainChengsSpitePlaylist'', [[spoiler:Gabrielle]] feels this way about her job at a small café. This is mainly because [[spoiler:her family has paraded around their status as 'old money' for generations, but has [[ImpoverishedPatrician effectively gone bankrupt]], and is struggling to keep up appearances]].
107* ''Fanfic/RubyPair'': At the beginning of the story, when Zim encounters Tenn, she's working as a bar waitress on the planet Cyberflox to make ends meet after [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen being declared a failure of an Invader]] and exiled from the Irken Empire.
108* ''Fanfic/TheSecret'': After her husband gambled away her father's winery, Kate Caldwell began running a bakery out of her house with her eldest daughter’s help. However, this isn't enough to make ends meet (especially with her husband’s excessive gambling and boozing), so Kate ended up [[SecretSexWorker turning to sex work in secret]].
109* Marinette spends several years working as a waitress in ''Fanfic/TheSevenMisfortunesOfLadyFortune''. Luckily for her, Madame Zhou is too kind to force her into [[TheOldestProfession her main business]].
110* In ''Fanfic/VengeanceOfDawn,'' when we first see Breaking Dawn in the present, she's getting fired from her job at a clothing store. Most ponies probably wouldn't find this so bad, but Dawn, as a former student of Princess Celestia and ex-candidate for alicorn princesshood and the Element of Magic, considers it beneath her. Apparently she had to work several of these jobs after getting kicked out of the School for Gifted Unicorns, but couldn't hold on to any of them because of her pride.
111* In ''Fanfic/WithPearlAndRubyGlowing'', [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse Jasper]] was a parole officer before she was revealed to have raped Lapis, her sixteen-year-old parolee, and is now so desperate for a job that she'll take anything. The side-story ''Shard Times'' follows her attempts at applying for several jobs, only for every single business to understandably refuse to hire her due to her being convicted of statutory rape and ending up as a registered sex offender. Eventually she becomes a work-from-home website moderator, thanks to a dose of TheKindnessOfStrangers.
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
115* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn'': Nightwing discovers the recently paroled Harley Quinn working as a waitress at a restaurant called [[CosplayCafe Superbabes]]--basically Hooters, but with the servers dressed in skimpy superheroine/villainess costumes. Despite Harley's psychiatric background, no one would allow her back in the field and no one else was interested in employing a former supervillain. Aside from offers to do porn, Superbabes was her only option.
116* In the ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}'' short ''WesternAnimation/FrozenFever'', following his failed attempt at taking over Arendelle, Hans is demoted to cleaning horse manure.
117* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Leap}}'' Odette reveals that years before the film's story takes place, she was a talented dancer with a shot at being prima ballerina. However, an accident resulted in a broken leg, and after recovering she walked with a bad limp, and by the time of the movie's events, she's working as the cleaning lady for the Paris Opera House.
118* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'': Even though Fred and Daphne manage to find a decent job after Mystery Inc. split up (working as news show hosts), Shaggy and Scooby are both working as airport security where they get fired after [[EatTheEvidence eating contraband]] they were supposed to guard while Velma is working at a small bookstore that's close to going out of business.
119* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Sing}}'', the dilapidated Moon Theater collapses following years of neglect, as a result of its owner, Buster Moon, mounting a series of flops, the property is repossessed by the bank, and Moon has to resort to washing cars.
120[[/folder]]
121
122[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
123* In ''Film/AmericanMary'', medical student Mary is reduced to applying for a job as a masseuse at a sleazy strip club to pay off her debts. However, during her 'interview', a medical emergency arises that opens up a whole new career path for her.
124* ''Film/AntMan1'''s titular hero finds himself working at a Baskin-Robbins after getting released from prison - and even they fire him once they discover he's an ex-con (Baskin-Robbins ''always'' finds out). Then he ends up working as a thief for eccentric billionaire Hank Pym, thus starting his superhero career.
125* Randy Daytona from ''Film/BallsOfFury'' used to be a child ping-pong prodigy until he lost a big game in 1988. As a grown man, he makes a living as a ping-pong trick artist.
126* In ''Film/{{Beerfest}}'', the ragtag beer-drinking team recruits from their old college buddies: one's now a carny, and another's a street hustler.
127* ''Film/BladesOfGlory'': After champion skaters Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy [=MacElroy=] are banned from Men's Singles skating for fighting on the winner's stand, they end up respectively as A) a drunk lurching his way through a children's skating show and B) a stockboy at a sporting-goods store.
128* ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'': Jake and Elwood reassemble their old band from members who are currently making ends meet as lounge musicians and short-order cooks. Averted in the case of Mr. Fabulous, who had found a high-paying job as maître d′ at a fancy restaurant and was apparently very happy there. The rest of the band JumpedAtTheCall, but getting Mr. Fabulous back took a fair bit of work (and some judiciously applied blackmail).
129* ''Film/BlueStreak'': A criminal version appears when Miles is shocked to find out that Tulley, an experienced getaway driver, has been reduced to sticking up convenience stores.
130* ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'': Frank Abagnale Sr. was quite a successful entrepreneur at one point, but by the start of the film, he's being scrutinized by the IRS for sketchy bookkeeping, likely tax evasion. First, he's forced to sell the old family home and downsize his store. The last time his son sees him, his business has gone under, as he's now a deliveryman for the US postal service.
131* In ''Film/ChaletGirl'', Kim was a skateboarding champion, but she had to quit her career to help her dad at home and works as a BurgerFool at the start of the movie.
132* ''Film/{{Cop}}'': The sleazy main character hooks up with a minor Hollywood actress whose roles have dried up and has had to resort to dealing drugs and prostituting herself to make ends meet.
133* In ''Film/TheCountryGirl'', Bernie is shocked to find out that Frank Elgin, once a highly successful big band singer, has been reduced to recording commercial jingles.
134* On ''Film/TheCuttingEdge'', Doug was an Olympic-level ice hockey player until he [[CareerEndingInjury suffered an eye injury which ended his career]]. Two years later, he is working in a factory and playing for the D-Leagues on the side.
135* In ''Film/DeadAgain'', Creator/RobinWilliams plays a former therapist who lost his license due to sleeping with patients and now works in a grocery store.
136* On ''Film/{{Election}}'', Tracy had an affair with her teacher Mr. Novotny, causing him to get fired and ruining his marriage. Near the end of the film, she wonders whatever happened to him and he is shown at a dead-end job in a grocery store.
