The World's Best Job, Con't.

[This week is Off-Topic Week at TOP. This is just a temporary interlude, not a permanent change of direction. Please join us next Monday morning when we'll resume normal programming. —Ed.]

You might remember a former post about the world's best jobs. According to a report I read once that evaluated jobs by a number of basic parameters, including how many people had the ability to do the same job and work time spent outdoors, the world's best job is left fielder for a professional baseball team. I thought that was greatly eclipsed by Dan Castellaneta, who currently earns $300,000 per episode for providing the voice of Homer Simpson and several other characters on the Fox TV show "The Simpsons." Vanna White, the mostly silent woman who touches the letters on the game show "Wheel of Fortune," ranks way up there too. (Oddly enough, both Castellaneta and White are my age, White to within a few days; maybe I'm just considering my own age group?)

But this ain't a bad gig either—this woman is paid $500,000 a year to be the television spokesperson for Progressive Insurance. She plays a character named "Flo." Her real name is Stephanie Courtney. She's a standup comedian and comic actor.

Now that's "nice work if you can get it," as the old* saying goes.

Actually, these might not be the best jobs, just the easiest ones. But then, I've never done well with the question, "What job would you want if you could have any job you wanted?" I think my true answer would be, the job I have now...but maybe with Flo's salary!  :-)

Mike

*Depression era, I think. It's a Billie Holiday song, that much I know (written by the Gershwins).

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

David Miller: "There's another old song with the line, 'When I'm not near the girl I love, I love the girl I'm near.' With that in mind, most of the 29 different jobs (including three major careers of 10 to 25 years) I've had have been the ones I've wanted most…at the time. Life is too short to spend doing anything else. Bringing enthusiasm to the job is my responsibility and when I can't do the task with my whole heart it's time to move on. (This was a bit of a challenge during the summer I spent cleaning hog barns, but it was only a summer job and I was able to keep the attitude going until going back to school in the fall.) If you're just in it for the money…well look for the best financial return you can get and take pleasure in your bank account. But if you work for the pleasure of the work, you'll be the envy of the world, and you'll know when it's time to move on to something else. (I'm 65. So far it's working for me.)"

Mike replies: Americans know that lyric as "When you can't be / With the one you love / Love the one you're with," from the song "Love the One You're With" from Stephen Stills' eponymous 1970 album.

And more to the point, what you're describing about jobs takes a lot of courage, and, I would imagine, a fair amount of ability (ability, because otherwise people just wash up on the rocks of unemployment, a fearsome place where I've spent too much time). It's not something everyone can manage, so you should be proud of yourself that you were able to accomplish it.

Chris Pisarra: "The best job in the world is lead driver for the Ferrari F1 team."

Rod Graham: "In defense of 'Flo,' maybe her job looks easy because she's good at it? Full disclosure: I'm kind of smitten by her. Lol. But I think there's a kernel of truth in there."

Mike replies: Are you smitten by the character, or the actress? In other instances, I keep getting smitten by characters. Currently I'm smitten with the woman in the recent "Chevy Connected" commercial. That actress plays that part to perfection, even in the space of a few brief shots.

Kenneth Tanaka: "Of course there is no such thing as 'The World's Best Job.' There is only 'YOUR World's Best Job,' defined loosely as something you absolutely love and live to do every day.

"Yes, money can be a distracting factor on both sides. Being richly rewarded to do something that's killing you is no good; I have known my share of these folks. But nor is being impoverished by work you love. I've known some of these, too. Surveys suggest that sweet spots are rare. I am certain that you have more than a few readers who sit at their office computers each day occasionally fantasizing about writing TOP for a living."

Mike replies: And I try to feel grateful every day that I get to do that, my recent difficulties aside.

Tim Fitzwater (partial comment): "Easy jobs are far too boring for me."

Bob Burnett: "But...as actor/writer friends have told me, Stephanie gets $500,000 a year to be Flo—now. Her bio says she's been an actor since 1992. She's been a secretary, caterer, etc. over the years while honing her craft, going to auditions and all the challenges a $10,000-a-year lifestyle that brings. It is nice work if you can get it but it's also only fair to take into account the many, many lean years most actors-writers go through to get to the 'Flo moment' that few get."

Mike replies: True dat. Could be said of many successful photographers, too. Oops—gotta stay off-topic.

Comments

[Robert Roaldi]

I've probably said this before, but I've always thought it might be fun to be the guy you see in car safety films who are standing by a bank of electronic devices and presses the button that sends cars crashing into each other. You're paid to smash up stuff! And since you are filming the thing in terrific slo-mo, you probably have access to neat video equipment.

It was an overly romantic view, of course, I've met people who actually do that kind of work, and they say it mostly a job most of the time. But it's still fun watching stuff crash.

[Alex]

It can be a mixed bag, of course. The fellow that appeared in all those can-you-hear-me-now Verizon commercials spent nearly a decade in the closet because of his high profile:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Marcarelli

[Alan Davey]

The best job in the world belongs to Iwan Baan

http://www.iwan.com/iwan_index.php

[MattS]

I can see the case for some of the others being "easy" ("Flo" has to create a single character and play her a few minutes a year, Vanna White has to maintain her looks), but I don't think Dan Castellaneta has an easy job at all. No doubt innate talent has a lot to do with his success, but it must take tons of work to be able to voice Homer, Krusty, Quimby, Grampa, Barney, Willie, Moleman, Sideshow Mel, Itchy, Kodos, the Squeaky Voiced Teen and Gil Gunderson (list cribbed from Wikipedia) all as distinct and easily recognizable characters, and all done reasonably consistently for more than 25 years.

