World’s Worst Job
Being a sewer (wastewater) diver is possibly the worst job in the world. Came across this post whilst reading Jeff’s blog.
..Divers have to periodically head in to the Mexico City sewer system to keep various pieces of equipment in working order. The Washington Post has a neat story about the four men who keep the crap flowing (literally)..
[Photo from the article on The Washington Post.
Excerpts from the article,
It was 11 a.m. in a massive drain underneath Mexico City, where the smell of human waste and rotting trash was so strong it was hard for a visitor not to vomit. But it didn’t seem to bother Barrios, one of four divers who maintain the 600 miles of sewers and pipes beneath the biggest city in North America. He was just doing his job: keeping pumps and sewers clear.
According to the article, this guy gave up a career in accounting for this!
Now Barrios was singing. “I live in the water, lah-deh-dah-dum.” It was a popular children’s song, “The Pretty Little Fish,” and Barrios sang it like he couldn’t possibly have been happier. He loves his job. Two years ago, he gave up a career in accounting for this — which, he noted, says something about accounting.
And all this for just US$480 a month!
For this, Barrios earns about $480 a month. It’s not much, certainly — his diving helmet alone cost the city $3,500 — but it’s more than he ever made as an accountant. He has never been sick, but his wife and children love to kid him when he comes home from a day in the sewers, shouting, “Don’t come near me!”
Related Sites:
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45322-2004Aug29.html
- http://www.worstjob.com/