YOUR Job on a License Plate?

Once upon a time, license plates were used simply for identification purposes. A numeric or alphanumeric code uniquely identified your vehicle within the issuing region's database.

Now I feel like license plates have to tell your whole life story: what team you root for, what county you live in, how you feel about abortion and so on.  They've become harder and harder to read as more colors and holograms and logos are added - defeating their entire purpose.

One aspect that I feel has grown in volume are the license plate abbreviations that indicate your profession.  We all know about the highly coveted "MD" plates.  But aside from getting folks a prime parking spot before tee time, I don't really understand the importance.  Maybe in an extreme emergency I can see you flagging down a member of the "emergency services." However, what are the odds that you'll notice the tiny letters on the back of  someone's car when you're under duress?

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but in some states, ham radio operators qualify under "emergency services." Hey, you never know if you'll end up like the cast of LOST one day driving along the Long Island Expressway.

The whole point of this post is that I don't understand why people feel the need to announce their profession on a license plate.  Please, enlighten me!  Is it a public service or all ego?

POWs - I guess you've earned it, but why tell the world?

Chiropractors - Are you going to help my vertebral subluxation at the next red light?  I doubt it.

Registered Architect - Unless you're building me a bridge getting me out of this traffic, I could care less about what you do.

Here's the full list of occupational plates in NY.  As long as you are licensed and fork over $43, you can tell the whole world what you do for work.

Acupuncturist- ACU
Certified Public Accountant - CPA
Chiropractor - DC or DCH
Dentist - DDS or DMD
Hypnotherapist - HT
Medical Doctor - MD
NYP - New York Press
Optometrist - OD
Pharmacist - RX
Physiotherapist - PT
Podiatrist - DPM
Professional Engineer - PE
Psychologist - PSY
Registered Architect - AR
Registered Nurse - RN
Registered Phisician's Assistant - RPA
Veterinarian - VM
Visiting Nurse - VN

Am I the only one who feels this way?  Feel free to speak your mind in the comments section below.  In the meantime, I'm going to start a petition to add BLOG on my license plate.  You never know when you'll need an emergency posting!

Comments

[Brad]

First "Baby on Board" and now this. Cars are the new billboards.

[Marilyn]

It's funny that I cam across this post. Just this morning I saw a car with the license plate NFORCER. It was an "official car". The funny part is that there were Donald Duck and heart stickers all over the back bumper. Not intimidating at all!

[Rosie]

"Unless you're building me a bridge getting me out of this traffic, I could care less about what you do."

You could care less? Think about what you wrote. That means you care a LOT about the person's occupation. Is that what you meant to say? If so, it contradicts everything else you said. You should proofread your posts before you put them up.

[Andrew G.R.]

Oh Rosie! I can't thank you enough for continuing to visit the the Jobacle Web site. Thanks to fans like you, traffic is on a steady climb, my friend. As far as extreme proofreading - we simply don't have the time. Trying to Make Work Better for the world is not as easy as it looks.

Thanks again, and I hope to see you again soon! Oh wait, I know I will... since you check the site almost daily!

[HairySwede]

my question is how you would abbreviate freshly graduated and unemplyed? suggestions?