Friday, February 08, 2008

Ten Jobs you didn’t know you wanted – and a few you know you DON’T want

Just for fun, here’s a little food for thought as you begin or end another workday. Things could be better – or things could be worse. Much worse.

Flavorist
What??? Just what you think. A flavorist figures out the exact combo of chemicals that gives foods their special taste. Think new candies and drinks. Of course it’s not all fun and games – flavorists also have to determine what flavors not to use to avoid triggering certain allergies, even if they taste like the allergens. $58K to 76K a year


Brewmaster
Enough said. $41K to $76K a year








Sensory brander

Sensory branders help companies incorporate underappreciated but powerful senses into their brands. They research how different groups react to particular sensory triggers, such as the combination of scent and color. $51K to $92K

Enhancing Life and the Bottom Line Carbon coach
Carbon coaches offer companies info on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or the carbon footprint. They also provide branding strategy for "green" product launches $40K to $100K.

Sleep instructor
Now I could really dig this one. Sleep instructors help the overworked catch their zzz's with mind-body exercises for the bedroom and beyond. Humm. Let’s see. Turn off the light. Lay down. Close your eyes. Work for YOU? $25K to $60K

Metaverse evangelist
Huh? Okay - As Second Life and other virtual worlds, called metaverses, have grown in popularity, they've transformed from a gaming novelty into a communications boon. A metaverse evangelist advises how these virtual worlds can benefit individuals and companies. (Frankly, dealing with one life is enough for me but to each his own.) $60K to $80K.

Interaction designer
Interaction designers work at all stages of product development to design innovative and user-friendly products. Wish one of these people would come up with an E reader that’s cheap and easy to use. $75K to $80K

Roller coaster engineer
I think the title pretty much says it all. $45K to $80K + being first in line to ride.

Animator
Although most animated projects now involve computer and 3-D animation, drawing skills remain invaluable. $30K to $70K

Travel writer
This I could REALLY dig. But keep in mind that most travel writers, are freelancers, so they don't receive a regular salary and they bankroll their own adventures. $20K to $60K

Worst jobs

1 Road Kill collector - oh boy

2 Manure Inspector – oh boy, oh boy

3 TransPortable Toilet Cleaner Crime-Scene Cleaner – Yikes.

4 Pest determination Worker - Think chemicals, traps, dark, damp, and dirty places.

5 De-construction Worker – Lots of dust, chipped paint, and dangerous debris

6 Zoo Cleaner - not all animals are as fastidious as diggings cats.

7 Hot-Zone Superintendent - Dangerous bio-safety labs, lethal airborne pathogens for which there is no known cure, like say … anthrax.

8 Ape Urine Collector – Yeah. Really. Ape urine collectors work for scientists who log ape urine to study factors that affect their reproduction. I don’t even want to think about how they do this.

So – what do you think? See anything on either list that trips your trigger? Have an interesting job you’d like to share with us? An interesting experience on the job that bears telling? Or, what’s your dream job?

18 comments:

Playground Monitor said...

Years ago, when the agency was still called Kelly Girl, I used to do a lot of temp work. One of my more interesting jobs was taking inventory at an International Harvester facility in the Atlanta area. We were paired into teams of 2 and my partner was a Moonie. For two days we counted nuts and bolts and all sorts of little tiny pieces. He told me about the Moonies but didn't try to convert me.

Marilyn

Keri Ford said...

The rollar coaster job sounded fun, but then I got to thinking before I let a machine flip my body in the air at speeds forcing you against the seat, I'd rather not be the first to try it out.

My top pick would have to be the sleep instructor. No snoring husband, please.

and you know, where are these people on Career Day??? All I ever heard from were bankers, policemen, and fireman.

Michele Hauf said...

Okay, the most hellacious job I've ever had was a temporary file clerk at the local Jaguar dealership. I filed for three days straight, 9-5. I know, you're all smirking. Poor, Michele. Whatever. I've never had so many papercuts in my life, and man, those things hurt!

Now my dream job would be Godiva chocolate tester. I feel I'm very qualified for the job. Not too many days pass without me eating chocolate. Think there's any openings?

Christie Ridgway said...

The list makes me think of the television show, Dirty Jobs. I love watching that guy get right into things you wouldn't believe people have to do on a daily basis.

Worst job I ever had: One summer I worked "on the line." I metallized ceramic parts in an electronics factory...the swing shift from 3 pm until 11 pm. Booooring. The people I worked with were interesting though. Several of them lived life upside down, so to speak. They wouldn't go home to bed after work, they'd go grocery shopping, whatever, and then sleep during the day and get up for their 3 pm job like we get up in the morning...just in time to shower before work.

Helen Brenna said...

The worst job I ever had was working in a nursing home. Those places are soooo sad.

I want to be independently wealthy and do the travel writing job. Emphasis on the independently wealthy part.

Playground Monitor said...

Christie, my dad lived upside down. He worked third shift from 11 PM til 8 AM. He'd get home, shower (he worked in a mill so he was dirty when he came home) do stuff around the house and then go to bed around 11 AM. He'd get up at 8 PM and eat supper, do more stuff around the house and then go to work. And miraculously on weekends he'd revert to a normal schedule. That's all I ever knew -- my daddy on the third shift and having to be quiet in the house during the day. He ran a window unit air conditioner year round (just the fan in winter) to drown out everyday noise, so we could watch TV. I think that's why I'm such a quiet person today -- I had to be quiet as a child. I rarely have the TV on during the day and I never yell across the house at anyone. Yelling wasn't allowed when I was little.

