You likely got that reaction when you were in a party...which makes sense, as in party situations where players are given a specific role, jobs far outshine classes.
/nod ...yes, mhm...

However I must ask you...did YOU play XIV after jobs were released...solo? There are many solo or low-man situations where activating your job actually hindered you more than it helped, because you weren't as flexible.
Yes, I did many things solo; in fact, I would say 80% of my time in FFXIV was duoing stuff with my brother and/or soloing. Yes, I know about the flexibility; pretty much all of my posts on this thread have been about the "flexibility" of classes.

For instance, if I was farming with someone, I would often use THM
ditto

THAT is the general idea of classes and jobs ... classes work better when you need to be flexible, jobs are you taking on a specific role based on the primary image of your class.
Right...Right...I understand. Classes=Solo/Lowman and Jobs=Party/Large Group

However, that doesn't explain why a WHM is better at soloing than a CNJ. This thread has proved that fact.