Responses: What Job Would You Invent For Yourself?

The Takeaway

More and more trailblazers and education experts are saying that the future of work will rely on entrepreneurship, rather than old-fashioned employment. Rather than applying for jobs, we’ll be making up our own jobs.
We want to know: If you could invent your own job out of thin air, what would it be?
Some of you are really using your imaginations with this one.
A  listener from Texas  writes:
I’d start an English language clarification reorganization. I’d help clear up a lot of confusion with our language spelling, grammar and definitions. For example, I’d change some spellings of words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. Like read. And change all plural words to end with s to make things less confusing! Plural words like deer would be deers. Instead of mice it would be mouses.
A  listener from Texas  writes:
I would travel all over the world in a simple fashion. Learning from each culture the skills for making the things we need to travel and survive such a journey, but also the ways that local people have with one another. Hopefully, I’d gain a true understanding of humanity as a whole.
A  listener in New York  writes:
I guess I’d be a picker like the late, great Robert Loughlin, who found a real Salvador Dali painting in a New York City Salvation Army. I’d travel, shopping all along the way, and sell my finds for cash without having to have a store or anything. Just live, shop, die.
And a  listener from California  says:
My dream job would be to have endless supplies of money to give to worthy causes!
  
Some of you see rest and relaxation as the ultimate job.
A  listener from Wayne Michigan  writes:
I always wanted to be a mattress tester so I could be paid for sleeping.
A  listener in Oregon  says:
I’d be a beer taste tester.
And a  listener in New Jersey  writes:
My job would be to test resort locations and report on the optimum length of stay and food and drink to consume.
  
Some of you would use what you already have…but put a new spin on things…
A  listener in Portland, Oregon  writes:
I would like to answer technical questions about automotive problems and repair like the Click and Clack brothers. I have been working in this industry for over 30 years and am knowledgeable as most of that time I have owned my own shop.
A  listener in Everett, Washington  writes:
I have two sons that are black belts in Tae kwon doe and Aikido, a son who is an elite gymnast, and a daughter who is an early education teacher. I would like to own a multi-purpose complex where each could practice and teach their disciplines. Part of the grounds would include fruit bearing trees and a sizeable garden for vegetables and flowers, including a greenhouse and a canning and storage facility. My job? Watch it all happen.
  
Some of you would continue to do what you do now…but get paid for it!
A  listener from Texas  writes:
I run an online support group for families of inmates. I’d like to make a sustainable living doing that.
And a  listener from Norfolk, Virginia  writes:
I feel like I should get paid for being a mom. Especially with my husband deployed, it’s a 24/7 job and I have to pay some one else just to have a day off.
  
And some of you…the very lucky folks out there… are already working your dream jobs.
A  listener in Long Island  writes:
I’m a small time landlord and in my mind it’s near perfect job. Most of the time my tenants and I are very friendly and I can do small things for them that are mostly appreciated. I do think I am one of the nicest landlords out there and pays very well emotionally.
A  listener from Arizona  says:
I am in the process of repurposing wood & metal into functional art like cabinets & tables, and selling them for enough to make a decent living & free my spirit.
A  listener in Connecticut  writes:
The one I have now – I am a high school social studies teacher and have to (and love to) re-invent my job with each year, class, day, student, etc.
  
Is there a job you dream of doing? Are you doing it already? Share your story at 877-8-MY-TAKE.

Invest in independent global news

The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!