You can get PAID to do that?

[Raguleader]

So, there's a thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=387805) in here about strange jobs that you might not realize people get paid for. It occured to me that maybe there should be a thread for totally awesome paid jobs you would gladly do for free.

I'll start:

Jet pilot. Honestly, raise your hand if you'd willingly do this for free, assuming that you had some means of providing yourself with food and shelter when not actually flying. *raises hand* :D

[rinni]

I used to test video games. Some people found it boring - playing the same thing over and over again - but I thought it was awesome. I got paid for playing video games!

You can see my name in the credits of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, for PSP. :)

[Terminus Est]

Mythbusting

[Nava]

Game design. I did that for free for, uh, about 7 years. I don't have the technical skills required for the actual implementation of many of those ideas in a paying environment... but design, hell yeah, I can design. And I know how to put my ideas in terms the "tech people" understand.

Game QC. See above.

Flying anything except winged buses. OK, winged buses too. Polly wanna Sikorskiiiiiii!

Process improvement anywhere. I just like it - but if you ask me to review your process, you have to eat my opinions. You can ask for clarification but you're not allowed to whine that I had the gall to do exactly as you asked me to do and actually *gasp* pointed out things that can be done better and how.

[SurrenderDorothy]

Acting and playing sports.

Sports... well, you might have to pay me to do those. And you never would because I suck. But the people who do it for a living... man, what a thing to get paid for!

And acting (or any performing) is something I'd pay to be allowed to do for the rest of my life.


Every time i babysit, I feel like I'm getting a good deal. I love kids and love entertaining them. I'm the type of person who wants to hold the baby. And if you're going to let me hold your baby for three hours and then pay me for it, there's no way i'm going to argue with that. That's why I do it for free a lot- not because I'm some saint and champion of the children. Just because it's fun.

[Jayn_Newell]

I used to test video games. Some people found it boring - playing the same thing over and over again - but I thought it was awesome. I got paid for playing video games!

I want your job.

I'd do video editing for free. Wait, I DO do that for free. Dammit, someone pay me already!

[Sublight]

One job I heard about from a friend that I was very tempted to apply for: B-movie reviewer for a movie importer and distributor.

The company my friend worked with imported B-movies from all over the world for the Japanese market. The reviewers watched the film, ranked it on different criteria from image/sound quality to suitableness for the Japanese market, and based on their recommendations, the company either picked up the film or didn't. I would have loved this job.

[mr. jp]

One job I heard about from a friend that I was very tempted to apply for: B-movie reviewer for a movie importer and distributor.

The company my friend worked with imported B-movies from all over the world for the Japanese market. The reviewers watched the film, ranked it on different criteria from image/sound quality to suitableness for the Japanese market, and based on their recommendations, the company either picked up the film or didn't. I would have loved this job.

Man, best one yet.


Another good one is humor writer. In fact I do this for free, on my blog.

[susan]

Teaching. I've done a lot of it for free, in both formal educational and community settings. I love to teach and feel like this is one of the ways I can give back to my community. I would teach (and provide clinical services) even if I didn't need to work.

[Reloy3]

Prosecuting Domestic Violence cases and representing women (and possibly men, though I've never been asked to) in getting restraining orders against abusive husbands/boyfriends.

Seriously, I get paid to do this now, but I would (and have) done it for free. It makes me feel like Captain America.

[Sunrazor]

Stand up comedy.

"Take my wife ... please!"

Okay, maybe not.

[Trillionaire]

I once saw (I think) an Oprah show on this very topic. One of the jobs on there was a dude who drove and reviewed the latest sports cars. I thought that was pretty cool.

[Yllaria]

Another good one is humor writer. In fact I do this for free, on my blog.

Got a link to that blog, mr. jp?

[Quasimodal]

Playing Music!

I alwas charge, but if the gig is good enough and fun enough...I'll play anyway

[Wee Bairn]

Porn actor!

[krisolov]

I get paid to spend money. Actually it's kind of scary, but I like to think I'm a pretty conscientious guy. I treat it like it's my own money and am pretty tight with a buck. It's fun, as long as you realize you have to account for every penny.

[MaxTheVool]

I write computer games for a living, and it's a pretty damn good job. Game testing, however, is not nearly as fun as it might initially sound. It's VERY repetitive, and testers tend to get very very little respect.

