# The COOL Job(s) in Your Field **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206 "2005-05-10T12:29:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/1 "2005-05-10T12:29:01Z")
In context, cool jobs are cool because they sound more fun than other jobs in your field, they may also be more prestigious-- but I’m looking for the type of jobs that it doesn’t take an expert in your field to see why it is a cool job. Like for an antiques appraiser- working for Antiques Roadshow might be a cool job. Or for the archivist I was talking to who works for the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library–not only does he get to handle primary sources relating to the true baseball greats, but his co-workers take calls from Jeopardy!, the Commissioner of Baseball, the White House, third graders, and drunk guys settling twenty dollar bar bets. What could you do that the average person would think was “cool”? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/2 "2005-05-10T13:25:55Z")
I _have_ the cool job in my field – I edit word puzzles. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/3 "2005-05-10T13:42:38Z")
Biomedical engineer. A cool job would be a crash-test expert. How could you _not_ love crashing cars into walls all day long? ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/4 "2005-05-10T14:11:48Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > What could you do that the average person would think was “cool”? Since I know how to do some pretty advanced business return on investment type stuff with a little brushing up on the stats/probability side I think it would be fun to do something like payout balancing to achieve X% average payout in a casino. I already did this for a few years on redemption arcade games and it was interesting but only a small portion of my work. With the levels of automation available to casinos nowadays its probably easier than it looks. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/5 "2005-05-10T16:07:19Z")
I just changed jobs about 3-4 months ago and am loving it - it is very cool. I am the head of Marketing, Business Development and Strategy for a healthcare company - we manage a network of physician practices. From a marketing standpoint - I run the relationships with our ad agency and PR firm - I manage the development of market research, messaging, ad development, etc. I write a lot of the ad copy for things we sound out to news agencies, etc. It is cool to create things that consumers are exposed to. From a development standpoint - I evaluate the market for attractive deals, either to build our physicians’ network or negotiate deals with companies to serve our network. It is cool to be entrepreneurial and come up with new ideas for relationships we should have and then follow through on them. From a Strategy standpoint - I am developing the company’s strategic plan and facilitating all related meetings of the company’s leadership team and, in a few weeks, of the Board of Directors. It is very cool to think conceptually and to help company leadership open their thinking to new possibilities for the company. The honeymoon isn’t over, but I am having more fun than I have had in years… ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/6 "2005-05-10T19:08:44Z")
Whether you consider me an administrative assistant to a pair of mental health providers or an administrative assistant at an institution of higher learning, my job is pretty cool. I work at the mental health center at one of the most prestigious art schools in the country. It’s an exciting and fascinating place to work and the clients are really nice, fun kids for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/7 "2005-05-10T19:12:21Z")
I’m a land use planner and get to work with people who turn raw land into communities, or shopping centers, or baseball stadiums, or…everything. That’s the coolest part - following a project from someone’s dream all the way through getting to walk through it and use it. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/8 "2005-05-10T19:27:37Z")
I’m ostensibly a solar physicist. IMHO the coolest job in this field is going up on the Space Shuttle to operate a solar telescope. But it’s only been done once. In the 80s. For… I don’t know how many minutes. (Loren Acton on the STS-51 flight.) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/9 "2005-05-10T20:50:10Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > A cool job would be a crash-test expert. How could you _not_ love crashing cars into walls all day long? I went to school with a guy who went on to maintain and set up occupant simulators (“crash test dummies” in the common venacular.) It’s a lot more setup work than actual smashing things, of course, but he thought it was quite the thing, and went on to work for a company that was developing future generations of simulators. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/10 "2005-05-10T23:56:41Z")
I brew beer for a living, which is cool to begin with, but the REALLY cool job is to run a pilot brewery. At a pilot brewery most of the time you can just brew whatever kind of beer you feel like making that day. Belgian Golden Ale? Imperial Stout? Baltic Porter? Beer with elderberries? No problem! Pure creativity, and you never have to worry about making a profit on it like the poor schmo who owns a brewpub. ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/11 "2005-05-11T00:21:52Z")
In my field, I suppose it’s the entertainment lawyers, both those that represent talent and those that appear on TV. It’s not something that most people _in_ my profession want to do, but I think the average joe on the street thinks it’s cool. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/12 "2005-05-11T00:57:46Z")
Without going into detail, the average lay-person would probably think my job is really cool (and, well, it kinda is), but most of the people who work in my industry really wouldn’t (because, within the profession, well it kinda isn’t). Before I got my current job, I did some work in the nitrate vaults of the Library of Congress. The early [Edison paper prints](http://members.tripod.com/~cinefan/ppart1.htm). The original camera negative to \*\*[The Great Train Robbery\*\*](http://www.wildwestweb.net/great.html). Countless numbers of forgotten silent films that will probably never see the light of day. _That_ was cool. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/13 "2005-05-11T01:19:40Z")
In social work, there _are_ no cool jobs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/14 "2005-05-11T01:31:34Z")
A while back on this board there was a thread that asked “What job would you do if you could do anything?” Several people said they would like to be a biologist, or work on finding cures for diseases. So as a biologist that works at a company that develops cures for several diseases I guess I have a pretty cool job. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/15 "2005-05-11T02:38:56Z")
The job I had previous to the one I have now was (IMHO) one of the coolest jobs around in my field. I was writing software and designing machines used for neurobiology research. This was top of the line, cutting edge research on trying to decipher how the human nervous system really works, and it’s amazing how much we know, and yet how much we don’t. An engineer’s dream job is to design cool stuff that no one else has ever done before, and that’s what I got to do every day. Unfortunately, the job was funded by grant money. After the one grant ran out, the researcher I worked for managed to keep me funded from other projects for almost a year. After that, the money started getting tight. Several researchers there tried to get a permenant position created for me, but weren’t having much success, so I jumped ship and took the job I have now. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/16 "2005-05-11T02:52:31Z")
If you talk on the radio, or create programming that goes on the radio, or push buttons that make sounds come out of the radio, that’s as cool as it gets. That’s what I do. No sweat involved. The rest of it involves a desk and endless papers and screens full of data and deadlines and analysis and forms and applications and filing and cataloguing, building, fixing, installing, maintaining… in other words, _work_. I have the cool job in this business! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/17 "2005-05-11T03:03:08Z")
> [@ggurl](#): > > In social work, there _are_ no cool jobs. 🙂 How about the jobs in buildings with no heat? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/18 "2005-05-11T03:46:42Z")
I work in a museum, and since it’s got a small staff, we all do everything that needs to be done. I get to play with the old stuff. 😃 I clean ancient artifacts, do research, lead tours, and generally have a great time. Nothing is cooler than holding in your hands a letter written by George Washington, or a book written in the tenth century. Nothing is more fun than playing with some of the old toys, or getting to examine historical items closely, in minute detail denied most people who only see things behind cases. I also get to have fun designing and installing new exhibits. I can’t believe they pay me for this. We, too, have gotten calls from the White House. Last time Bush was in the state, his staff called to get some historica facts to sprinkle into his speech. I think any job where you get to work with historical artifacts is utterly awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/19 "2005-05-11T12:25:02Z")
I am glad to see that there are people on this board who do in fact have cool jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206/20 "2005-05-11T14:09:52Z")
> [@ggurl](#): > > In social work, there _are_ no cool jobs. 🙂 We have a “Domestic Violence Coordinator” working with us. I never realised uncoordinated domestic violence was such a problem. “Altogether now gentlemen… right hand… left hand… now with the frying pan…” I think the job description is due to be modified over the summer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cool-job-s-in-your-field/303206.md?page=2)