Jul 20 2007
Worst job ever
Eszter Hargittai has a post up at Crooked Timber on the Worst Job Ever:
Unclear why exactly:), Michael Froomkin asks the question:
What would be the most unattractive job in the regular economy? I’m not talking about the objectively least-well paid or statistically most dangerous, or most unpopular (car salesman?). I mean, what job would you least like to have. No fair saying subsistence farmer in Darfur either — I mean in the US (or other developed economy).
His response: toll booth attendant.
There are many different responses in the comments, including:
- chicken processer
- masonry laborer
- bike messenger
- Whale-Feces Researcher
- Assistant Crack Whore
- Press Secretary for the Bush Administration
The worst job I ever had was working at the glass plant at Ford’s Rouge complex as a washer-feeder. We took extremely hot windshields which just came out of an autoclave (hot oil bath), trimmed the excess vinyl from the edges of windshield with sharp razor knives, and then loaded them onto a carousel which take them through a final wash and inspection. The work was mindlessly boring, repetitive, somewhat dangerous due to the sharp edges of the glass and the sharp razors, and my coworkers weren’t exactly the brightest bulbs in the lamp. The pay was really good, though.
My worst job involved cleaning latrines, removing roadkill and shoveling manure.