137* In ''Film/Expend4bles'', after Lee Christmas gets fired from [[BadassCrew the Expendables]] for botching a mission [[spoiler:and making Barney's ([[DisneyDeath apparent]]) HeroicSacrifice meaningless]], he takes a job as a bodyguard for a social media influencer who turns out to be [[BadInfluencer an obnoxious, misogynistic piece of trash]]. The job ends with Christmas giving the dumb kid a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown in the middle of his livestream after he crosses a line. Later in the film, we see some of [[TheHeavy Rahmat]]'s goons watching the video, calling Christmas a hero for what he did and expressing a desire to [[TemptingFate meet him in real life]].
138* Korben Dallas in ''Film/TheFifthElement'' starts out this way, being a former decorated soldier working a lousy job as a taxi driver.
139* The ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' cast were all typecast. They do appear in conventions and personal appearances but they have not done anything not Galaxy Quest related in years.
140* The start of ''Film/GhostbustersII'' shows Ray and Winston using their ghost-fighting gear to (unsuccessfully) entertain children at a birthday party. Peter is hosting a hack-psychic show.
141* In ''Film/TheGoodbyeGirl'', after Elliot's ''Theatre/RichardIII'' show closes after one disastrous performance, Elliot takes a job as a sidewalk barker outside a strip club.
142* ''Film/TheHand'': After [[CareerEndingInjury losing his hand]] and being dropped by his agent, cartoonist Jon Lansdale takes a job teaching cartooning at a remote community college, to a class of students who seem largely uninterested in the subject.
143* ''Film/TheHobbit'' shows Thorin Oakenshield, Durin's heir, working as a blacksmith in the time between the razing of the kingdom and his quest to restore it.
144* In ''Film/KillBill'', former international assassin Bud is working as a bouncer slash handyman at a perpetually deserted Texas strip club with the frustrated owner firing him when he points this out.
145* In Peter Jackson's ''Film/{{King Kong|2005}}'', entertainer Ann Darrow faces the prospect of becoming a burlesque chorus girl--in that day, pretty much one step above stripping.
146* ''Film/{{Kolya}}'': Louka's offhand smartass remark to a bureaucrat got him fired from the orchestra. Now, he cadges work playing at funerals and moonlights as a restorer of gravestones, and is in debt, which is why he agrees to the marriage scheme. Lampshaded when the Bad Cop interrogating Kolya threatens to get him fired from the orchestra and leave him playing funerals, and the Good Cop passes him a note saying "HE DOES FUNERALS ALREADY."
147* In ''Film/TheLastCommand'', Sergius went from a Russian Grand Duke and army general to working as a Hollywood extra for $7.50 a day, thanks to UsefulNotes/RedOctober.
148* ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]''. Creator/CharlesBronson's character was once a highly-paid BountyHunter, but now works chopping wood so he's willing to accept the measly pay the villagers are offering. "Right now, that's a lot."
149* Subverted in ''Film/ManOnTheMoon''. After achieving national fame on ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', Creator/AndyKaufman (Creator/JimCarrey) is seen bussing tables at a deli, ''while the show is still on the air.'' When people recognize him, he just tells them "I get that all the time." That was based on real life. Andy refused to quit his busboy job, in part because he never liked the show or his character and didn't want to be dependent on it.
150* In ''Film/TheMuppets2011'', Fozzie is stuck playing in a Muppets cover band.
151* In ''Film/NationalSecurity'', Hank becomes a security guard after being fired from the police force after he was accused of committing a hate crime. His "victim" Earl becomes his partner.
152* In ''Film/OceansEleven'', at the beginning of the movie, Rusty has resorted to teaching young actors how to play poker while Saul is attempting to retire and take up dog-racing, but both are clearly bored out of their minds.
153* Terry Malloy from ''Film/OnTheWaterfront'' was set to face off [[ICouldaBeenAContender for a shot at being a contender for the heavyweight boxing title]] but he was convinced by his brother Charlie to take a dive because they needed the money. He has been a longshoreman ever since. When the mob kills Charlie, Terry steps up against them to show that he's not going to take a dive ever again.
154* In ''Film/RagingBull'' (as well as RealLife), boxer Jake [=LaMotta=] ends up a seedy bar owner and stand-up comic.
155* In ''Film/RehearsalForMurder'', Frank Heller mentions having waited tables, worked in construction, and driven cabs between acting gigs.
156* ''Film/TheReplacements'':
157** Shane Falco was a top college football player until he suffered several concussions. He makes a living by scraping barnacles off boats at the start of the film.
158** Jamal and Andre Jackson could not continue their football careers because they did not know how to play without each other. They become bodyguards.
159* Before getting his big break, the failed boxer Film/{{Rocky}} works as a debt collector for a local loan shark. He goes bankrupt in ''Film/RockyV'' and he takes over Mickey's old gym.
160* ''Film/RogerAndMe'' has many examples of unemployed people doing odd jobs.
161** Most famously, Rhonda Britton, who earns just enough money for groceries by selling rabbits for meat.
162** Some people are able to literally profit from Flint's decline, like U-Haul helping people move out.
163** Janet, who decides to become an Amway saleswoman and tries to help unemployed women do the same. Moore decides to help Janet out of a crisis by letting her do his colors.
164** Some autoworkers get jobs at Taco Bell, hoping to use their assembly line skills in the making of tacos.
165** Some autoworkers are retrained by the UAW as prison guards. Notably, many of the prisoners are their former co-workers.
166* The protagonist of ''Film/{{Rounders}}'' drives a delivery truck for a living whenever he busts out and loses all his money playing TabletopGame/{{poker}}.
167* On ''Film/SetItOff'', Frankie was a bank teller but she was fired after being suspected of being an accomplice in a robbery. She becomes a janitor like her friends. They are all so poor that their dream job is in a factory that has been closed down.
168* In ''Film/ShaolinSoccer'', the team's coach had suffered from a CareerEndingInjury in the beginning and is now working as an errand boy for his teammate, now chairman, who caused his injury. Also, the former Shaolin monks except one are working for a meager living.
169* In ''Film/{{Soapdish}}'', Jeffrey Anderson (Creator/KevinKline) has sunk from a prominent daytime television role to performing as Willy Loman in ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'' in a rundown Florida dinner theatre for an audience of uninterested senior citizens. Half of his audience is too hard of hearing to know what he's saying, the other half are too distracted to care. [[spoiler:Montana Moorehead suffers the same fate at the end of the film, under ''his'' birth name Milton Moorehead.]]
170* ''Film/SpiderMan3'': After she is fired from Broadway, Mary Jane eventually resigns herself to working as a singing waitress as she struggles to find a job as an actress.
171* ''Film/SunshineCleaning'' deconstructs this. Rose drags her sister into starting an impromptu business cleaning up crime scenes - because she needs the money to get her son into a private school. Although disgusted by the work at first, she soon finds enjoyment in it and comes to love it - especially when she realises that what she does benefits people.
172* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': WesternAnimation/BettyBoop, who has remained monochrome and forgotten over time, is working as a nightclub cigarette girl following the arrival of color cartoons.
173* In ''Film/TheWholeTenYards'', Creator/BruceWillis' retired hit-man character is spending his time as the world's most trying househusband.
174* When Creator/MickeyRourke's character in ''Film/TheWrestler'' is forced to leave the ring--even at the low-level promotion he had been with since falling from national stardom--he resorts to working the deli counter at a grocery store. The movie plays with this as Randy actually seems to enjoy working with the customers - though he's mortified when someone recognises him as a wrestler.
175* Derek ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'' joins his father and brothers in the coal mines after he retired from modeling.
176[[/folder]]
177
178[[folder:Literature]]
179* In a crossover with RealLife, showing what times were really like for the disabled around the year 1918, Mary Grant Bruce's book ''[[Literature/ALittleBushMaid Back To Billabong]]'' has the Linton family see a disabled youth offering for sale toy gas-filled balloons as well as matches in a London street. Since the Lintons are reasonably well-off, they buy his whole stock of balloons to help him out without insulting him (and then give the balloons to a random youngster shortly afterward).
180* Maou from ''Literature/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' used to be the king of demons until he was defeated by Emilia the Hero. Now he works part-time at [[BlandNameProduct MgRonalds]] and plans on working his way back up to the top of the food chain through the wage slave ladder. He also genuinely enjoys and is passionate about his work.
181* When [[HonestJohnsDealership Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]] from ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is found selling sausages, it's a sure sign that yet another get-rich-quick scheme has blown up in his face. Strangely, convincing people to buy and eat his guaranteed-some-kind-of-meat sausages is something he's very, ''very'' good at.
182* In ''The Death of Kings'' (second book of Conn Iggulden's ''Lietrature/{{Emperor}}'' series), two former soldiers of the destroyed Primigenia legion are found working as guards in a (high-class) brothel.
183* In ''The Devil You Know'' by Mike Carey, professional exorcist ''Literature/FelixCastor'' works as a magician at a child's birthday party. This may be a ShoutOut to ''Film/GhostbustersII'' above.
184* ''Literature/TheHanSoloAdventures:'' In the final book, Han is shaken to find out that his mentor "Trooper" Badure, a war veteran and piloting instructor turned adventurer, has been reduced to contract labor at a mining camp.
185* ''Literature/IveGotYouUnderMySkin'':
186** Alison aspired to become a doctor and was smart enough to get into medical school, but she couldn't afford to pay for her studies unless she took on a lot of debt (with Betsy having ensured she lost out on a scholarship that would've covered this). She instead took night classes to become a pharmacist and now runs her own pharmacy (which originally belonged to her husband's elderly cousin), with her disabled husband doing what he can to help.
187** Nina wanted to become an actress and had aspirations to go to Hollywood, but her career never really took off and she's now stuck mostly working as an extra.
188* In Creator/PGWodehouse's ''Jill The Reckless'', after her money was lost, Jill escapes nasty relatives and ends up resorting to working as a chorus girl.
189* In ''Literature/TheKiteRunner'', most of the Afghans who made it to America were from well-off or even noble families (escaping a war-torn zone and getting a visa has its cost). Since their degrees or merits have no value in the U.S., most of them work in blue-collar jobs. Amir's father goes from tycoon to gas station worker (but eventually becomes the director) while his father-in-law is too proud to work and lives on state aid money and what he earns from the flea market.
190* ''Literature/{{Mahabharata}}'': The [[UrExample First ever examples]] are the jobs the Pandava princes and Draupadi are forced to take on during their one year spent incognito at King Viraat’s palace. After losing their kingdom, all their wealth, personal belongings, and pretty much everything except their armor and weapons in a dice game, the Pandavas and Draupadi spend twelve years living in the forest followed by a year spent in hiding under assumed identities. Yudhistir becomes a court advisor for King Viraat, Draupadi becomes the queen’s personal maid, Bhim becomes a cook, Nakul tends horses in the royal stable, Sahadev tends to the king’s cows, and Arjun, who also has to endure a year of impotence, slaps on the {{Manscara}} and becomes a teacher of music and dance.
191* Sayuri and Mameha from ''Literature/MemoirsOfAGeisha'' were both famous and respected geishas. They hit hard times when World War II erupted. Mameha had to rent out rooms while Sayuri became a farmer.
192* In ''Literature/APearlForMyMistress'', which is set in 1934, Lady Lucy's family regards her journalistic occupation to be this. Lucy herself actually enjoys both the job itself and the independent income it allows her.
193* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/ShardsOfHonor'', Aral Vorkosigan (Admiral, Hero of the Barraran Empire, Confidant of the Emperor, Butcher of Komarr, etc, etc) notes that he'd be unlikely to even get a job as a judo instructor (the only non-military job he could think of that he'd be qualified for) on Beta Colony.
194* In the ChivalricRomance ''Sir Isumbras'', Isumbras is reduced to menial work as TheBlacksmith.
195* In ''[[Literature/PathsOfDarkness The Spine of the World]]'', the barbarian adventurer Wulfgar's post-traumatic stress disorder after spending a few years as a demon lord's prisoner causes him to lose his heart for adventuring. He becomes an alcoholic and takes a job as a bouncer at a seedy tavern in order to support his drinking habit.
196* In ''Literature/StraightOuttaFangton'', Peter Stone works as a convenience store clerk. This is despite the fact he's a former Iraqi veteran, security guard specialist, and oh yes, a ''vampire.'' Played with as it's discovered a lot of vampires have graveyard shift jobs as people don't hire them and only a few VampiresAreRich.
197* In Creator/GKChesterton's ''The Tales of the Long Bow'', Elizabeth Seymour, ImpoverishedPatrician, has taken a job with better grace than most.
198-->''I suppose most people would call me a failure and all my people failures now; except those who would say we never failed, because we never had to try. Anyhow, we're all poor enough now; I don't know whether you know that I've been teaching music. I dare say we deserved to go. I dare say we were useless. Some of us tried to be harmless.''
199* Kris Pulaski, the protagonist of ''Literature/WeSoldOurSouls'', is working at a truly fleabag motel when the book starts.
200[[/folder]]
201
202[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
203* Wealthy socialite Caroline becoming a waitress ''Series/TwoBrokeGirls''. Played with in that the series begins with her taking that job after her father's arrest cost her her access to the family fortune.
204* After Jack faked his death at the end of ''Series/TwentyFour'' season 4, he is working as a part-time (as in when work is available) oil pipeline worker.
205* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': Tracey Jordan starts out as a once-popular A-lister whose continual eccentricities and other conflicts have branded him difficult to work with and he's reduced to starring in the eponymous show, which in-universe is generally considered hacky and not that great. Later he has a brief career renaissance which is cut short once other A-listers realize he's a "TV Actor". Includes a meta-commentary on this by Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin, a former A-lister now better known for his TV work.
206* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
207** After his loaded father cuts him off, Tommy Merlyn, who previously didn't need to do anything to live by, seeks employment at Oliver's nightclub. He not only takes the job seriously but proves to be a very capable manager using his experience as a former partying playboy.
208** Felicity is an MIT graduate and isn't happy when Oliver promotes her as his assistant in season 2, as it ends up reducing her to a GirlFriday (or "Girl [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Wednesday]]"). In season 7, after Oliver is arrested, she ends up having to go into hiding by working at a coffee shop.
209* On ''Series/BrainDead2016'', the show opens with Laurel being talked into taking a job as constituent casework for her brother because funding for a documentary film she's been working on has fallen through.
210* ''Series/BreakingBad'' and its prequel ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' both used this to contrast their main characters' current lives with their previous hoped-for success.
211** In ''Series/BreakingBad'', Walter White starts the series working as a high school chemistry teacher. We learn over the course of the series that he was a co-founder of a multi-billion dollar company which he left over an imagined slight from his partners, and then he worked for a government laboratory before he left that position as well for never-revealed reasons. Now he makes only $45,000 a year, so he also has to take a second job at a car wash.
212** In the flash-forwards of ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', which take place after the finale of ''Breaking Bad'', the main character Jimmy [=McGill=] is forced to go into hiding and assumes another identity. No longer the flashy criminal lawyer comfortably living high when he was Saul Goodman, "Gene" is a Cinnabon manager who mops floors and empties the trash. In the present timeline of the show, after being temporarily disbarred, Jimmy winds up working in a cell phone store for a full year. His frustrations at the mundanity of the job lead him to take a second, technically-legal-but-very-sketchy job of selling burner phones to petty criminals.
213* ''Series/CafeAmericain'': In "Pilot", Holly follows an employment opportunity in Paris, but when the job falls through, she finds herself pursuing a waitress position at the Cafe Americain.
214* A variation in ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'''s Season 6. Paige decides to find herself, so she goes to loads of temp jobs. These end up being annoying jobs such as dog walking, fruit packing in a factory, secretary to a sleazy businessman, etc. She usually finds a magical purpose in them, however.
215* On ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', Carla's second husband got cut from the Boston Bruins and ended up wearing a penguin suit in the Ice Capades. (Eventually, a rogue Zamboni machine killed him.)
216** After being fired by the Lillian Corporation, and with her reputation as a businesswoman nuked thanks to her lover using her for insider trading, Rebecca gets a job as a demo room saleswoman, where she's treated shabbily, having to demonstrate unsafe products with no protection and no medical coverage. This job is so humiliating that going back to Cheers is still a step up from, as Woody puts it, "selling snake oil like a carnival geek".
217* ''Series/ColdCase'':
218** Roy Minard from "Hubris" was an Ivy League art history professor until he was accused of murdering one of his students, who was also his [[StudentTeacherRomance lover]], causing him to be fired in disgrace. In the present, he teaches English as a second language.
219** Carlo from "It's Raining Men" used to get by on his looks and a string of sugar daddies. In the present day, he works in a pet store.
220** Subverted in "Superstar". Fritz used to be a prospective top tennis player in college until he was accused of murder. He became an instructor and his old classmates are glad he never made it. He indicated, however, that he likes being an instructor because he can pick up women. He never took tennis seriously at all.
221** "Kensington" is about a bunch of textile mill workers who lost their jobs. The victim Joe became a constable who drove people from their homes when they can't pay rent. Ham became a butcher. Monty became a telephone linesman, even though he is too old.
222** Audrey, the victim in "World's End", mentions a neighbor of hers who is reduced to selling apples due to the Great Depression.
223** Lindsay, the victim in "Schadenfreude", was the wife of a rich surgeon. After one of his patients died on the operating table, the legal fees bankrupted them and Lindsay was forced to work sweeping floors of the hair salon she frequented.
224** Evan from "Breaking News" worked at Shaw Plastics but was fired for failing a drug test (he was taking Percocet). He was told by the victim, reporter Jane Everett, that he, his late wife, and other Shaw employees were getting sick from asbestos exposure. She promised to break the story but she was murdered. Years later, Evan is living in a trailer, working as a janitor, and dying of cancer.
225** Ray Takahashi from "Family 8018" used to own his own grocery store until he and his family were interred during World War II. After the war, he is reduced to selling produce on the street.
226** Anil from "A Dollar, A Dream" used to own his grocery store but he lost it after INS found out that he let illegal immigrants do odd jobs around the store. He works in a restaurant called "Zippy's" (where he has to wear an embarrassing uniform) in the present day.
227* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
228** Narrowly avoided by Marci Stahl, as after blowing the whistle on Landman & Zack's dealings with Wilson Fisk, she manages to secure a job at Hogarth Chao & Benowitz.
229** We learn in "[[Recap/DarevedilS2E4PennyAndDime Penny and Dime]]" that Frank Castle was shot in the head, and "suits" conspired to have him declared deceased. Unfortunately for them, Frank woke up ([[DisneyDeath after flatlining for a minute]]) and made the nurse assigned to him take him home. The guy lost his job, and subsequently, when Karen tracks him down, he's working as an office building janitor.
230* Creator/AndyKaufman did an extreme parody of this trope in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p0sr2BejUk his 1980 appearance]] on Creator/DavidLetterman's morning show, claiming he was no longer doing ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', was having trouble even finding work in dinner theater, and had lost everything in a divorce. He ended his "set" by actually ''panhandling'' in the front rows of the studio audience before being led out by stagehands. (In truth, while his mainstream career ''had'' peaked owing to the backlash against his wrestling {{Heel}} persona in particular, he stayed with ''Taxi'' through its entire run, and even as his career went into further decline was still able to parlay recognition into smaller gigs -- and had he not died in 1984, probably would have found ways to keep doing so and turn it into a whole new phase of his work, as he was fascinated by performers past their peak.)
231* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius The Brain of Morbius]]", Sarah Jane contemplates such a fate after being [[spoiler: temporarily]] blinded. She hits upon selling flowers on the streets of London, briefly affecting a sickeningly sweet Cockney accent: "Luv'ly violets, guv'nor!"
232* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Bulldog Briscoe gets fired from KACL at the end of season six after the ratings on his show drop too low. By his next appearance in the following season, he's living at the YMCA and delivering pizzas to make ends meet. He gladly accepts Roz's offer to take over as her new babysitter. Later seasons see him back at KACL but working in the storage areas hauling boxes.
233* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
234** Monica had to become a waitress at a 1950s-themed diner.
235** Rachel used to have her own department in season 4 until the company downsized and she was demoted to helping customers try on clothes.
236** Being an actor, Joey is used to having these. The most notable was when he went to Nevada to star in a movie only to find that it ran out of money. He had to get a job as a greeter at Caesar's Palace so he could get enough money to go back to New York.
237* ''Series/GenV'': The second episode of season 1 reveals that Adam Bourke, who had previously appeared in the second and third seasons of ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}'' as the director of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Dawn of the Seven]]'', is in "director's jail" after he flashed Creator/MinkaKelly. The only work he can find is teaching "Acting for Auditions" at Godolkin University. He even mutters at one point, "How the fuck did I get here?"
238* ''Series/{{Ghosted}}'': Leroy Wright was the LAPD's best missing persons detective, now he's forced to work as a mall cop. Doctor Max Jenifer was a professor at Stanford and the leading theoretical physicist, who is forced to work as a sales clerk in a bookstore. They both initially agreed to work for the [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction Bureau Underground]] because Captain Lafrey’s offers to get them their old jobs back.
239* In ''Series/GilmoreGirls'', Emily Gilmore sees Lorelai running away from her privileged life as a teenager and working as a maid like this.
240* ''Series/{{Hack}}'' features a disgraced police detective reduced to working as a cab driver. He still considers it preferable to serving as muscle for a local gangster.
241* Frequently comes up on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' with characters whose involvement with superhuman abilities unknown to regular science and that sort of thing ruins their careers. Niki formerly had a better job at a casino but becomes a SingleMomStripper after her husband goes to jail on felony charges under mysterious circumstances. Mohinder [[WorthlessForeignDegree was a professor in India]], but drives a [[TheTaxi taxi]] after coming to the States to investigate his father's bizarre murder. And when his {{telepathy}} does more harm than good in his law-enforcement career (so much for the SuperCop), Matt ends up being a bodyguard or security guard.
242* The premise of ''Series/{{Hung}}''. The recession has hit Ray hard and he is unable to make ends meet with his job as a substitute teacher. Prostitution ensues.
243* Nina Van Horn from ''Series/JustShootMe'' used to be a famous supermodel in the 70s but her career petered out. She was discovered by Jack Gallo modeling in a car show while dressed as a mermaid.
244* ''Series/LifeWithBoys'': In "Bathroom Battles with Boys", Jack takes on an embarrassing, and physically punishing, second job as a party clown to raise the extra money so Tess can have her own bathroom (and not have to share with her brothers). Tess feels incredibly guilty when she finds out.
245* Cady, midway through Season 2 of ''Series/{{Longmire}}'', loses her job at the law firm, and ends up working at Henry's bar (much to Walt's disapproval).
246* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': Luke Cage used to be a cop in Savannah, Georgia, and before that, he was a soldier in the Marines. After being framed by Diamondback, sent to Seagate Prison, and receiving powers in a botched experiment, he escapes with Reva to New York City, where he initially works as a Hell's Kitchen bartender up until near the end of ''Series/JessicaJones2015''. After getting shot by Jessica to break Kilgrave's control over him, Luke starts his own show living in Harlem, getting paid under the table by working as a floor sweeper at Pop's Barbershop and a dishwasher at Harlem's Paradise.
247* In season 2 of ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Earl had worked hard enough to have a decent job as an appliance salesman, an apartment, and a girlfriend. [[spoiler: Then he took the rap for a crime his ex-wife committed, out of pity for her new husband and her two children.]] So he spent most of season 3 in {{Prison}}. When he finally gets out, no one will hire him since he now has a criminal record, and he has since lost the cushy job, the apartment, and the girlfriend. So he takes on a job as a take-out delivery man for a Chinese/Mexican restaurant and loses his faith in Karma.
248* The titular ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'' is working a factory job (which seems to involve harvesting meat from a dead Kraytt dragon) ten years after [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith the Jedi purge]].
249* ''Series/QueenSugar'': During the pandemic, Ralph Angel works as a janitor in a nursing home because he can't harvest sugar cane without enough employees and Darla lost her job.
250* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''
251** There was an episode where Team Machine had to help a taxi driver who used to be a famous baseball player in Cuba.
252** Team Machine took up day jobs in season 5 thanks to their funding getting cut by Samaritan. Finch became a teacher, Reese became a cop and Root has to constantly change jobs (usually involving her wearing embarrassing costumes).
253* After their wrongful imprisonment, the paroled deputies of ''Series/{{Reno 911}}!'' have to make ends meet in various capacities, including security guard, realtor, carnie, bed & breakfast owner (in a bus), groupie, and ''Series/AmericanIdol'' hopeful.
254* In ''Series/{{Rome}}'', professional soldiers Vorenus and Pullo become thug enforcers after they are demobilized and without income. Eventually, they are required to actually [[ProfessionalKiller kill people]]. Vorenus however [[HitmanWithAHeart draws the line at murder and quits]].
255* When Lisa in ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' spends too much money on her father's credit card, she gets a job as a waitress to pay the money back. Bear in mind that Lisa is a rich, prissy DaddysGirl. Her father finds this ActuallyPrettyFunny when he finds out - and his punishment is for Lisa to keep working the job until she's paid the debts (at her own insistence).
256* On ''Series/SchittsCreek'' Johnny Rose is a formerly wealthy business mogul who loses his fortune at the start of the series. He decides to build himself back up and eventually becomes part-owner of the roadside motel where he and his family have been living. Unlike most examples, he throws himself into managing the place and gradually improves it, and he rarely if ever complains about the hard work. The series ends with him on the way back to restoring his fortune through a revamped and expanded motel business plan.
257* In ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', Elliot leaves Sacred Heart for a better hospital on a research fellowship, only for the disease she was hired to study suddenly being cured. She is fired from her new job and, because she burned her bridges with Sacred Heart's higher-ups, is forced to take a job at a free clinic. She does manage to [[StatusQuoIsGod get back]] her job at S.H. when Dr. Kelso comes into her clinic to get treatment for an STD that he caught from his mistress.
258* In ''Series/ShakespeareAndHathawayPrivateInvestigators'', Sebastian is a RADA-trained actor who is working as Frank's receptionist and secretary while keeping his acting dreams alive by appearing as a spear-carrier in plays and doing bit parts in commercials.
259* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "Mobius", a trip to the past by the main cast creates a timeline where the Stargate was never discovered. Alt!Daniel is reduced to teaching "English as a Second Language" courses while Alt!Carter is working in a civilian research company as a glorified proofreader for other people's work while having her own research plagiarized by her boss.