Marilyn

Cindy Gerard said...

Godiva chocolate tester. Yes!!!
And I hear you on the paper cuts, Michelle. Ouch

I'd love to be a pizza tester. I am so addicted to pizza.

Love the Moonie, Marilyn. Sort of forgot about them.

I think people who work on the lines in factories earn every penny. Like Christie says, long hours, often boring and those jobs come with their own kind of pressures.

The more research I do on foreign settings the more the travel writer appeals to me. There are SOO many places I want to go.

Keep 'em coming.

Kathleen Eagle said...

Michele, I'm with you on the hours of filing. My first job (summer) in Sears credit dept involved a lot of filing, which had to be done standing up. There was no air conditioning, and I was 16 (read: borderline anemic) and always felt lightheaded after doing this for what seemed like forever. Finally one day, I keeled over.

Kathleen Eagle said...

Has anyone seen "Worst Jobs Ever" (think that's the title) on the History Channel. You'll feel fortunate after watching that. And chimney sweep wasn't the worst. One of the worst had to do with gathering and processing kelp in Ireland. I think the worst was being a chicken farmer's wife. Or was it turkey? She had to kill, pluck and gut something like 300 birds. It was strictly a woman's job, partly because a man's hands were too big.

When I was teaching in ND, my girls from dairy farms had to feed the bottle calves before they caught the bus for school, which had them up at 4 a.m. These were 2nd or so generation German-Russian families who were very strict about women's work vs men's work. Anything that didn't involve riding around in the pickup was women's work. (Okay, I'm being a little facetious. During calving and hay seasons the boys were also falling asleep in class.)

Cindy Gerard said...

Kathleen, your post makes me remember that when I was a kid - and even fairly recently - the main way for kids to make money in the summer was to detassle corn and hoe corn out of bean fields. It was hot, hard, sweaty work. Cuts from the corn leaves, mucking around in mud. bug bites. They didn't have machines or herbicides that did those jobs then.

Unknown said...

I'll tell you, Cin, today that "deconstruction worker" sounds really good to me. I could really get into swinging a sledge hammer against a wall somewhere. (I've dome some demo work in my time and I kinda liked it! Don't know if I'd enjoy it every day. . . but think of the satisfaction of clearing out a place and making it smooth and ready again. hmmmm.)

But Sleep Instructor-- yeah, baby-- that's a year around great gig.

I was looking at the Metaverse Evangelist and thinking yeah, I could evangelize a Metaverse. . . whatever that is. I can preach with the best of 'em. It's just that usually I'm preaching to the choir. And then I realized it was a techie job and the thrill evaporated.

sigh.

Cindy Gerard said...

Ha, Betina. Just once I'd like to know what it feels like to be a computer nerd. To understand AND enjoy figuring out all the glitches and burps and goings on of a computer. Tech wizzard? That is so not me but darn, some days I wish I could crack that tech-challenged wall.

Linda said...

Along the lines of travel writer, my husband and I took a family on an antiques-buying trip to England one year. It was a mom, dad and two grown daughters. They paid for all lodging and meals. We drove them to various antique fairs in the countryside and advised them on values. Bill did all the driving. It was fantastic!

Cindy Gerard said...

byrd - that sounds lovely. I got my first taste of European travel last fall when I went to Italy with 3 girlfriends. It was amazing. and the best part is we had a guide (a fan who is now a dear friend) who lives in Rome and she showed us all around the city including treating us to a traditional Italian dinner at their home. Fantastic!

Kathleen Eagle said...

I went to Super Tuesday caucus--I was a first-timer, veritable virgin--and met a young woman from NJ who graduated from college in MN a couple of years ago, got what she thought was her dream job at a local TV station, and had just quit (Tues was her last day) because her boss was "impossible." I asked her what she'd like to do now. "My dream is to be a travel writer," she said. Must be something in the air.

Debra Dixon said...

I once had to research how to obtain bear galls for a client. They are highly prized in the Far East. Like $1,000 each and that was a while ago. Usually the guide just quietly keeps them as a perk of a bear hunt since most hunters just want the meat and hide and have no clue that they've just given away a $1000 organ.

Cindy Gerard said...

Bear Galls, huh?
We have friends who are farmers. Raise cattle and hogs. You know where this is going, right? Castrating day has got to go down on their calender's as "I need to look for another career" day.
As a side note - after the big day, they always had a "Mountain Oyster" fry. If you don't think about what you're eating, they really are good.
Okay. Chew on that for a while.:o)

Bridget Locke said...

The grossest dirty job I ever saw was actually on Dirty Jobs...it was as a septic tank cleaner. Thank goodness we don't have to deal with those where I live. Ick!

My worst job was working for the Portland School District as a cafeteria lady. Nasty! And I'm not a kid person, so all of the screaming children were beyond annoying.


Tho I did have a cute experience at one of the elementary schools I worked at. The little kindergarten kids came through the lunch line and one of the little boys stopped dead in his tracks. "Boy, you sure are tall," he told me in this almost worshipful whisper (I'm 6'1", so I get that a lot). It was the way he said it that made me laugh. :D