Wastewater Operator

Someone has to deal with everyone's... output, and that someone is you. It's one of the most important jobs no one wants to talk about at dinner parties — or ever. The pay is surprisingly solid, the job security is literally guaranteed as long as humans exist and continue eating, and you develop a sense of humor about it or you don't survive the first week. You are a silent guardian of public health, preventing disease outbreaks that would make medieval plagues look quaint, and nobody will ever send you a thank you card.

What you'll actually do

• 01Monitor things flowing through pipes that you'd rather not think about in any detail whatsoever
• 02Accept that the smell your nose eventually stops noticing is the smell your family never will
• 03Pull things out of pump stations that should NEVER have been flushed — the list would horrify you
• 04Run chemical tests on water that started its day in a very, very different place
• 05Explain to people at parties what you do and watch them physically search for the nearest exit
• 06Cash a paycheck that's genuinely good and watch nobody believe you when you tell them how much
• 07Save civilization from disease on a daily basis and receive exactly zero thank you cards

Career Path

Where this role sits in the bigger picture — and where it can take you.