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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."

3 of 120 comments (clear)

  1. Volcanologist? by demonbug · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm not sure volcanologists really fit in this list. Most of their work these days is done through remote sensing (at least for volcanoes prone to explosive eruptions). Still dangerous to set up and service equipment, but I'm sure there are lots of more dangerous jobs around. And there really isn't that much dirt involved (ash, maybe - but it's good clean ash).

  2. poo sifter by jgercken · · Score: 3, Informative

    In college I did some research at the USEPA in Cincinnati on Cryptosporidium Parvum, a waterborne pathogen that causes tremendous diarrhea. The only way to grow them is in the gut of a neonatal animal (or human). We opted for mice and calves and this poor guy did nothing but scoop up cow poo and separate out the oocysts. For mice they would "homogenize" then separate the entire intestinal tract. What was really weird for me was that I would occasionally go and pick up a small 5ml vial that represented about a month of poo duty.

    --
    Never ascribe to malice what can be adequately attributed to ignorance. -Napoleon
  3. Re:Real diapers still exist by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 2, Informative

    Please use plenty of bleach on those cloth diapers.

    While walking in a nearby park, I noticed what looked
    like small squares of of artwork hanging on
    a chain link fence. At a distance I thought they were
    tie dye patterns.

    On closer inspection, they were cloth diapers hung
    to dry on the fence. The 'patterns' were various layers
    of faded shit and piss stains. Ugh.