Every person trains themselves all their life to excel at a vital thing – a job. No matter if it’s a 9-to-5 or freelancing, you can’t avoid making your own career. Happy are those who can make a career out of the things they love. But what about those who are stuck in a job they would much rather trade for anything else? This is where fictional jobs come into the picture!
While most characters are shown to have normal jobs, there are some characters with professions unheard of in real life. These jobs are dangerous, but if you keep societal conventions aside, it will be cool and badass to have these professions. So, from being a professor of a really fascinating academic study to working in a chocolate factory, here are some of the wackiest fictional jobs readers want to see in real life.
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Professor of Religious Symbology – Robert Langdon:
Dan Brown’s beloved character – brought to the flesh by Tom Hanks on the big screen – has the most realistic-sounding job. He is a professor of art and symbology. More importantly, religious symbology. It is because of his unparalleled expertise in this fictional field that he gets called around the world for critical religious quests. Each book with Langdon shows him in a cut-throat, barely-escaping chase around different cities of the world.
Ironically enough, what we thought must be a real job – at Harvard, nonetheless – is actually fictional. There is no unique course to specialize in this field – in fact, Brown has combined elements from different academic areas to birth this one. Besides, there is no department of religious symbology at Harvard or any other university.
An interesting thing about this character is that Dan Brown made this character his alter ego. So, not only the readers but even the author wants to have a cool job like Langdon!
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Auror – The Harry potter series:
As J.K. Rowling built this wizard world all by herself, the author had to think of all aspects to make it more real. Thus, the world of Harry Potter is magical and exciting and has tons of jobs that everyone would love to have in real life!
One of these is Auror, a career Harry chose for himself. It is where you go through rigorous training to become a highly skilled law-enforcement official. The job is to protect the people from evil, from dark witches and wizards to a criminal. Basically, you will be a detective or police – but have magical aid all the time. If readers had to convert any job to reality, this would be one of the top ten.
Other significant jobs in this fascinating world are Dragonologist (Charlie Weasley), Hogwarts’ Headmaster (Dumbledore), Quidditch players (Ginny Weasley), and of course, working at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Oh, the dream of having a magical job in a world full of muggles!
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Oompa Loompa – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:
Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory features a little boy, Charlie Bucket, who wins a ticket to tour the infamous chocolate factory run by Willy Wonka. The story ends with Charlie becoming the heir and new owner of the factory. But let’s rewind back to go into the factory. Willy Wonka might be the owner, but the Oompa Loompas do all the work.
The Oompa Loompas were taken in by Wonka to work for him. Working here means creating the most fantastical sweets you have ever seen. In return, they are paid in cocoa beans, this world’s delicious yet rare treat. Their unique traits aside, the job itself sounds fun, and an absolute heaven for the sweet tooths.
A real-life job that comes closest to this is being a chocolate consultant, where you get to rate chocolates. But there is nothing as appealing and as easy-sounding as being one of the Oompa Loompas.
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Dragon Trainer/Handler – How to Train your Dragon:
Cressida Cowell created something fantastic through her children’s book series, How to train your dragon. The series is so beautiful that it was immediately turned into a media franchise – the results of which are animated movies popular with every age group! Readers follow the adventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the awkward, outsider kid in his own community of Vikings. Hiccup will only be considered a true Viking if he manages to train a dragon and make it his pet.
You may or may not like this series – with not likeable parts more than nicer ones – but one thing everyone will agree on is the dragon training part. Dragons are cool, but handling them like pets – like dogs or cats in your house – sounds fantastic. It is more of a lifestyle than a job for Hiccup’s tribe, but training them for a living does seem exciting!
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Consulting Detective – Sherlock Holmes:
Sherlock Holmes is one of the most infuriatingly best characters ever created. He is focused, passionate and too smart for this world. It, therefore, makes sense that he is a consulting detective. In fact, he is the world’s first and only consulting detective, and he helps the police find criminals. But most of the time, he and his colleague/friend, Watson, are the ones to actually solve the cases for the police.
Holmes’ list of clients also covers monarchs, aristocrats and governesses. What Sherlock Holmes does seems easy and realistic – but his job doesn’t exist in real life! Yes, there are detectives and specialists who are sought out by police for consulting. But as Holmes says, he is the one doing the job – and great at it too.
Readers fantasize about having such a career, especially those wanting to become a detective and solve crimes. You get to work for interesting people, solve crimes, and even earn good bucks. What’s not to like?
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Faceless Men – The Game of Thrones Series:
George R. R. Martin built a world that is like us yet so different from ours. There are different religions, politics and greed – but there is also magic, supernatural and, of course, the dragons. Work is essential in this world, but instead of enjoying life, they work and earn to survive. This holds especially true for the Free Folk beyond the wall, where they work to barter for furs, wines and weapons.
Most exciting jobs are related to the military and soldiers, but one of the more exhilarating ones is that of Arya Stark – to become one of the Faceless Men. These men are a group of assassins with their own rules and beliefs. They charge ridiculously high fees to their clients, but it is worth it as they have a one hundred per cent success rate.
Admittedly, being an assassin in this world is horrifying and illegal. But imagine if the Earth was just like their world. To become a fearless assassin in their world sounds badass!
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Galactic Hitchhiker – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:
Douglas Adams’ novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, features an Earthman, Arthur Dent, escaping the planet’s destruction. He does so with the help of Ford Prefect, the friend he thought was normal like him. He tells Dent that he is an out-of-work actor and goes with the lie. Until the Vogons attack the Earth and his identity is revealed. He is actually an alien journalist for the same-name guide.
Prefect was conducting his field study on Earth when he got stuck on this planet, with no way to escape. Stranded for more than 10 years, he only gets to escape when he helps Arthur Dent to run into the galaxy.
His job is one of the best things to (fictionally) happen – a beautiful blend of travel and writing. In this job, you would be travelling not within the Earth but outside, in the galaxy far, far away. Moreover, you also get to record these experiences and publish them in a magazine. Only if the readers had the privilege of having this job in real life!
The range of jobs you can find in books is impressive – you can find a person who doesn’t work but still gets by (because they have wealthy parents) to someone turning their superpowers into a profession. Readers know these can’t be real, but some of these fictional jobs are so appealing that you can’t help but wish them to be available in real life.