Out of all the people who have grown filthy rich off the Simpsons, I can't think of anyone more deserving than Dan Castellaneta and Matt Groening.

[Oh, totally agreed. I love Homer! And the show. --Mike]

[Manuel]

Talk about 'world's best job'! For the last ten years of my life I've been sending my curriculum vitae to the most relevant mattress manufacturers, trying to interest them in my mattress testing skills. So far I haven't still got any offers, but I'll keep trying. That's my concept of a dream job. Plus I'm sure my highly developed skills as a senior mattress tester will grant me a nice paycheck.

[David L.]

There are misconceptions about actors, just like people think photographers spend the day photographing glamorous models for magazine covers. The reality is actors work harder than the majority of us. They toil two jobs, a day job to pay the rent and low paying acting gigs to try to keep a toe hold in the business. For every Vanna White there are thousands who are still eking out a living. My step-daughter is an actress. I know how hard she works and the real uncertainty of income from acting.

[Tim Fitzwater]

I know plenty of people who make good money but dread getting up in the morning.

....and easy jobs are far too boring for me.

[Dave in NM]

A belated Happy Birthday to you, Mike.

[Chuck Albertson]

Don't leave out the guy who's doing "The Most Interesting Man in the World" campaign for Dos Equis.

[Another Phil]

Hi Mike,
I don't know what the pay is like, but I was recently thinking that motorcycle medical organ transport is a great job if you like riding bikes fast; you get blue lights without the hassle that other emergency services get, and the satisfaction of saving lives.

best wishes phil

[David]

Im the guy who stands out in front of TV Land, staring through the window watching shows I don't get on cable.

: (

[David]

I will now predict what my CAPTCHA will be..

EYe WantShakira

[Bron]

Having been a self employed artist/craftsman for most of my adult life, the reality is that it can be a difficult lifestyle. After a long, hard day, you have the luxury of sitting down and having a good worry. Recalcitrant materials, bone head blunders, insane customer demands, and fast approaching deadlines can all lead to more than a few “all-nighters” sometimes double “all-nighters”. Not to mention the bandages and blood, aching knees, sore feet, and late bills, because the check that’s in the mail always seems to come the long way around the planet.

But, the satisfaction of answering the deep need to create and build, to turn the stomach churning blunder into an “ahh-hah” moment, and getting that check for something I designed and built, yes, priceless.

Even the best jobs have their bad moments, some very satisfying ones, and sometimes, a nice check. 8-)

[GRJ]

If Anthony Bourdain doesn't have it made, I don't know who does.

[Phil Maus]

I'm pretty satisfied with my job/career and I'm probably somewhere near that sweet spot of "like what I do and get paid pretty well for it", so I probably shouldn't complain too much and tempt the fate fairies, or whatever they're called. I could almost even say I have my dream job, although that notion only occurs to me on occasion.

Even with all that, there are always those times of discontent, dissatisfaction and disillusionment (is that a word?) when I get stagnant and start wondering if I'll only ever be "an employee" of some company. Even though it's a good company, all I even learned in my life was how to be a good employee, so to speak.

I've never had that elusive and enviable "entrepreneur gene" that I've often admired in those who have carved their own path and found success doing exactly what they dreamed up and made into tangible reality. Something like what you're doing here on TOP, Mike. To me, THAT is the epitome of the Dream Job.

[JK]

In high school I was given an aptitude test to determine what career might be best for me. Evidently I scored high in math, and showed strong indications of wanting to work outdoors. The top recommendation: fare collector on a toll bridge.

[Eric Perlberg]

"When I'm not near the girl I love, I love the girl I'm near" Finians Rainbow 1947 musical, USA

I personally wouldn't want an easy job, I like being engaged and challenged. I worked as a teacher most of my life. What a great job! I was constantly learning all kinds of stuff and working with kids kept me young. Every day, every lesson had something unexpected. I thought of it as 8 hours a day of spontaneous theatre with a demanding audience. It's a great feeling to have an audience in the palm of your hand and can work it as you choose.

Ken Tanaka is right, we each have unique attributes which makes our ideal job OUR ideal job. For many people teaching is an awful profession, wrong attributes! You know when you're in the right job when time just flies by.

[Will Whitaker]

The best job in the world is still.... a job. If you do what you love as a job, you will cease to love it, begin to resent it and even, perhaps, to hate it. On the other hand, having endless hours to idle away is no fun, either. Having a challenge in life is important, but "job" is just another four-letter word. YMMV.

[Ed Kirkpatrick]

Being Retired has its merits too...

[g. carvajal]

After 7 years with progressive I canceled my
auto insurance because of flo and the stupid ads on television. I changed insurance to safeco.

[JC]

This rung a bell!

http://www.dollygrippery.net/2014/02/sarah.html

Your posts should have even wider readership

[Pete D]

World's best job?

I have always believed that the best job in the world has to be sponsored professional surfer. It's not a job you can actually train for "off-line", and it's work that you can enjoy under all conditions. (In my early 20's I surfed during a thunderstorm. I surfed on Christmas Day, in the UK! I would spend up to 10 hours a day on the water even if it was like a mirror..)

And there are girls. (Or boys) And ice cream. Beer. Beach bbq's.

What could be better?

[Steve Smith]

There's some fool over here in England who will now be paid £330,000 ($550,000) a week to kick a bag of wind around.