260* This is part of the main premise of ''Series/TheSteveHarveyShow''. Steve Hightower is a former disco singer who is now a high school music teacher.
261* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' Sam Winchester, a former Stanford student studying law, is seen clearing tables at a bar after he and Dean part ways in season 4. In later seasons the boys are separated again and Dean works construction, but that might be less of an example since he's a high school dropout who likes working with his hands. Still, you'd think a lifetime of monster hunting at the elite level would have some more transferable skills.
262* ''Series/VeronicaMars'':
263** After Veronica's mom walks off with her $50,000 bounty, Veronica makes some money as a barista.
264** Former popular girl Jackie also becomes a barista after her football legend father Terrence gets accused of murder. She's good at being a waitress. Too good. [[spoiler:Because she's actually a love child who grew up with a poor mother in New York.]]
265** As for Terrence, he is proven innocent of murder but guilty of betting on his own games. He becomes a greeter at the casino he used to frequent.
266* ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'': One skit had Drew Carey playing the new employee at an ice cream parlor. Ryan Stiles, playing the employee training him, comments something like "I used to watch both your shows. You should have saved some money."
267* ''Series/TheWire'':
268** Cedric Daniels was being groomed for command at the start of the series. He is PassedOverPromotion after he exposed that several high officials were being bribed by the Barksdale gang. He is working in evidence storage by the next season.
269** Before his retirement in season 3, Bunny Colvin is demoted due to his Hamsterdam scheme so he does not get his pension. He works as head of security in a hotel at the start of season 4.
270** In season 5, budget cutbacks in the police department lead to decreased morale among the rank-and-file, though Burrell is able to lift it when he convinces Carcetti to lift the cap on secondary employment. Crutchfield, for instance, makes up his lost overtime by securing part-time work as a security guard at a jewelry store.
271[[/folder]]
272
273[[folder:Music]]
274* Country singer John Anderson's song, "Would You Catch A Falling Star" is about a singer who used to have a big tour bus and draw crowds in the millions, but now he spends most of his time drunk and playing shows for tiny crowds at any place that will have him, and he drives himself there in a crappy little van.
275* "King of Spain" by Moxy Früvous. The titular king actually seems to have three such jobs: he works at Pizza Pizza, vacuums astroturf, and drives a Zamboni.
276* "Pearl's a Singer" by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The titular nightclub singer, once a promising talent, now only dreams of the success she never had. The music does pick up in the last reprise, indicating that Pearl has found some enjoyment with her lot.
277* Music/WeirdAlYankovic:
278** "The Rye or the Kaiser" is a parody of [[Film/{{Rocky}} Eye of the Tiger]] where the boxer lost the big fight and wound up retiring to run a small deli.
279** "Skipper Dan" features an aspiring actor who languishes in his hard-times job at Disneyland, remembering his student dreams of stardom but feeling too worn down to shoot for them now.
280[[/folder]]
281
282[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
283* After losing his job when the WCW/ECW Alliance lost against the WWF at Survivor Series 2001, Wrestling/LanceStorm was shown working as a busboy in the WWF New York restaurant.
284* In the mid-1990s, WWF did a storyline where Wrestling/NikolaiVolkoff fell on hard times and became an underling for [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase "The Million Dollar Man" Ted [=DiBiase=]]]. Nikolai wore trunks with cent signs on the sides (a play on the $ signs [=DiBiase=] had on his) and "Property Of The Million Dollar Man" on the back.
285* A similar angle was worked years later when Wrestling/ShawnMichaels fell on hard times and wound up working for [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]].
286* During the last year of WCW in 2000, Wrestling/NormanSmiley lost a match that cost him and Ralphus their jobs in WCW. In one segment, they were shown working as popcorn vendors at the arena.
287* Wrestling/LisaMarieVaron when she was wrestling as Tara in TNA, lost a Title vs Career match and disappeared for months, before returning as the sidekick of Madison Rayne. Madison alluded to Tara being reduced to working at "the lipstick counter" before she got her rehired.
288[[/folder]]
289
290[[folder:Radio]]
291* One ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' radio play is set in an AlternateUniverse where the Third Doctor (who is a thirty-something woman instead of a [[Creator/JonPertwee middle-aged man]]) is banished to the early 2000s rather than UsefulNotes/TheSeventies, so she can't join up with UNIT and instead is forced to take a shelf-stacker job at Tesco's.
292[[/folder]]
293
294[[folder:Religion & Mythology]]
295* The Parable of the Prodigal Son from ''[[Literature/TheFourGospels The Book of Luke]]'' has the wayward younger son becoming a swineherd after squandering his father's wealth. This is especially abhorrent, as the Jews consider swines unclean, and the fact that the young man was willing to lower himself to such a devastating extent for a bit of food and cash demonstrates how destitute he's become. Even after he decides to crawl back home, he only plans on asking for a job as a farmhand, because he knows he doesn't deserve to come back as a son.
296* In [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek mythology]], following a failed rebellion against Zeus, the supreme god has his brother Poseidon and his son Apollo punished by temporarily banishing them from Olympus to build the walls of Troy.
297[[/folder]]
298
299[[folder:Video Games]]
300* In ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' Chuck Green was once a star and a champion in the motor-cross circuit but has been reduced to slaughtering zombies on the controversial [[ShowWithinAShow "Terror is Reality"]] in order to afford Zombrex, his daughter's [[PhlebotinumDependence expensive multi-dose anti-zombification medicine.]]
301** In [[GaidenGame ''DR2: Off the Record'']] Frank West became a celebrity by selling his story of survival during the [[VideoGame/DeadRising Willamette outbreak,]] and happily coasted on the fame, and money, it brought him. Several years later, he was alone, and the money disappeared leaving him in debt. To make ends meet, and [[PhlebotinumDependence keep buying the expensive Zombrex medication he needs,]] he participates on the controversial [[ShowWithinAShow "Terror is Reality"]], being [[WhiteDwarfStarlet billed as the hero of Willamette]].
302* The Dark Brotherhood in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' is a shadow of its former glory. Without a Listener to speak to the Night Mother and receive word of Black Sacraments, they're forced to rely on rumor and word of mouth to find contracts, and whatever work they can. The player character gets their attention by talking to a kid who'd performed a Sacrament and been ignored, taking the job in their place.
303* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': Canderous Ordo was once a respected commander among the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. After his people lost the war, and Revan's forces strip the Mandos of all their armor and weaponry, he ends up cracking heads for the crime lord Davik on the backwater world of Taris. In the second game, he discusses this by pointing out to Kreia that he and his followers are clawing their way out of menial work and rebuilding the Mandalorian people. Kreia dismisses it, but the ExpandedUniverse shows Canderous as having the last laugh.
