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Dirtiest Jobs in Science

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the don't-wanna-be-a-chicken-sexer dept.

ExE122 writes "CNN and CareerBuilder have posted a listing of the top 10 dirtiest jobs in science. 'Whether they are sifting through reeking mud banks to find cures for contamination, or sorting stool samples to get to the bottom of our bathroom dilemmas, these are some of the science jobs that sacrifice their time, energy and comfort for the greater global good.' Sounds like a job opportunity for Mike Rowe!" From the article: "Hot-zone Superintendent - What they do: Perform maintenance work for bio-safety labs that study lethal airborne pathogens, for which there is no known cure. Their work enables scientists to study the nature of disease-causing organisms, such as anthrax."

15 of 120 comments (clear)

  1. They Missed One! by Petersko · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cleaning up Stephen Hawking after "Chili Tuesday" has had time to work its magic!

    1. Re:They Missed One! by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 4, Funny
      "What about me?"

      -Schroedinger's Cat

      --
      If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
  2. Hmm by Lurker2288 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I knew a girl in high school who wanted to work as a hot zone researcher; last I heard, she was applying to law schools. I'm not sure which profession involves more noxious material.

    1. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Sorry I missed the word "zone" while reading.

  3. What's wrong with vulcanologist???? by krell · · Score: 4, Funny

    "I want you to study T'Pol in depth and at at length and have a report on my desk by next Tuesday. Hopefully, there will be some hot eruptions."

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
  4. Re:Stopped reading at item 6 down the list by krell · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Where does the dirty part come into play?"

    That's how you have to talk to the guy during the step 0) obtaining of sample.

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
  5. What happened to... by Deadstick · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...Freshman Dorm Custodian?

    rj

  6. Semen Washer? by El_Smack · · Score: 2, Funny

    According to ...err... documentaries I've seen, some portion of the female population doesn't seem to mind semen in/on/around them.

    --


    There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
  7. Re:Stopped reading at item 6 down the list by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...obtaining of sample

    Reminds me of a visit to a medical lab.

    I was mildly embarrassed to be dropping off a urine sample for a 24 hour calcium test, which is a *huge* jug of piss collected over 24 hours.

    Some other guy was trying to hand off a 'sample' to one of the lab techs.
    She said very loudly (for all to hear): "I can't take your semen.
    Semen samples can only be accepted between (some time range) on (some specific days)."

    I thought they had more discrete ways of handling samples like that. It sure made me feel less awkward.

  8. Our uber advanced filter here at work... by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 3, Funny
    .. it picked up on the word "dirty" in the headline and told me:
    Under the current [company name deleted] Information Technology Risk standards, a request for http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/Careers/10/26/cb.dirty. jobs/index.html is indicative of malicious activity. For more information regarding coporate [sic] policy, please refer to the following:

    Or maybe it was the word "careers" that tipped it off.

  9. What could be worse than... by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...gynaecologist. You have to spend all day looking at the parts of women that they pee out from. What could be more disgusting? I can't imagine what they must pay those people.

    --
    Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
    1. Re:What could be worse than... by KokorHekkus · · Score: 3, Funny
      ...gynaecologist. You have to spend all day looking at the parts of women that they pee out from. What could be more disgusting? I can't imagine what they must pay those people.
      How about being a proctologist?
  10. Re:It's not poo, but ... by hotdiggitydawg · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ewww poor baby

    Quit whinging. My first work experience was six months of grinding uranium ore. By hand. With a mortar and pestle. And the "protective gear" they gave us? A t-shirt and shorts. And I'm not kidding.

    Everyone's gotta spend some time at the bottom of the heap.

  11. Re:Not sure if this counts by nosredna · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hell, that's a highly anticipated Friday night activity for some of us.

    ... what?

  12. Re:It's not poo, but ... by hotdiggitydawg · · Score: 2, Funny

    Really... I wasn't kidding!