I travelled on a ferry across the Thames today. It goes back and forward every 10 minutes, all day. It must get quite dull for the pilot. And that for me thinking about the question above.
Admittedly the boat pilot probably isn't that good and answer. I don't know how long it takes to qualify, but I can't imagine it's that highly qualified. And there might be some interesting moments every now and again. So what is a good answer?
by Mysterious-Eye-8103
11 comments
Probably something really mundane but extremely high security. Like whoever hoovers number 10
A lot of science jobs that need a PhD just involve curating a big spreadsheet.
There is lots high paid jobs for people who essentially sit in meetings and calls all of the day, sometimes not even have to say anything except ‘let’s have another call about this on Wednesday”. And I would find that boring, but then, I suppose some people are built for that
The hovercraft on the Solent (Ryde/Portsmouth) is a 10min trip. You can see your destination before setting off. Does a hovercraft pilot need to have ticked more boxes than a ferry skipper?
I would guess something like a research assistant post, that requires you to hold a science degree but involves 8 hours a day of mundane, repetitive tasks like cataloguing samples or recording monitoring data.
Is the shot of Canary Wharf a pure coincidence?
Chartered tax advisor has to be up there.
Typically they’d first become chartered accountants taking circa 4 years of demanding exams and training. Then go on to complete the CTA which is another 2 years.
While not a requirement this is usually done after graduating university.
Call it 9 years of tough education to end up in a role where you do spreadsheets in isolation to calculate what’s owed to HMRC.
Oh and the legislation changes each year and messing it up can result in prison.
You need to go through years of training/apprenticeship to become a waterman/lighterman and get your boat masters license to carry any passengers in the Thames
Archaeologist. Poor working conditions, awful pay compared to roles requiring the same levels of training, and very insecure job prospects. You study at uni for three plus years, with top positions requiring a PhD, typically within a niche discipline, with little pay compared to other roles requiring the same qualification level. No wonder many archaeology graduates go into different fields of work.
I got to know the two ferrymen pretty well when I made the same commute across the Thames to Canary Wharf. They honestly both loved their jobs and said it was super interesting. Loved working outside, loved working on a boat, loved all the random people they met each day, said the weather and other river traffic kept the job really interesting and fun. I haven’t done the commute in like a decade now but I think about those two from time to time and back then all time and how happy and content they were. Compared to how miserable I was. I always felt like they had it figured out and I was the one doing something wrong with my life.
Trains are literally on rails. Not saying it’s easy, but I feel it must get repetitive. At least on boats or planes there are more things that change in the environment.