Salary aside, what would be your dream job? I know, I know, that’s a pretty big ‘aside.’ Still, it’s an interesting question. If money wasn’t a concern, many of us would likely have more interesting careers.
The r/AskReddit thread, “If you got to pick any career/job and earned $400,000 no matter what, what career/job would you pick?” provides some interesting food for thought.
Reclusive writer
“I went to a lecture given by Andy Weir once and he said that writing is a great way to be famous because you’re famous for a few weeks when they make a movie out of your book and you get invited to parties and stuff and it’s a lot of fun, but then you get to go back to civilian life rather quickly because everyone forgets about you pretty fast.”
Park ranger
“My friend was a park ranger. There are perks to the job, but unfortunately it’s a lot of trying to keep stupid people from hurting themselves or destroying the park.”
“My favorite quote from a park ranger at Yellowstone, ‘There is considerable overlap between the intellegence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists.'”
Lego designer
“Oh, that would be amazing! When I see those huge Lego displays at the Lego Stores, I always think to myself how awesome that would be to build/design that!”
“My mom still says this should have been my job. I guess I let her down by being an architect.”
– u/RK_Tek
Lighthouse keeper
“I could spend months out on some rocky outcrop surrounded by vicious waves and have supplies choppered in once a month.”
“The idea of being alone on an island living how I want, besides of course the lighthouse duties, sounds so good. I’d do it for free if it meant room and board.”
Studio owner
“I’d want to own studio space where people could take classes, not just art or dancing but also like general hobbies to knitting, sculpting, writing, photography. I want to help people find a passion and explore it. And I’d be able to support others by paying them to teach their own passion.”
Food truck owner.
“I did this thinking I would love it. Bought a step van for cheap and my business partner and I did the build out ourselves. It was so much fun!!! We made an extremely cool cool looking and ultra functional truck, installed plumbing and electrical and all the appliances and storage, even the service window and an a/c unit. Then we started taking it to events and operating the truck. Turns out that is extremely horrible. Super stressful and miserable. We hated doing that.”
Librarian
“Let me teach all about and facilitate the free borrowing of books while arranging events and services that help bind and strengthen the community.”
“Oh man, my mom was a librarian and it is a real calling for some and I so love and respect that.
Librarians are amazing!!!!”
Trash collector
“I’d like to just roam around and pick up trash. I’d get to travel, hike, explore the world — as long as I leave it better than when I found it. That’d be nifty.”
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“I came here to say this. I would pick up trash too. It’s so satisfying!”
Fantasy author
“The only thing that keeps most people from doing that (including me) is the unreliability, if I had a guarantee for that much money, I’d write so much again.”
“I tried to write high fantasy when I was younger, but everything I wrote gradually turned into LOTR .”
Cat-sitter
“Aim higher and go for a cat café! Seriously, I used to work at one and it’s a bit more work but it’s really rewarding getting to help find homes for all the cats and fun being surrounded by so many friendly cats all the time.”
– u/amtap
Zookeeper
“After spending eight years doing office work I could only imagine what an awesome life being a zookeeper would be. Working in an office is so depressing. I loved it for the first seven or so years but the last year I realized how monotonous it is.”
Ice cream person.
“Ice cream truck driver, but everything is $1 or less. Or maybe running a candy shop. While I’m at my mentally draining job I dream of just being able to make people smile, but I just can’t afford to live on the money it provides.”
Brewmaster
“I had the luck etc to learn how to brew commercially in a small new brewery, had a blast talking beer living beer, I did everything, from creating the beer types and recipes, to the naming and logos making, and the writeups and much more, but nothing hit home as much as when people really enjoyed your beer and told you so to your face.”
Making smoothies in a posh gym.
“This sounds surreal & possible… charge $10-12 for the smoothie, use one of the POS systems that push people to tip 20-30%, then let’s do the math…
Call it $5 supplies for the smoothie.
400,000/365 ~= $1100/day $1100/$5(profit per smoothie) = 200 smoothies/day 200/12 hours ~17 smoothies/per hour”
Musician
“It’s a real shame how little musicians get paid. Everyone wants live music, but few people want to have to foot the bill for it. You’re not just paying for their time, you’re paying for the instruments, equipment, and countless hours over years of practice and possibly lessons.”
Florist
“My wife was a florist and I spent a lot of my spare time in the flower shop over the years. it is a remarkably misunderstood job. very fast-paced.
The ‘floral arrangers’ in the shop made some of the most money, but there was a lot of turnaround and burnout. there’s always a lot of orders to fill and everything is on a deadline.”
Psychologist
“Funnily enough I have no interest at present in being a MH provided just because the people who can afford it don’t need as much as the people who can’t afford it. And if you don’t charge the same insane rates as others in your area you’re branded as ‘more of a counselor than a real therapist.'”
Teacher
“Specifically a teacher with not that many students so you could give them an individually tailored education.
So much potential is wasted by painting with a broad brush. (especially an underfunded one).”
“I think working with small groups of children would be so rewarding!”
Architect
“I love looking at building and home designs. Never occurred to me when I went to college to study that. I guess I assumed I’d have to be good at math and drawing, but maybe that’s not true in the computer age.”
Househusband
“Is househusband a career?”
“I mean there’s a lot that could potentially go into keeping a house if you wanted to make it a job. Gardening landscaping decorating renovations meeting contractors walking dogs cleaning cleaning cleaning and cooking three meals a day.”
