Be a millionaire but take this low-paying job, please.

private joker · #1 05-04-2007, 05:22 PM

A discussion over some beers at lunch with colleagues generated this hypothetical:

There was a story about a Wall Street trader who retired after making like $100 million, and moved to Long Island to be a train conductor, where he's worked for the past 10 years. Why would anyone with all the money in the world decide to work as a train conductor? Because the guy loved trains, I guess. Boring for some, cool for others.

So say someone gives you $10 million, but you have to work an ordinary job at regular hours over the next 20 years. You can take regular vacations and sick days like any employee, but you won't ever be promoted and you can't quit. If you perform so poorly that you get fired, you lose the $10 million inheritance.

So what min-wage job (or something close to min-wage) would you take and why?

My answer in white, which you shouldn't read until you post your own for fear of idea-contamination:

<font color="white">Lifeguard at the Mandalay Bay pool </font>

Shadowrun · #2 05-04-2007, 05:24 PM

Bartender

MicroBob · #3 05-04-2007, 05:28 PM

I pretty much got paid somewhere around minimum-wage when I did play-by-play of low-level minor-league and college sports on radio for several years.

The work was always fun while the money was always sucky.

I have already decided that I would likely take the opportunity to go back to my 'true love' if I had the financial freedom to do so.

guids · #4 05-04-2007, 05:29 PM

Librarian, or a mechanic

blinden84 · #5 05-04-2007, 05:24 PM

I would love to be a baseball park usher

sethypooh21 · #6 05-04-2007, 05:30 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I would love to be a baseball park usher

[/ QUOTE ]

Esp. Wrigley/Fenway/whatever they call the place in San Diego this week.

That or driving the range-ball-picker-upper at a golf course

("Is that the best you got, Mr. Shanky McShankerton?")

4_2_it · #7 05-04-2007, 05:36 PM

I'll either be tending bar or renting beach equipment in Hawaii or a Caribbean Island.

Other things which may be worth considering include strip club DJing, Yellowstone Park tour guide, Gopher on the Love Boat and college adjunct professor.

JuntMonkey · #8 05-04-2007, 05:41 PM

Library job would be tops, probably followed by bookstore.

Edit: I'm talking about the low-wage jobs here. Clerks/pages...librarian (public ldo, I'm not doing that tough corporate [censored] ([censored] didn't get censored automatically)) maybe if it counts.

XXXNoahXXX · #9 05-04-2007, 05:41 PM

DELETED (not minimum wage).

I change my answer to classroom assistant for special needs kids. I did that for a few summers and it was sick easy. You get to teach/play with little kids all day and during the summers there are two beach days and a field trip day every week.

You get like $10/hr and your summer schedule is:

Mon- Beach Day. Play with kids at beach, throw them around in water, build sand castles.
Tue- Classroom activities, gym class (Physical therapy), some academic stuff, recess, etc.
Wed- Field Trip Day! Movies, Science Museum, etc.
Thu- Academic Stuff, SlipnSLide outside.
Friday- Beach day.

Sign me up!

private joker · #10 05-04-2007, 05:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Undergrad Professor. You get summers practically off, you can take sabbaticals, and as long as you show up and click start on a Powerpoint presentation a few times a week, you won't get fired.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is good, but I think it still pays too much considering the general spirit of the OP -- which is basically a menial job.