# From Here On Out It Is Easy Street **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2014, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747 "2014-09-07T10:49:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![regularshow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@regularshow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/regularshow)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/1 "2014-09-07T10:49:00Z")
These are separate questions with bold differences covering all grounds… What has got to be the easiest **job** outside of show business a person can earn a living working? What has got to be the easiest **career** a person can earn a living working as? What has got to be the easiest **business** a person can earn a living owning and operating? What has got to be the easiest **job or career or business in show business** a person can earn a living in? What has got to be the easiest **sport** a person can earn a living playing? I’m highly curious. Oh, and we’re talking from locally to throughout the entire world. Your call. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/2 "2014-09-07T12:52:51Z")
You know the old saying, “Do what you love and you never work another day in your life.” If you are fortunate to turn a hobby you enjoy into a career I think you have your answer. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/3 "2014-09-07T13:19:24Z")
Ok, I’ll play; I think easiest job would be managing your Nana’s dynastic fortune. Where Nana has enough for many lifetimes, 50% safely invested and untouched. Nana loves you, there’s not much stress or pressure, and managing large sums yields you a tidy income and enviable lifestyle. (Like that?) Easiest sport might be golf, to my mind. Easiest career might be travel writer, assuming you love travel and write easily, of course. It’s still work I’m sure, but what if you were only reviewing celebrity level accommodations? Doesn’t sound so hard now? Right? Easiest career in show business is probably as an agent to a talented, well behaved, grounded superstar with a long career ahead of them. I don’t know? Taylor Swift? Well mannered, appropriately dressed, polite, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/4 "2014-09-07T14:02:35Z")
It sort of depends what you mean by “easier.” Certain jobs are easy to get and pay well because most people consider them unpleasant. Ior example, the guys who clean up houses after they are crime scenes, or when someone dies in their home and isn’t found for weeks. It’s a great career – pays well, not that physically taxing\*, doesn’t require any particular education, can’t be outsourced… IF you’re willing to do that work of handling decomposing human bodies and the many kinds of ooze they leave behind (which is a darn big IF). \*I know it is physically taxing because cleaning is physical work but not like say, a prison guard where you are in constant danger of injury. So do you mean easiest to acquire the job, or the easiest job to do? because most jobs that are relatively easy to do, without many barriers to getting the job (education, licenses, etc) have high competition and low pay. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/5 "2014-09-07T14:22:27Z")
The question is not can he get the job but can he do the job? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/6 "2014-09-07T14:58:29Z")
I’m guessing there’s going to be one simple trick involved… ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/7 "2014-09-07T16:44:21Z")
TANSTAAFL applies. Always. There are no easy ways to success in life. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/8 "2014-09-07T16:57:58Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The question is not can he get the job but can he do the job? > > 😃 If you are quoting Joe Vs. The Volcano here, I love you. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/9 "2014-09-07T17:06:39Z")
I am having trouble defining easy. Do you mean easy because not much competition is out there? Or easy as in it requires little of the employee? If something is not desirable to me I have a hard time thinking of it as easy even if it requires very little effort and has little competition. Security jobs and careers come to mind. Porn actors for show business and in some markets even real estate might apply. MMA fighting at a low level can earn a few buck but at a heavy price. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/10 "2014-09-07T17:11:09Z")
> [@regularshow](#): > > What has got to be the easiest **job or career or business in show business** a person can earn a living in? Not sure if this qualifies as show business but a very close acquaintance does sound for the NFL and NBA. He often brings his kids along to “help” at the games. He makes a very decent living and while he does have to travel a lot and be away from home he stays in very nice hotels and the work itself isn’t very taxing according to him. He also gets to go to Hawaii for the pro bowl each year and bring the family on the NFLs dime and he has most of the summer off. Not bad work if you can get it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/11 "2014-09-07T17:38:54Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I am having trouble defining easy. Likewise. Easiest sport, for example. Golf is certainly less physically taxing than, say, basketball, so it’s easier in that sense. But give me a basketball and a hoop, and I can dribble okay and make some baskets. Hand me some golf clubs and put me on the green, and we’re going to be there all day while I consistently fail to make the ball go anywhere near the hole. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/12 "2014-09-07T18:05:16Z")
But you’re unlikely to be seriously injured, no teams or drafts exactly to complicate things, and you can play well into old age. And it could be lucrative, if you got good at it. That all adds up to easy for me! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/13 "2014-09-07T18:18:42Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > But you’re unlikely to be seriously injured, no teams or drafts exactly to complicate things, and you can play well into old age. And it could be lucrative, if you got good at it. That all adds up to easy for me! Do you golf a lot? To reach the level of expertise required for professional play is incredibly difficult. ---
