12 Forgotten Jobs That No Longer Exist (But Used to Be Essential)

The world is filled with professions that were once in high demand but have since disappeared due to automation, societal changes, or advancements in technology. From human alarm clocks to factory workers who dodged rats all day, these forgotten jobs were once essential. Let’s take a look at 12 professions that no longer exist but were once a crucial part of daily life.

1. Knocker-Up (Human Alarm Clock)

IISG on Wikimedia Commons

Before alarm clocks were common, people relied on “knocker-ups” to wake them on time. These workers would tap on windows with long sticks or even shoot peas at them to ensure their clients got out of bed. However, who woke up the knocker-ups? No one knows, but once alarm clocks became affordable, their job became a part of history.

2. Lamplighter

Gunnar Lanz on Wikimedia Commons

Before electricity, city streets were illuminated by gas lamps that had to be lit every evening and extinguished in the morning. Lamplighters carried long poles to ignite and snuff out the flames, walking miles each night to keep streets glowing. As electric streetlights took over, lamplighters found themselves with nothing left to light. Some transitioned into maintenance roles, but the classic lamplighters vanished.  

3. Pinsetter (Bowling Alley Worker)

RCraig09 on Wikimedia Commons

Before automatic pinsetters, resetting bowling pins was a job for young boys, known as “pinboys.” They had to dodge flying bowling balls while quickly setting up pins by hand. It was low-paying, dangerous, and exhausting—but necessary for the game to continue. With the invention of automatic pinsetters in the 1940s, pinboys rolled into history.

4. Switchboard Operator

Joseph A. Carr on Wikimedia Commons

Long before smartphones and automated call systems, switchboard operators manually connected phone calls by plugging cables into the right circuits. Women mostly held this job, and there were hundreds of thousands of operators worldwide at its peak. As technology improved, automated systems took over, and the friendly voice on the other end of the line disappeared. Today, making a call is as easy as tapping a screen.

5. Ice Cutter

J. Alden Weir on Wikimedia Commons

Before refrigerators, people needed a way to keep food cold, and that’s where ice cutters came in. These workers braved freezing temperatures to carve massive blocks of ice from frozen lakes, which were then stored in ice houses and delivered to homes. It was brutally tough work, but as electric refrigeration spread, the need for natural ice blocks melted away. Now, we just press a button on the fridge for ice cubes.  

6. Rat Catcher

Bain News Service on Wikimedia Commons

Cities once had major rat infestations, and professional rat catchers were the brave souls who controlled the rodent population. Armed with traps, poison, and sometimes even trained ferrets, they worked in some of the filthiest conditions imaginable. While pest control still exists today, the specific job of the old-school rat catcher has faded away. Plus, modern health regulations make their old methods questionable, to say the least.

7. Lector (Factory Reader)

Harris Brothers on Wikimedia Commons

Factories in the early 1900s could be mind-numbingly dull, so companies hired lectors to read newspapers, books, and even political speeches aloud to workers. These professional readers kept laborers entertained and informed while they toiled away. However, when factory owners realized some lectors were stirring up union talk, they quickly got rid of them. Eventually, radios replaced them entirely, making lectors one of the first casualties of mass media.

8. Milkman

Geoff Charles on Wikimedia Commons

Once upon a time, fresh milk wasn’t just a grocery store away—it was delivered straight to your door by the milkman. Since refrigerators weren’t common, people needed fresh milk daily, and local dairy farms relied on delivery routes. As grocery stores expanded and home refrigeration improved, milk delivery dried up. Today, the only milkman most of us know is the one in old movies.

9. Elevator Operator

The Library of Virginia on Wikimedia Commons

Early elevators weren’t the smooth, automatic rides we have today—they needed a skilled operator to manually control speed, stop at the right floors, and reassure nervous passengers. Dressed in sharp uniforms, elevator operators were once a fixture in department stores and office buildings. By the late 20th century, automated buttons made them unnecessary. Now, we press a button and trust the elevator to do the job itself.  

10. Computer (The Human Kind)

NACA (NASA) on Wikimedia Commons

Before electronic computers, a “computer” was an actual person—usually a woman—who performed complex mathematical calculations by hand. These human computers worked in fields like astronomy, engineering, and even space exploration. They were essential until machines became faster and more reliable. While the job title disappeared, their contributions to science and technology remain legendary.

11. Gong Farmer (Medieval Waste Collector)

Kuncoro Widyo Rumpoko on Wikimedia Commons

Before modern sewage systems, someone had to deal with human waste, and that thankless job fell to gong farmers. These workers cleaned out cesspits and latrines, usually at night, shoveling out the waste and hauling it away. The job was so foul that they were required to live outside city limits. Thankfully, plumbing advancements made gong farmers and their dreadful working conditions obsolete.

12. Typist Pool

Fæ on Wikimedia Commons

Before computers, businesses relied on rooms full of typists who copied documents, wrote correspondence, and handled paperwork by typewriter. Speed and accuracy were essential, and entire careers were built on the ability to type quickly without mistakes. Once personal computers became widespread, the need for professional typists disappeared almost overnight. Today, even the slowest hunt-and-peck typist can get by with autocorrect and spellcheck.

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