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In 2009, when Tourism Queensland was trying to find applicants for what was billed as the Best Job in the World, some even jumped off bridges to gain attention. They didn’t get the job; just a summons for disorderly conduct from the police. But the job in question — Queensland Tourism’s Caretaker of the Islands — was perhaps worth all the personal hardsell. It involved staying in a multi-million dollar mansion and blogging about the natural wonders of the tourist attraction.
There can be serpents in Paradise. In the last week of his assignment, winner Ben Southall was stung by a venomous jellyfish. He recovered; for those who remember their Oliver Goldsmith, the dog it was that died.
People who have been reading Indian newspapers recently may have noticed something similar. “The coolest job,” says an ad. “Feel up to it?” The limited response to this ad shows that there were too many jellyfishes in this Eden.
The initially anonymous ad goes like this: “Have you been walking the earth for over 21 years?” That’s your first clue, but don’t go down the garden path; it’s an adult product. It is easy to mistake the product category and the manufacturer; Durex has been canvassing for condom testers and the world calls it a very cool job. Durex is an equal opportunities employer. You could be male or female, married or unmarried. And before anybody gets the wrong idea, let us clarify that you are simply expected to narrate the experience, not wait for a puncture.
“Apart from going to the most happening parties, you get to play the perfect host throwing the best bashes in town!” continues the ad. “Oh by the way you don’t need to quit your current job, just loosen your tie after work each day and get down to party the night away. All this and you even get paid. Not much. Just over a lakh every month.”
It turns out that the ad is from SABMiller which is launching a new beer. The company is looking for qualified individuals to endorse the spirit of the brand. Any takers?
In both these instances, there is one job for many applicants. It is also interesting to see which are the coolest jobs when there are several positions open. About.com’s 10 Best Jobs of 2009 include mathematician (applies mathematical theories and formulas to teach or solve problems in a business, educational, or industrial climate); actuary (interprets statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters); statistician (tabulates, analyses, and interprets the numeric results of experiments and surveys); biologist; software engineer; computer systems analyst; historian; sociologist; industrial designer; and accountant. All these jobs require a college degree.
What were the worst jobs in the US in 2009? The list includes ironworker, roustabout, welder, garbage collector, roofer, emergency medical technician, sailor, taxi driver, dairy farmer and lumberjack. In 2010, meter reader and mail carrier joined the list. In 2011 the only addition was painter.
On the best jobs side, paralegal assistant made it to the list; think of the number of financial scamsters who needed to be sued. Dental hygienists made it to the top 10. And the actuary — some time ago The Financial Times of London ran a contest titled “What is an actuary?” — was No 1.
Indian surveys somehow look at things in a very different way. They rate companies as the Best Places to Work For, as though the peon in the outbound department would have the same perspective as the CEO. Or they rate professions — engineering and medicine were cock of the walk until IT services took over. IT, by the way is quite a horrible job on various parameters; you have to make that extra effort to retain people. And it is this corporate benevolence that has given it the trappings of an excellent job.
Robinson Crusoe or downmarket James Bond, mechanic or miller — take your pick.
TOP JOBS
The world of work, from CNBC
• Race car engineer
• Ice cream developer
• Culinary ambassador
• Honeymoon testers
• Tourism ambassador
• Professional T-shirt wearer
Source: CNBC
The coolest jobs for men, from AskMen (Average salaries in $ in the US in brackets)
• Car reviewer – (28,095)
• Photographer – (45,961)
• Doctor for pro sports team (1,44,623)
• Fashion buyer (39,700)
• Video game tester (33,362)
• Formula1 chef (over 35,000)
