What Would Your Turn of the Century Job Have Been?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
What Would Your Turn of the Century Job Have Been?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

The 1800's were the century in which the Industrial Revolution moved from a dawn of possibility to a day of opportunity. As it came to a close, monarchies stood on the brink, Luddites were busy smashing up motorized plows, and liberal movements like women's suffrage were born alongside evil ones such as fascism. Queen Victoria's reign was ending, and the British Empire was at the height of its power.  

Railways snaked across the world as steamships displaced sails and electricity began to threaten the hegemony of gas lights. Robber Barons were already making fortunes in coal, steel, and oil, as the great energy companies of the next 100 years were born: Shell, British Petroleum, Chevron, and more. Meanwhile, the Wright brothers eyed the skies, as the Lumiere brothers lit up the first silver screen, and a little boy named Walt was born to the Disney family. Around 40% of the population worked on the land and a further 30% in service. Civil rights were a twinkle in the distance. Very few people could have known that the horrors of World War One were only just around the corner.

It was a time of increasingly rapid change. For some, that was disorientating and upsetting, as the Romantic ideal of a bucolic, natural world gave way to the bright lights of modernity. For others, it was an opportunity to make out like a bandit. Most were somewhere in the middle. Take this quiz to find out where you would have landed amid one of the most exciting periods in human history!

How ethical are you?
I literally don't understand the question.
I steal small items from work, but that's all.
Pretty much mostly
Very
Can you take orders?
Only as part of my scheme
Yes, all the time
Yes, for some years
If they are sensible ones.
What's your idea of a luxury holiday?
Taking a beautiful barge across my private lake to my massive estate
A day at the beach
A trip to my cousins in the countryside
A trip to the city to see a show

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Do you love money?
Above all else
Not really
I wish I had more.
No, I do not care about money.
What fashion suits you?
An expensive silk suit
A black uniform with a white frilly apron
Overalls
Early jeans and a plaid shirt
What's your opinion on the Industrial Revolution?
It's the best thing since the Roman Empire.
It's better than subsistence farming.
It's the only way out of the boonies, so OK.
It sucks.

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How much do you like union-busting?
It's literally the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
I don't know what a union is.
It's evil and must be stopped.
I don't feel strongly.
What do you think of women's suffrage?
It's a little quaint but it keeps my little wifey occupied, so I'm OK with it.
I wish I had time to fight for it.
It's a waste of time.
It's not really my business.
How do you feel about the rise of fascism?
It's an economic opportunity.
I don't know much about that.
I'm possibly into it.
I'm scared.

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What about the birth of communism?
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Interesting
I'm possibly into that too.
It's a little bit like my life already.
Do you think your house would be an early adopter of electric light?
It already is.
My workplace, yes
Unlikely
Nope
What's the best way to plow a field?
I have no idea, they just sort of get plowed.
Tell a farmer to do it.
An ox probably
One of those new-fangled internal combustion plow thingies

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What hours do you want to work?
Monday to Friday
Dawn to midnight
9 a.m.- 9p.m.
Dawn to dusk
Were you sent to all the best schools?
Of course
I wish.
No, I left school at 15.
I was homeschooled.
How much would the birth of the anarchist movement affect you?
It might bomb my bank!
It is not likely to affect me.
I am possibly into it.
It will not affect me.

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Do you love wide open spaces?
Yes, it's much easier to build a pipeline through an open space.
Yes, but I don't see them often.
No idea, I've never seen one.
Yes, they are home.
Do you miss the passing of the old world?
No, this world is full of possibility.
Not really, this world is hard but at least there's central heating.
No, this world has a better future.
Yes, it was great.
Do you like to live on the cutting edge?
Of course, I own the patent on it.
Not really
In my way
Definitely not

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Do you need any prospect for promotion in your life?
Yes, that is the only thing that keeps me going.
A little
Ideally a lot please, even if it is not likely.
No thanks
How do you like to relax?
I take in a show and then gamble at my club.
I go to the moving pictures with my beau.
I get very, very drunk.
I go to the tavern with my friends.
How do you feel about family life?
It's good for appearing respectable.
I would like it, but it's hard when you do what I do.
I am too busy to enjoy much of it.
It's my bread and butter.

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How often would you like to get drunk?
I would like to only sip on fine wine.
Once a week
Nightly
A couple times a week
Could you stay sane in a house that didn't have running water?
LOL no
Yes, I am very good at carrying water.
I really do not like it, but I lump it.
I prefer it.
How important is being respectable to you?
Very
It's essential to me remaining employed.
Not very
Not even a tiny bit

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Do you think you would have seen World War One coming?
Oh yeah, I profiteered the heck out of that.
Nope
I would have seen enlisting as a way to better myself.
Probably not, but I would not have had to go as I was essential to the home front.
If your family wasn't already there, would you have been likely to migrate to America around 1900?
Totally, on a fine steamer
I doubt it, you can do my job anywhere.
Yeah, probably, we would have come through Ellis Island.
Only if someone took our land, which they probably would.
Do you love the bright lights of the big city?
Yes indeed!
I dislike them.
They're OK.
I hate them.

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How resourceful are you when things go awry?
I always have a scheme.
Fairly, though I don't seem it.
Not very
I have to be since help is hours away.
Do you mind spending an awful lot of time in meetings?
I love it!
I can deal with one every so often.
I hate meetings.
I have no time for that.
Would you want your kids to end up in the same line of work?
Absolutely
No, they should go to school and join the professions.
Sure, or maybe they'll be something even better like a miner; that'll be job security for at least 10 generations.
That's ideal, but if they don't want to then they shouldn't.

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