Coolest job

Fuckabuncha jet pilots.

 

There is a difference when you're doing something that you love, something that taps into your unique talents and abilities and satisfies you in a way nothing else can. A HUGE difference.

 

absolutely right, hc. from 1982-2003 i felt like 'king of the world,' a guy who found his perfect fit and never, ever dreamed of doing anything else. seriously.

if that's not the definition of 'cool' i dunno what is....

 

TV star. It is better than being a movie star because you don't have to carry the show per se, and you become immortalized for decades. Think of any cast member of Cheers or Seinfeld or I Love Lucy or The Golden Girls = all famous and well known. And once you are a TV star, you get all the perks and the ability to go in different directions creatively. Your work (if it is good enough) stands the test of time and you have a set schedule of working (unlike movies).

 

I'd want to be one of those character actors who can do TV and movies - a "that guy" if you will - you may not make the big bucks like a lead, but you could book 20-30 gigs a year, figure your retirement will be taken care of with residuals. It's one of the reasons I like The Closer, from JK Simmons to Raymond Cruz, to Barry Corbin and Frances Sternhagen and Mary McDonnell - hell I'm fairly certain no show has a regular cast with more credits.

 

I always wanted to be either a hockey goalie or a drummer.

A goalie because you're the first one on the ice, the fucking cool helmet designs, the fact that if you don't play well, your team likely won't win, and that if anybody screws with you, the whole team screws with them.

As for a drummer... well, do I even need to explain?

 

Miikka Kiprusoff's back up. Between $500,000 and $1,000,000 year to sit on your duff and open the gate. All the glory of being a professional athlete and almost never having the pressure put on you to actually be good. Only downside is you'd have to play for the Calgary Flames.

That or being the Stig. The fame. The mysterious persona. And getting to drive super and hyper cars for a living.

 

I wouldn't want to be the Stig, just have one of the presenters' jobs. They have a fuckin' fantastic job.

 

Monorail driver at Disney World.

 

It's not cool, but in terms of pay-to-stress level, I'd love to be an NFL punter. They get paid high six figures, really good ones low 7s. They have next to no pressure (they can't win or lose a game, generally, with poor performance) and nobody really expects much out of them. They get to be a professional athlete, with all the money and adoration that entails, with none of the pressure.

 

When I went to Disney, if you ask, you can sit up front with the monorail driver. We got to do that several times. At one point, I asked the driver how much training did it take. She said something like a week, and she was soloing. All the job really was is pushing a joystick up to make it go, and to pull it back to make it stop.

The only thing I wouldn't like is that it would be pretty boring after a while. It's not like you can see different sights, like a truck driver.

And ditto on being an NFL punter. I was thinking being a kicker would be cool, because you can win the game and be a huge hero. But if you miss too often, you're gone. A punter, as long as you don't shank too many, you can cruise along, and you don't have to get hit 30-60 times a game.

 

Laird Hamilton. Or Shaun White.