Have you ever been sitting in your cubicle at work, bored to tears with your humdrum job, and decided to chuck it all away to become a skydiving instructor or to extract venom from poisonous snakes? No? Just in case you change your mind and want to research the compensation first, we present salaries from the ten most extreme jobs reported by YourTradeBase.com.
Crocodile Physiologist – At $62,500 per year, crocodile physiologists capture and bring crocodiles into onshore settings to observe their habits and perform other studies, then release them back into the wild. We suspect to avoid being bitten you may have to be a crocodile psychologist as well, or at least a crocodile mind reader.
Skydiving Instructor – To teach and assist novice skydivers in safely getting from the plane to the ground, you can expect a salary around $24,000 per year. Jumping out of a perfectly good plane: priceless.
Smoke Jumpers – These front-line fighters of forest fires jump from planes into remote areas to halt the spread of wildfires. For this incredibly dangerous task, you can expect $33,000 per year. Adrenaline rushes are free and frequent.
Safari Guide – Safari guides earn $73,000 per year by being responsible for tourists in wilderness areas, protecting them from the wild animals (and vice versa). You will also teach the tourists about the ecosystem they are currently in, and fend off endless questions about when the cheetahs are going to catch and eat a gazelle.
Mountain Guide – Assisting mountain climbers nets only $5,000 per season at Mount Everest according to YourTradeBase, which seems incredibly low for the risk involved, even prior to the recent earthquakes in Nepal.
Whitewater Rafting Guide – Whitewater guides earn $6,675 per season, which probably varies greatly depending on the state of the water and the length of the rafting season. You get the positives of a beautiful working environment along with the negatives of fishing little Johnny out of dangerous rapids after he ignored your commands to sit down.
Venom Milker – What better way to spend your day than handling dangerous snakes and massaging their venom glands to harvest the poison? As a bonus, you get $30,000 per year and all the antidote that you need (we hope). We're guessing snakes don’t enjoy the milking process and won’t hesitate to let you know.
Cave Diver – You can earn $58,640 per year by diving into water-filled caves that are totally devoid of sunlight and discover new species of living organisms, most of which are unlikely to kill you. Most.
Professional Stunt Performer – Why be an amateur stunt performer, hurting yourself regularly and posting the video on YouTube? Go pro and earn $70,000 per year. You can coordinate or perform dangerous stunts and meet famous actors who are grateful you're there, but wonder what's wrong with you, while they watch you blow yourself up and fly through glass doors.
Storm Chaser – For $60,968 per year, you can experience the thrill of chasing storms around the Midwest to report on tornadoes and other threatening weather conditions, and place sensors near the storms to gain information. Before you sign up, we suggest you watch the movie Twister.
How's that cubicle and office job looking now? Certainly, there are other extreme jobs out there if you are still motivated to change, but as you search, keep one thing in mind — very few of the people with extreme jobs are doing them for the money.
