Getting pen ink over you whilst sat in an office or accidentally spilling coffee on your desk in the morning does not make for a dirty job.
These jobs are proper dirty jobs, and if the price is right, people will be willing to do them. If you are bored of your cushy cubicle-based work-life and are looking to get your hands dirty, then perhaps there is a dirty job out there with your name on it. Just remember they are not for the faint of hearted!
Rubbish Collector
The rubbish collector is the most obvious example of a ‘dirty’ job. A thankless task that is carried out the world over in towns and cities by thousands of workers that can stomach the smell and slime. Dealing with rubbish is something that most people will go to great lengths to avoid; these guys and gals take up the mantle to get a very necessary task done. Not only is it disgusting work, it can also be quite dangerous. Bin men dodging the traffic all day to collect our rubbish are at a greater risk of being hit by a car than an office working grinding away on the 33rd floor.
Although they may go home after a long day’s work with a fairly disgusting pong attached to them, they are well remunerated for their suffering. Often a bin man can take home in excess of £30,000 a year.
Sewer Inspector
We’ve all had to clear a home toilet at some point and winced at putting our glove-covered hands into the pooey sludge to free the blockage. We then pray that we won’t have to do it again for a very long time (having decently constructed plumbing in your home from LINKLINK will help). Well imagine having to do it every day, with other peoples’ poo (and not to mention everything else that gets shoved into the sewer network) and with drains often larger than a human being. The task of the sewer mains cleaner is not an enviable one.
The role entails walking and crawling through the hundreds of miles of sewers that are beneath a city, inspecting for leaks and damage, and crucially – clearing any blockages. The only company being the rats, faeces and the occasional dead body.
For their troubles though a sewer inspector can hope to pull in at least £40,000 a year.
Chimney Sweep
Yes they still exist! Truly, even in the 21st century, that most iconic of 19th century dirty jobs is still a viable profession. The obvious dirtiness to this job is of course the layers of dirt and grime that tends to build up in a chimney flue. While health and safety regulations have moved on a bit since the golden age of industrialisation and child labour, a chimney sweep still has a mucky job to do. Modern chimney sweeps have more complicated roles than their forbears and often have to deal with hazardous materials such as asbestos, industrial solvents and carbon monoxide.
Plumber
Being a plumber means getting down and dirty. Whether you’re fixing pipes, installing a dishwasher, plugging a leak, draining a clogged loo or restoring the central heating, if at the end of the day you don’t need a jolly good shower, you probably haven’t been doing your job properly! Become one of the best Plumbers London can boast of and you can expect to pull in around £32,500… not bad!