304* In ''VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlRevis'', Roxis Rosencrantz, a descendant of a long line of famous alchemists, mentions in one scene that his father earned the money they lived on by playing cards, as despite their fame and history, his family hasn't produced a decent alchemist in more than a century.
305* After closing the rifts at the end of ''VideoGame/OrcsMustDie'' the War Mage inadvertently put himself out of work. Without invading Orcs to fight and his actions [[TheMagicGoesAway causing all the magic to go away]] and getting people mad at him, he's become a miner by the start of the sequel.
306''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002'': Ratchet's last encounter with Qwark sees the ruined ex-hero shucking gadgets from a ramshackled stand on the sidewalk under the name "Steve". TheStinger after the credits shows Qwark in an infomercial.
307* ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'': The Soviet engineer mentions he was once a professor. This being Red Alert, it's possible many of these were given the choice of being an engineer or being shot.
308-->Combat engineers hail from all walks of life: They are the Union's bookkeepers, professors, curators, symphony conductors, mechanics, shipwrights, and, of course, its civilian architects and engineers.
309[[/folder]]
310
311[[folder:Visual Novels]]
312* ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'':
313** Saul cooking in the diner after getting fired from the liquidation company. However, instead of being bitter, he is grateful for the employment in the time when he is trying to find another job in law.
314** Possibly the case for Heidi (who sells her bar to break the cycle of long days every day just to barely get by) and Veronica (who founded a startup that eventually failed).
315* Subverted with the protagonist's tutoring job in ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}''. The protagonist isn’t keen on the job when it’s first offered to him, and takes it mainly to get away from Bethany, but he makes enough money to get by, and enjoys the town where the job is, and the people in it.
316[[/folder]]
317
318[[folder:Web Animation]]
319* ''WebAnimation/MangaSoprano'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUd1caO2WWA In this story]], Misato eventually [[spoiler:resigned from the company on Alto's orders, not only for insulting his wife Kanade but for her slacking around and forcing her workload on the former. Furthermore, she was rejected by many other companies and ended up working at a snack bar]].
320* ''WebAnimation/MangaWaido'':
321** Defied in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYz_Em3pbec The girl at school kept screwing up and then here's what happened next...]]'': [[spoiler:After being rejected by many companies she applied to work for, [[{{Kawaiiko}} Mari]] begged the hotel that fired her to hire her back, only to be rejected. Moreover, ''[[EveryoneHasStandards not even the nightlife business wants her]]'' as the customers and employees realized what kind of person she was]].
322** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKf4WHt0dpY Here's what happened when my brother's fiance asked me to not go to the wedding...]]'': [[spoiler:After Seiya gets called out through a letter from his boss in the middle of his wedding for making fun of his brother, Satoshi (who works at the company that is business partners with the CEO's company and who the CEO has really high opinion of) for being a high school graduate and for working at a factory, he is later forced to quit his job and ironically ends up working at a factory while his wife leeches money off of him.]]
323* ''WebAnimation/RevengeFilms''
324** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0u0wQHx6Bo "Wife thinks I'm an ATM and dumps me after I get fired"]]: John's wife is forced to pay him alimony for her affair; she was eventually reduced to doing sex work to make ends meet years later.
325** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDEkV1rpJWc "I was making $4500 a month... “That’s not enough” So I started working 6 days a week..."]]: After Jack used the powers bestowed by him in the contract his lawyer made him sign to press charges on Jane and her parents for trespassing into his house and thus breaking said contract, Jane had to work a nightlife job to pay her debt, but her appearance started to decay to a point she desperately resorted to actual sex work.
326[[/folder]]
327
328[[folder:Webcomics]]
329* In ''Webcomic/{{Erstwhile}}'', Maid Maleen, All-Furs, and [[http://www.erstwhiletales.com/ironhans-11/ the prince in "Iron Hans"]].
330* ''Webcomic/MenageA3'' pulls a nice comedy variant with Zii, the determinedly cool "punk rock chick" who, lacking a band or any other source of income, takes a job as "counter candy" in a comics shop, being "ogled by geeks" as she herself later puts it. This even comes with its own version of the traditional humiliating uniform, [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/menage-a-3/show-accuracy as seen here.]]
331* ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2011-01-06 The comic's version of]] "The grasshopper and the ant" has the usual moral subverted when the ant's job is outsourced to Asia and has to work as a cashier, while the grasshopper gets fame when it gets stepped on and the video goes viral. And the Asian ant's job is outsourced to an African ant, then to a JobStealingRobot.
332* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Torbjörn and Siv Västerström are from a family that underwent a RichesToRags episode some years ago. After this, Torbjörn got a job copying old books and got the idea for the expedition when he found out just how valuable the original texts were. Siv was working in an institute researching [[ThePlague the Rash]] before joining him in his initiative, but it is unclear whether she got the job before or after the family's financial difficulties showed up.
333[[/folder]]
334
335[[folder:Western Animation]]
336* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "King's Ransom" has both Melanie and the Royal Flush Gang she left working this way. Melanie has a traditional hard-times job working food prep in a restaurant (though at least she’s living an honest life), while her family laments that they have to steal for hire instead of for themselves.
337* Baby Doll from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' was an actress turned supervillain. After being defeated by Batman and doing some jail time, she is next seen working as a hotel concierge. [[ChronicVillainy That is until an obnoxious tourist recognizes her.]]
338* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': When Batman tracks down the members of the Doom Patrol in "The Last Patrol!", he finds Negative Man working as a sideshow freak in a seedy carnival.
339* [[Characters/DuckTales2017MagicaDeSpell Magica De Spell]] in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017''. You know you hit rock bottom when your current job is a party magician for kids, while your previous occupation was [[EvilSorceress an all-powerful sorceress]].
340* Some ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' cutaway gags did these:
341** One gag had the now grown-up Bam-Bam from ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' become a taxi driver.
342** Another has Jem from ''WesternAnimation/JemAndTheHolograms'' performing at a child's birthday party.
343* In ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'' episode [[Recap/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroesStrings "Strings"]], a major PR problem forces the Four to get actual jobs. Technically, only Susan's (children's entertainer) and Ben's (garbage man) might count. Two women cattily {{lampshade}} this, commenting on "how far she's fallen."
344* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'':
345** In "Propane Boom", [[Characters/KingOfTheHillHankHill Hank Hill]] ended up working at Mega Lo Mart when he got laid off from Strickland when the aforementioned store briefly sold propane.
346** Subverted in "My Own Private Rodeo". Hank, Bill, and Boomhauer think this happened to Dale's estranged father Bug, finding him performing in a gay rodeo ([[LateToTheRealization though they originally didn't realize they were even at one]]) and when they do, they figure out that he's there because he's [[CampGay gay]] himself.