**Author:** ![staili](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@staili](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/staili)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/14 "2014-09-07T20:07:22Z")
Vanna White’s job on Wheel of Fortune is certainly up there in terms of easy. I don’t even think she does a lot of promo stuff beyond the show taping, and I doubt there’s much, if any, rehearsal. And the show is probably taped a week’s worth in one day. So she works a few hours about 40 - 50 days a year. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/15 "2014-09-07T22:00:04Z")
Speaking from personal experience… I would say: What has got to be the easiest **job** outside of show business a person can earn a living working? Factory line worker - you just stay in one spot and do the same damn thing over and over all day. Once you’ve got it down, you don’t even have to think about it, you can let your mind wander. Soul-sucking job though. What has got to be the easiest **career** a person can earn a living working as? This depends entirely on what you like to do - find something you love, and it’s easy. I work in an office in a factory running inventory control, writing up procedures for the shop and making prints to go along with the procedures. LOVE it - look forward to going in (well most days…😃 ) and it’s easy. I love math, I love drawing, this position combines them both. Nothing could be better or easier for me. 🙂 What has got to be the easiest **business** a person can earn a living owning and operating? I have no experience here - but I would think it follows along the same as career - find something you love. What has got to be the easiest **sport** a person can earn a living playing? Armchair referee? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/16 "2014-09-07T22:14:23Z")
Voice-over performer. A hat-trick if you consider it owner operated (since it’s contract work.) ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/17 "2014-09-07T22:55:00Z")
**regularshow** , you’ve been back to start another thread, so why not post back to this one with your definition of “easy” since you are “highly curious” about responses? Also how you define “earning a living”? Minimum wage, just enough to get by, or something else? Night motel clerk - low pay, but not a whole lot to do. Lots of time to read, study, go online, etc. Motel cleaner - probably about the same low pay, but I’d imagine quite hard (and often dirty) work. Most driving jobs are also fairly easy. I knew someone who was a limo driver and actually made quite good money and most of his time was spent sitting around waiting for his passengers to get done with whatever event he was ferrying them to and fro…all the aforementioned would probably be boring as shit, IMHO, but don’t require a whole lot of education, brain power or physically taxing work. Own business - house cleaning, lawn mowing, dog-poop-picker-upper/dog walker, home stager, decorator - basically doing stuff that requires little training or expertise and not much in the way of start-up costs; chores that many people dislike doing themselves. I’ve always figured jockeys or people who sit on top of horses for competitive events is probably not terribly taxing. The horses are doing most of the strenuous work, seems to me. Or golf, but there’s probably a shitload of practicing in between tournaments. ---
**Author:** ![regularshow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@regularshow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/regularshow)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/18 "2014-09-07T23:06:25Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > **regularshow** , you’ve been back to start another thread, so why not post back to this one with your definition of “easy” since you are “highly curious” about responses? Also how you define “earning a living”? Minimum wage, just enough to get by, or something else? > > Night motel clerk - low pay, but not a whole lot to do. Lots of time to read, study, go online, etc. Motel cleaner - probably about the same low pay, but I’d imagine quite hard (and often dirty) work. Most driving jobs are also fairly easy. I knew someone who was a limo driver and actually made quite good money and most of his time was spent sitting around waiting for his passengers to get done with whatever event he was ferrying them to and fro…all the aforementioned would probably be boring as shit, IMHO, but don’t require a whole lot of education, brain power or physically taxing work. > > Own business - house cleaning, lawn mowing, dog-poop-picker-upper/dog walker, home stager, decorator - basically doing stuff that requires little training or expertise and not much in the way of start-up costs; chores that many people dislike doing themselves. > > I’ve always figured jockeys or people who sit on top of horses for competitive events is probably not terribly taxing. The horses are doing most of the strenuous work, seems to me. Or golf, but there’s probably a shitload of practicing in between tournaments. My definitions are open to interpretation. The readers call. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/19 "2014-09-11T11:27:07Z")
Toll booth attendant. What could be easier than taking tolls and switching the light to green? The problem with the easiest jobs is most people find them mind-numbingly boring. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747/20 "2014-09-11T13:06:05Z")
> [@regularshow](#): > > My definitions are open to interpretation. The readers call. 😛 Everybody’s definitions are open to interpretation, and you started this thread. By the way, what do you mean “Easiest job outside of show business”? That is one of the roughest trades to _try_ to get into and survive in. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-on-out-it-is-easy-street/697747.md?page=2)