Fun is maybe not a word a lot of people would associate with their job – but then they don’t have a job like this one.
In 2013, one lucky student from Somerset landed “the best job in the world” when he won a competition to be a waterslide tester for First Choice – and get paid £20,000 a year for the pleasure. The job role, which was to last six months, involved travelling to First Choice’s 20 Splash World resorts in numerous exotic locations such as Majorca, Turkey and Egypt where they would ride and rate the slides.
They were required to rate the water slides by two key factors – biggest splash and adrenalin factor.
In an advertisement posted online at the time, the tour operator said it wanted applicants who were looking for a job that is a little less “yawn” and a little more “yeeaaahh”.
It said potential candidates must be fun-loving, passionate and enthusiastic and “mad about waterparks”.
Additional job description information stated that applicants must be willing to travel, happy to get wet at work and, crucially, comfortable in swimwear. A shortlist of five candidates was drawn up and each person was taken to a water park to prove they have the necessary skills in front of a panel of judges.
While this job vacancy may have been and gone, there’s no saying when First Choice will need a waterslide tester next, so keep your eyes peeled!