347** In "Three Coaches and a Bobby", Hank's old high school football coach is working at a sporting goods store after retiring from coaching. He seems to resent this because when Hank meets up with him and offers him to coach Bobby's middle school team, he angrily tells his coworker he quits. When Hank reminds him the job is voluntary, he retracts the statement.
348* "WesternAnimation/RobotChicken":
349** Some examples were seen in the "Where Are They Now" segments:
350*** Prince Adam/He-Man from "Masters of the Universe" is a mall security cop.
351*** Lion-O from "Thundercats" is an unemployed construction worker. He also worked as a male stripper. When asked about what happened, Lion-O reveals that after Mumm-Ra died of testicular cancer, there was no one left to fight and the Thundercats had to get real jobs.
352*** Soundwave from "Transformers" works as a porta-potty.
353*** Destro from "G.I. Joe" is a used car salesman.
354*** COBRA Commander works on a shopping channel.
355*** Jem from ''WesternAnimation/JemAndTheHolograms'' now makes a living performing at birthday parties.
356*** Mesogog from "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" works as the manager of a Wendy's.
357* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' is about Rocko losing his job at the comic book store. One of the many jobs he took was as a phone sex operator. He eventually becomes a tow truck driver and he tows his ex-boss's car.
358* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
359** [[Characters/TheSimpsonsHomerSimpson Homer Simpson's]] job at the nuclear plant is actually this because it's the only job with a salary that is enough for a family with three children. His dream job was at the bowling alley.
360** In "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story", when [[Characters/TheSimpsonsCharlesMontgomeryBurns Mr. Burns]] [[RichesToRags lost his fortune]] in an AbsurdlyHighStakesGame to Rich Texan, he decided to start from zero. However, he felt he needed to work at Moe's in order to get ''up'' to zero.
361[[/folder]]
362
363[[folder:Miscellaneous, Real Life]]
364* In Japanese media, paper-flower vendors are stereotypical emblems of hard times, indicating that someone is one step away from beggary.
365* In 19th- and early 20th-century Europe, the match seller was a stock "hard up" character. It was an especially popular depiction of impoverished WWI veterans, especially the wounded and disabled. Famous examples are ''Literature/TheLittleMatchGirl'' and Otto Dix's painting ''The Match Seller''.
366* During the American Great Depression, hawking pencils or apples was an equally common stock job in media.
367* Nowadays the TravelingSalesman job is seen as this. Creator/GeorgeOrwell wrote descriptions of such people in his essays of the 1930s and Creator/SpikeMilligan portrays an encyclopaedia salesman in ''Literature/{{Puckoon}}''.
368* Slowly becoming this in the United States, thanks to the Great Recession, is people being snatched off the street and paid to wave customers into businesses that can't afford other forms of advertisement. "WE BUY GOLD" places do this all the time, and the poor guy or girl usually has to wear a GoofySuit.
369* Up to WWI, female teacher or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady%27s_companion lady's companion]] were synonyms of an impoverished woman of good social standing.
370* Actress Creator/NikkiBlonsky started working at a salon after movie roles dried up.
371** Similarly, Gary Coleman worked as a security guard when his career fizzled out. In fact, it's not all that uncommon for actors to have a second job if they don't have a long-term contract or can't find regular short-time roles.
372** Following photos of him working at a Trader Joe's going viral in 2018, actor Geoffrey Owens (Elvin on ''Series/TheCosbyShow'') began getting roles after being "job shamed".
373** After his career was [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor utterly destroyed]] by disturbing abuse allegations, Creator/ArmieHammer ended up [[https://variety.com/2022/film/news/armie-hammer-hotel-concierge-caymans-1235310475/ selling timeshares in the Cayman Islands]].
374* Creator/LouiseBrooks was at first a Hollywood star in the '20s and '30s but faded into obscurity in B-movies before quitting acting altogether. At one point among other jobs, she worked as a call girl. She would later enjoy CareerResurrection as a novelist.
375* One specific to recent [[ADegreeInUseless college grads who can't find work in their degree field]] is working in coffee shops. At least, it's seen as this by more "marketable" graduates and by some of the coffee shop workers themselves. Ironically, despite the stereotype that "what the English major says to the business major is 'do you want fries with that'", coffee shops are somewhat more likely to hire graduates than fast-food chains, who consider them overqualified.
376* Colonel Thomas E. Lawrence resigned from the British Army after WWI, but later found civilian life uninspiring. So he joined the [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships Royal Air Force]] as an ordinary Airman under a pseudonym to get back into the military, even if as an ordinary rating.
377* Jon Gosselin (''Series/JonAndKatePlusEight'') now works as a waiter in Pennsylvania.
378* This photo of a [[http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/29/11/2BAF3CD300000578-0-image-m-7_1440844987369.jpg Syrian civil war victim selling pens]] while hauling his daughter made the rounds across the world.
379* [[http://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/people-involved/sailors/slave-ships-crew/ From the 16th to the 19th century, working on a slave ship was this for contemporary sailors.]] While their conditions were practically enviable by the captives on the cargo hold, most of the crewmen had to sleep on the exposed top deck, since there was no space below deck. [[NoOSHACompliance The raw sewage and deceased bodies meant disease was rampant]]. If the cargo decided [[SlaveLiberation they did not want to be cargo anymore]], the crew could literally find themselves fighting for their lives. To top it off, [[BadBoss employers offered comparatively low pay for dangerous work, or oftentimes stiffed their employees]]. Once the slaves were sold off to their new masters]], most of the crew were told their services were no longer needed and had to sail back to their home countries from the Americas.
380* Sadly many wrestlers employed by TNA also had to get second jobs because the company didn't pay them enough or paid them late.
381** Taylor Wilde was working a minimum wage job at Sunglass Hut while was reigning Knockouts Champion because of how underpaid she was. After a fan recognized her, she resigned immediately.
382** ODB had a second job as a bartender because TNA's low pay made it hard for her to make ends meet. She was a multiple-time Knockouts Champion and a Knockouts Tag Team Champion too.
383** Jesse Sorenson had to work backstage at TNA to pay off medical bills that TNA refused to pay for after he suffered a broken neck.
384** Wrestling/GailKim had to outright leave TNA in 2008 despite being a star and proven ratings draw - because she literally couldn't afford to be there. She signed a three-year contract with WWE solely for financial reasons - and spent those three years miserable and being misused, quitting four months before her contract expired.
385* In the '50s and '60s, television roles were considered this for actors, as acting on TV was the kiss of death as far as Hollywood movie casting went at the time.
386[[/folder]]

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