Scribes were near the top of Egyptian society and capable scribes could do very well- one, Horemheb, even became king. The training was rigorous. From the age of nine you had to train for about five years. This was a problem becasue pupils could see children of their own age playing in the fields. Papyri have been discovered containing rebukes from senior to junior scribes about neglecting lessons; sometimes corporal punishment was recommended. One form of encouragement offered to pupils was a list of the defects of other professions- exaggerated, of course. For example, jewellers and metalworkers were said to choke on the heat of their furnaces, weavers had to put up with cramped conditions. But the scribe could look forward to authority, freedom from taxes and national service during times of flood, and immortality through his writings.