You’re startled awake by the sound of your alarm clock going off at 5.15 am. You crawl out of bed, eat, shower, grab your briefcase and rush out. Once there, you head for your cubicle, work till noon, eat lunch and work till 5 pm before driving home.

What a nightmare

If you can’t stand the thought of sitting at a desk for eight hours every day, then maybe you’re someone who should pursue an adventurous career. But are you cut out for stock car racing, mountain climbing or alligator wrestling? Take a look at this checklist to determine your adventure job quotient.

Do you love what you want to pursue?

You’d better, because in many cases it’s the only way you’re going to earn high pay as an adventurer. Sure, you’ll make some money as well — we all have to pay the bills — but it may not be as much as you’d like.

Are you good at what you want to do?

Most adventure jobs are so specialised that if you’re going to go after one of them, you need to have exceptional abilities. As renowned test pilot, Chuck Yeager, put it in a Fast Company magazine article: “I concentrated on what I had to do. If you panic, you die.” So no matter which adventure job you opt for, be sure that you have the talent to do it well, better than most people.

Can you deal with risk?

Adventure careers often involve considerable risk. You could get hurt physically, of course, but you might also suffer in terms of finding an adventure job in the first place, keeping that job once you’ve got it, and making enough money to take care of yourself. If you can’t handle the ambiguity that often goes hand in hand with an adventure career, you may want to rethink your options.

Can you cope with sceptics?

“I suppose it would be easier for all of us to be the people we truly are if we didn’t inherit so many prejudices about the kind of person we think we should be,” says Carol Eikleberry, author of The Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People. “These internal ‘shoulds’ may be the fiercest lions and tigers and bears you ever encounter.”

Often, though, these “internal shoulds” are really “external shoulds” coming from the people around you — family, friends and acquaintances who can’t understand why you don’t want a regular job. Can you tolerate their continuous scepticism, especially if they don’t know what they’re talking about?

Are you patient & persistent?

Practically everyone who ends up being an adventurer has experienced failure, often on a large scale. If you decide to take the adventurer route, you’ll certainly have setbacks. How do you usually respond to adversity? What do you typically do when you fail? If you normally shake it off and press on, you’ve probably got the temperament.

“Adventures don’t begin until you get into the forest,” notes musician Mickey Hart. “That first step is an act of faith.” But even before you take the first step towards an adventurous career, ask yourself the questions that will help you determine whether the journey is one that’s worth the risks.