If you choose a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. (Ollyy / Shutterstock.com)
They say if you choose a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. As children, almost everyone knows exactly what they want to be when they grow up, and some of these dreams are truly creative. Luckily, there are plenty of jobs nowadays that will let you live out these dreams without ever feeling like you’re at work. Almost none of these positions existed a few decades ago - so even if your personal dream job is not on the list there’s a good chance you could just invent it yourself.
1. DISNEY IMAGINEER
Estimated pay: $30,000-$130,000 per year
Location: North America & Asia
Difficulty: You actually need to be an engineer for this: 8
Job Description: The official job description for a Disney Imagineer (imagination + engineer) includes the term "dreamers and doers," so you already know where this is headed. As an imagineer you are tasked with dreaming up your wildest ideas and make them a reality at Disney amusement parks around the globe. If you like to dream big and make millions of people smile with your creations, this is the job for you.
If you can dream it up, you can build it. (psgxxx / Shutterstock.com)
2. PROFESSIONAL CUDDLER
Estimated pay: $30,000-$100,000 per year
Location: Anywhere you like
Difficulty: You’re literally getting paid to hug people: 2
Job Description: The first professional cuddle cafe opened in Japan a few years ago - and they’ve already made their way across the ocean where most professional cuddlers work as freelancers. The job is exactly what it sounds like, people pay you to cuddle for up to an hour, so if you’re a hugger and cuddler, this is your dream come true. There is even a convention for cuddlers, and one cuddle pro is working on a certification process.
You can make a pretty lucrative career out of cuddling and make lots of people happy. (Bartashevich Karyna / Shutterstock.com)
3. PRIVATE ISLAND CARETAKER
Estimated pay: $15,000-$120,000 per year
Location: Some lonely island, far away from civilization
Difficulty: Private islands need lots of upkeep, but your downtime is on an island: 5
Job Description: With the growing trend among the super rich to buy private islands comes a growing demand in caretakers for these tropical paradises. If you are lucky enough be chosen for this privileged work, you will spend your days in locations others can only dream of visiting - and you’re even getting paid for it.
Taking care of an entire island is not stress free, but imagine the view on your days off. (Space-kraft / Shutterstock.com)
4. BEN & JERRY'S FLAVOR GURU
Estimated pay: $40,000-$200,000 per year
Location: United States
Difficulty: Most gurus have a background in food science: 6
Job Description: Your childhood dreams have finally come true and you can now officially become a Ben & Jerry's Flavor Guru. This job entails blending ice cream, candy, and all types of syrupy goodness into the perfect dessert, then tasting obscene amounts in the name of "quality control." Sounds unhealthy? Maybe, but you will be the happiest person on earth.
In your wildest childhood dreams you probably imagined doing exactly this. (ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com)
5. WATER SLIDE TESTER
Estimated pay: Around $26,000 per year
Location: Around the world
Difficulty: You go down waterslides all day: 4
Job Description: This is one of those things that only children can dream up, but wouldn't you know it - it's an actual job. There is a little more to this position than just slipping down water slides though. You check the height, speed, water quantity and landing of the flumes. But between all the safety checks, there is plenty of time to have a whole lot of fun.
What could possibly be more fun than being on waterslides all day? (Ikonoklast Fotografie / Shutterstock.com)
6. PROFESSIONAL NETFLIX WATCHER
Estimated pay: Around $20,000 per year
Location: At home
Difficulty: Your main challenge will be not falling asleep: 2
Job Description: Yes, there is actually a small select group of individuals who literally get paid to sit on the couch all day and watch Netflix. A Netflix tagger's job is to sift through massive amounts of shows and movies, and categorize them based on nuanced emotional facets that a computer might not be able to catch. If you've ever wondered how Netflix seems to know what you like, even if you don't even know yourself yet, these are the people responsible.You won't get rich doing it, but if watching Netflix is your thing, this might just be your personal dream job.
This job can be both thrilling and relaxing - it's your choice. (Antonio Guillem /Shutterstock)
7. LUXURY BED TESTER
Estimated pay: Around $20,000 per year
Location: Luxurious hotels around the world
Difficulty: Your job is to sleep in comfy beds: 0
Job Description: You probably joked about this a million times. There are actually people out there who get paid to sleep in the most luxurious beds in the world and then report on their experience. If you'd rather spend less time in bed, the HolidayInn in London tested a new service where people can order a human bed warmer who will get into their beds and pre-warm the bed before sleep.
This running gag is actually true - you could be a tester for luxury beds. (bart78 / Shutterstock.com)
8. PROFESSIONAL TRAVELER
Estimated Pay: Around $50,000 per year
Location: Planet earth
Difficulty: Traveling a lot can be tough, but you get to see the world for free: 4
Job Description: Who wouldn't like to be on vacation for ever. Well, now you can - as a professional traveler. In 2009, TheBigTrip.com was looking for candidates to be a travel correspondent for the site with all travel expenses paid and full health insurance - in addition to the salary mentioned above. One lucky employee actually got to travel the US for 12 weeks while writing a travel blog and hosting webisodes for the site.
Being a professional traveler could just be the single best job in the world. (baranq / Shutterstock.com)
