You get paid to do THAT?! I can do that, too!

YAY - I received a job offer at Cafe Rio - an expanding Mexican restaurant opening it's first Boise location! It seems like a high-energy place, and everyone at the group interview seemed upbeat and easy-going. That's the positives. The negatives are that I will only be working 20-30 hours per week, the pay is near minimum wage and the job doesn't start until the 16th. That is definitely not enough to support me, and I'd like to be working immediately. Plus, there's the petty drawback - all the meat! I will have to stand over shredded pork, beef and chicken for 8 hours a day. As a vegetarian, I wonder how nauseous that icky aroma will make me. Ridiculous concern, I know! So, having a job secured brings peace-of-mind, but I'm still searching for a full-time job.


I'm simply looking for honest, hard work, but maybe I could do something crazy like one of these odd jobs I've heard of recently!

Job: Professional Namer
Salary: $125,000

I came across this profile in my Glamour Magazine (yeah, the same one from the JLo post). The 24-year-old from New York City said about her gig, "I loved playing scrabble as a kid; I've always been obsessed with words. I get paid to name things, from an interactive projector for Epson to shoes for Puma. Now I have my own naming agency."

She's so young and gets paid over $100,000 a year to name things!! How the heck do you get into that?? I'm sure I could name a thingamabob or two.

(okay, who got paid to name this juice "belly wahsers?!")

Job: Matchmaker
Salary: $100,000
I also found this in Glamour - it's proving to be a legitimate professional resource. :) This profile read: "In college, setting up my friends was my trademark. Now I own a company where I screen and introduce strangers. But I'm too busy to find my match; I'm still single!"

That's good money, but with the still being single part I'd say the pro-namer pathway is still a better way to go.

(get paid to set up your friends)

Job: Social Media Strategist
Salary:$50,000
Courtesy of Glamour, yet again. This 27-year-old Californian says, "I blog, tweet and create online content for clients - and yes, I get paid to do this! I can work from the beach if there's internet access."

Okay, wait, is this a joke? I can really get paid to veg out on the internet like I already do? Even better - I can name a new product and then tweet it! Then I'd be making $175,000 a year.

(get paid to veg out)

Job: Professional Video Game Player
Salary: average $30,000, but potential to make $500,000+
I heard about this from a friend and researched it online. Professional gaming is not a joke - there is even multiples leagues for it! The greatest circuit is the StarCraft gamers in Korea with companies paying over $1 million to sponsor gaming tournaments. Wikipedia has an entry called "Electronic Sports." I wonder if the NY Pro-namer named this new field. There are rankings, event schedules, player blogs, teams and everything. Yes, people pay money to watch people play video games!

Okay, time to pack up and move to Korea. Grab your gaming laptops and have lots of snacks on hand for hours of playtime.

(Professional Star Craft Match)

So, I'm torn. Pro-Namer or Pro-Gamer??? Just kidding, but if they get paid to do these tasks, I have more faith that I can get paid to write. I just need to find the right avenue. I think the lesson here is to go for it, play up your strengths and dream big. My dreams are looking closer, how about yours?