chiquen81

I am in the finance industry and I feel as though many events are based on alcohol consumption. It's just kind of depressing and I'm not sure if every field is like this. It's a pretty high stress industry with pressing deadlines and I've noticed that many of the higher ups and executives have that rosey looking face. (like broken capillaries) Also, one time one of the directors fell asleep at his desk because he was hungover which I thought was really sad.

I am not saying everyone in this field is an alcoholic, but I do believe that many people in this industry are high functioning ones. I guess addiction isn't field-specific, obviously, but sometimes I wish I could be in a field that isn't surrounded by so much booze. (like a nutritionist or something)

Our of our group of maybe 30 people, there were only 2 who were not heavy drinkers. (only two who abstained, one for health reasons other for religious)

CaseyW

I'm in the restaurant/bar business and it is definitely filled with current and potential alcoholics and addicts.

I worked tonight and at around nine this evening our manager announced we were going to close a couple of hours early. You should have seen how much scheming and planning re: drinking/partying was going on as soon as that announcement was made. I saw at least a dozen people immediately get on their phones to call their friends/partners, "Hey, go get more beer/booze than we originally planned on tonight. I'm getting off work early." I think I even heard talk of a beer party in the parking lot after all the customers were gone.

I am glad to be home sober and will be glad when I'm still feeling good when I have to go to work tomorrow.

Agree from my years of working in bars that people in finance seem to have a higher percentage of alcoholics in their midst. I'd say that nursing and law enforcement are two other professions that have more than their fair share of alcoholics as well. I'm sure there are others as well.

Austin4Wyo

I spent years in the food service/bar industry, and I have to agree. Most places don't have much of a drug and alcohol policy, and the work is unskilled labor, so it attracts journeymen/women. It also breeds reinforcement througb the social group because a large part of normal leisure time is spent when people outside the industry are unavailable, so you work together and party together. Our cadre of service industry types would take Monday as our night, and as we bounced from place to place, we also knew all the bartenders and regulars. It was good for business, since if I wasn't pouring your drink, I was probably drinking with you. We took care of the bartenders, and they took care of us.

One example I can think of is with one specific bartender coming to the door with his girlfriend one night. I was head bouncer and manager on duty, so I let them in the side door instead of making them wait. From then on, at his place, we were treated like royalty. In my early problem drinking, I became a regular there...heh.

Anthony Bourdain confirms this in Kitchen Confidential, so it goes to the top end of the industry. My uncle owned two higher end places in Tulsa, and t was the same there. I've been in and out since I was 14 (I'm 31 now), and it was the same. The hours are long, the pay is relatively low, the stress is high, and the substances are ALWAYS near. Its not hard to see why it happens, and why it sometimes attracts addictive personalities that thrive not only on substances, but on the fast paced lifestyle. I know I did, and a major challenge for me has been to slow my roll.

I can keep four four-tops, a six-top, and an eight-top straight on hors d'oeuvres and refills, but I struggle to sit through an hour of television. I love the action, and the drinking went right along with it.

"Always Believe!" -The Ultimate Warrior

Tang

Despite what many have told me on this board, my industry has a lot of heavy drinkers. I regularly see deals worked out over drinks at a bar. It is so common that people call them meetings. So yeah, it just depends on your vertical.

Debbie329

I'm a former finance professional and no doubt if I was still in the field I would not be attempting to stop drinking.....I'd be ramping up.

gracetuesday

I totally agree with the others regarding the finance industry. Rampant with alcohol/drug abuse.

Dee74

I was a musician for many years - mostly I went along with the partying lifestyle.

I'm a sober musician now - I don't go along with the partying lifestyle.
I'm still gigging.

I really believe each of us has a choice when it comes to our behaviour, to stay sober or not.

D

Ghostlight1

I work in the entertainment industry on the technical side.
I've watched three of my co-workers drink them selves to death.
It's not as bad as the old days, but it's till very prevalent.

TroyW

Strange, I always thought people in finance went for cocaine, not so much alcohol.

Change4good

I made choices, and fed my addiction, but working in the restaurant business only made it easier. Long shifts, lots of cash in your pocket, and friends/co-workers at every bar and restaurant in town.

Ironically, I drank my face off while getting a graduate degree. Have no idea how I maintained that lifestyle and went to school.

I agree with Dee. No matter what our employment circumstances are, we are not without agency or without choice. But some environments do make it harder than others. . .I totally believe this.

My husband is in finance, but a backshop dorky job, and he isn't making deals over cocktails. :-)

Keeping it in the day

Medical/healthcare has its fair share. Long hours and no one to offload onto but colleagues who also like a drink!

nymets86

I also work in finance and while I agree that alcohol is heavily imbedded in the culture, I don't think I'd label most financial professionals as alcoholics. I've been to a lot of work functions sober over the last 4 months and one common theme is that most people drink, but cut themselves off when the time is right, mix in water, and leave at a reasonable hour.

Some people also straight up don't drink and I don't think they are looked down upon. I think that when I was at my worst while drinking, I just assumed I had to drink to fit in, but that wasn't the case. It's so much easier now staying sober at these things than worrying about moderating, which I usually (not always) did well since I was afraid of the career ramifications of a bad blackout.

DrakeCKC

Alcoholism in rampant among funeral directors. I know a couple of them well and both are serious alcoholics. These two tell of others they know worse than them. For example a funeral home owner who was recently arrested for a DUI while driving a company hearse with drugs in the car as well. Prosperous, well respected, yet it came out he had been abusing drugs and alcohol for years.

As it was told to me by a long time funeral director," we take care of everyone and everything but ourselves. We see it all, hear it all and are supposed to be silent and supportive while everyone else is emotional. If we don't slam booze, we take our medicines in whatever dose we want and check out for awhile."

GnikNus

The music industry is a world where you're expected to drink before or during work. Alcohol is so ingrained that it's easy to thinking heavy drinking is normal.

JoeinHouston

Advertising. Perhaps not nowadays as much but when I was an account director at Ogilvy & Mather in Jo'burg in the late 80's, drinking was pervasive. We had a free in-house bar that opened at 5:00p and closed when the last person staggered out. And plenty of opportunities elsewhere such as lunches that went on until 4:00p, remote shoots, awards ceremonies, client events and on and on. Pretty much where I graduated from occasional drinker to solid problem drinking. With lots of other 'Mad Men'-like shenanigans. Almost cost me my marriage but thankfully not. One of my main problems was trying to keep my art director sober to get work done. I am pretty sure he is long dead.

PurpleKnight

No matter the industry, I think I would have always had a drinking problem, because the common denominator that I used to justify to myself all the time and that many threads here on SR are based around is "I need alcohol to deal with stress at work"!!

Until I finally accepted that it was my addiction and not my work life that was causing me to drink, and I took my own responsibility in sorting it out I began to make some headway in my Sobriety!!

There are though some professions that maybe have more of a drinking culture associated with them, but that one guy for religious reasons you mentioned, we can all be like him and not drink despite what's going on around us, it can be done!!

sugarbear1

I'd like to see a list of professions that aren't filled with people who have alcoholism.......

Soberpotamus

Solitary writers historically plagued by alcoholism? Nah

Jsober

Law enforcement and Fire fighters. I work close with both groups and see a fair share.

greens

It sounds like drinking is an issue regardless of career choice.
I know elementary school teachers, yoga Instructors, accupuncturists, personnal trainers and nurses who are alkies. I think it's easy to blame it on high stress jobs and maybe some alkies are drawn to that but it effects everyone.