On the other hand, it's a good way to break into the industry, if what you want to do is be a game designer.


(By the way, I work at Cryptic Studios, makers of City of Heroes/Villains, and we're desparately trying to hire good programmers...)

[delphica]

I was very envious of a job my friend had once. She wrote NFL-licensed children's books. She would write up short, simple pieces on things like "The Basics of Football," "The History of Football," "Teamwork," that sort of thing, and then go through NFL archived material to find photographs to illustrate the books.

I would love to have that job.

[Smitten Swine]

A fair while back I missed out on an interview to be a porn reviewer (they asked me for an interview but I couldn't make it before the deadline). The job involved some admin work but the interesting part was watching the porn and either writing reviews for a website, or writing a synopsis for the box.

[wevets]

For me, whale watching. I get paid to go out on a boat and find whales and dolphins. I don't want my boss to find yout that I would do it for free. ;)


I write computer games for a living, and it's a pretty damn good job. Game testing, however, is not nearly as fun as it might initially sound. It's VERY repetitive, and testers tend to get very very little respect.

On the other hand, it's a good way to break into the industry, if what you want to do is be a game designer.


(By the way, I work at Cryptic Studios, makers of City of Heroes/Villains, and we're desparately trying to hire good programmers...)

Curiouser and curiouser... out of curiousity, can you tell me if the phrase "Ze Atomic Rocket!" means anything to you?

[Foldup Rabbit]

Porn actor!
On that note, I remember seeing a documentary about the porn industry. There was a little panel of people based in (IIRC) Winnipeg. All they did was watch porn movies and then rate them on the sorts of activities contained within. Seemed pretty easy to me, although I can see where the tedium would begin to grate on a person.

[mrrealtime]

I love my job...I work at home and create fun sales training modules in flash. Im my own boss mainly, I work when Im up for it, stop whenever, and use my imagination. Lots of programming challenges, sometimes 3d modelling, doing sound effects, making up music stings, hiring actors/animators sometimes. I have a great team to work with and our product is the best in the industry. Every day is different, no real routine per se.

[MaxTheVool]

Curiouser and curiouser... out of curiousity, can you tell me if the phrase "Ze Atomic Rocket!" means anything to you?

It does not. (I've only worked at Cryptic for a few months, if it's some reference there...)

[garygnu]

My question is why won't anyone pay me to animate, like the college recruiter said.

[pinkfreud]

It still amazes and delights me that customers of Google Answers are willing to pay me to identify books and movies, to find out what color penguin dung is, and to write humorous verse. If only there were more such customers, this would be my Dream Job.

[Little Plastic Ninja]

It does not. (I've only worked at Cryptic for a few months, if it's some reference there...)

They need any actual writers? If I hadn't been late sending in my submission for CoV's web content editor, maybe I'd be working with you. :( I didn't think two weeks was going to be THAT late for a submission, though... I was apparently the only person actually working for NCSoft that they considered.)

I've done game writing for free. I loved it. I'd love to do it for money. It's a lot harder than you might expect if you've never done it.

[scotandrsn]

My uncle's niece's husband used to get paid to sit at the blackjack tables at a local casino to attract actual paying customers to the dealer.

[wevets]

It does not. (I've only worked at Cryptic for a few months, if it's some reference there...)

It's an in-joke btw me and a college friend who now works at Cryptic. He also happens to be the person who first introduced me to The Straight Dope. I thought I'd check to see if you were him.

Carry on! Sorry for the interruption. :)

[Gatopescado]

The whole concept of "job interview" is to weed out the people who would be willing to do the job for free. Would you fly on an airplane that hired the guy who would fly it for the fun of it?

That being said, I would say, "Porn Star!"

:D

[Caridwen]

Working for one of the tabloids you see at the supermarket.

Not the ones about celebs, but the one that has headlines like "Please adopt my pig baby"
and they have a baby with a pig nose badly photoshopped on.

I think it would be a blast to make up those wacky stories.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

My question is why won't anyone pay me to animate, like the college recruiter said.
Do you mean corpses? Because that would not be fun for me at all. :D

I second Mythbusting. I was thinking that last night as I watched an episode where they dropped Torri off a building into awnings.

After all the years of doing it for free, I still shake my head in amazement that I got paid to sing.