Would You ____ For Money?

Have you ever looked at someone’s job and said to yourself, “Man, I’d never want to do that.” or “Really? He gets paid that much for doing that?” Often when I tell people about my work with formerly homeless individuals they say things like, you have to be a “special” person to work with people like that. Or “people like you” should get paid more to work with such a “dangerous” population.

This conversation just pisses me off, and I have to bite my tongue not to say something smart-ass like, “it’s far more likely you’ll get assaulted by one of your clients when you lose their money in the stock market than I’ll be assaulted by one of mine.” For some reason people seem to pity me or put me on a pedestal for working with people diagnosed with mental illnesses. Anyway…

Lately I’ve seen a number of television shows featuring people who are making money in alternative and unusual ways. Some of them have made careers doing what they love, while others have made a quick pocket full of cash for letting us be voyeurs.

So I’m curious, Would you ________ (fill in the blank) for money?-TV Edition

1. Catch an alligator with your bare hands?

   Have you seen that show called Gator Boys on Animal Planet? They are a group of alligator enthusiasts who catch gators with their bare hands and bring them to sanctuaries (they also run their own sanctuary). I’ve see the show a couple of times and those guys are really passionate about humanly catching gators and educating the public. I’m not sure how much money they actually make running the sanctuary and doing the gator shows, but I assume now that Animal Planet has picked them up, they’re making pretty good money filming the show.

2. Fish the Baring sea for king crab?

   I’m a big fan of the show Deadliest Catch on the Discovery channel. While it’s not a job that I’d ever want to have (I hate to be cold), there should be no surprise (given the market price of a king crab dinner) that there’s huge money to be made in fishing for said crustaceans. There’s a real risk you might die, but if you’re an adrenaline junkie, fishing for king crab yields a pretty good return.
   

3. Star in an adult movie?

   According to the NY Daily News, Former “Teen Mom” Farrah Abraham made nearly $1 million dollars when she sold an adult movie that she and porn star James Deen made together. She reportedly said the video was for her private use and was accidentally released, RIGHT! but surprise it wasn’t!
   

4. Make and sell moonshine?

   Handcrafted liquor is apparently all the rage these days. Just ask the cast of the popular discovery channel show Moonshiners. According to the NY Times, moonshiners can buy the ingredients to make a gallon of moonshine for about $3.00. They then sell the finished product for $10-12 per gallon. Not a bad little return if you don’t mind the possible jail time you’ll serve if you get caught making the bootleg liquor. Plus if you get picked up by a TV network to film a show, you can quit the illegal liquor making and go “legal.”
   

5. Dance on Dancing with the stars?

   This one is an easy, “yes” for me. I haven’t done a choreographed dance since I was a middle school cheerleader, but I think it would be pretty sweet to get paid to learn how to dance. Heck, I’d go on the show without the money just to learn all those fun dance moves. Added bonus? Huge weight loss! Kelly Osborne told Shape magazine that she lost 50 pounds while filming the show!
   

Do you watch any of these shows? Would you star on one if the price was right?

Image:Wharman