Productivity

From firefighters to dog trainers, 17 jobs people say they love doing every day

“If I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d still do my job.”

Many people lament spending 40 or more years working a job to make ends meet. In fact, surveys suggest that nearly 85% of people are unsatisfied with their jobs.

However, some Redditors say they’ve discovered a career path that makes them excited to go to work every day.

In a post on r/AskReddit, one user asks, “Is anyone genuinely excited to go to work every day? What do you do?”

Some Redditors say they started to enjoy their work when they turned a hobby into a lucrative career. Others say that they’ve learned to enjoy mundane tasks that don’t take too much effort but pay the bills.

Others say that working in fields like nursing and emergency services excites them because they get to make a difference in people’s lives every day. Some say that the actual job doesn’t matter, but the mindset around work is most important.

Here are the 17 jobs that excite Redditors and why they love what they do.

1. Delivery driver

“I drive a delivery van taking people shopping to their homes. It doesn’t pay amazingly, but I get to drive around the countryside listening to my music and podcasts while getting paid, and the effort is next to zero. I do enjoy driving as well so that probably helps.” —u/Abdecdgwengo

“The only job I didn’t hate was being a courier. I just drove around for 4 hours, picked up some small stuff, and dropped it off somewhere else. Unfortunately, that job paid okay for a single 19-year-old guy, but it isn’t paying the bills nowadays.” —u/ITworksGuys

2. Teacher

“Science teacher here, love my job! I feel lucky to get paid for something I love so much!” —u/PianistTrick7767

“I’m a literacy specialist and 6th-grade teacher. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d still do my job. There’s plenty of bullshit working in public schools but damn do I love teaching reading and writing.” —u/philos_albatross

3. Speech pathologist

“Speech pathologist, K-5, Title I school. I have problems at work, but I genuinely enjoy going and working with my colleagues and students. I enjoy the non-speech roles as much as my actual job (morning gate duty, greeting kids, chatting with random kids at bus line up, the random weird stuff that comes up, the adult/parent dramatics around the school).” —u/ladyonthemove

“I’m a speech language pathologist, and I work in a school. I like going to work every day. Sometimes the adults suck, but the kids are always fun.” —u/CookieMonsterNomNo

4. Firefighter

“I’m retired now, but when I was working, I never woke up thinking, ‘Ugh, I have to go to work today.’ I spent 20 years as a firefighter/paramedic and retired as a Battalion Chief. Every day I thought, ‘I have a chance to make someone’s day just a little bit better.’ Whether it was giving a group of kindergarteners a tour of the station or fighting a fire trying to save someone’s house.” —u/Poorkiddonegood8541

“I’m retired now, but I was a firefighter and EMT. I genuinely loved the problem-solving aspect of it. These people are calling you on their worst day of their lives. They are calling you to make it better. So figure it out and make it better.” —u/CommunicationNo9289

5. Small business owner

“Yes. I run a small business I started myself. It’s stressful, sure, but I wake up motivated because I know every hour I put in builds something that’s mine.” —u/AggressiveLetter6556

“Yes, and I work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. 2 years ago, I bought a local diner that came up for sale, which has been in my town for over 100 years.  My buddy is a chef, and went in on the place with me.  4 days a week are rough, because customers are there, the other 3 days are super fun. I get to do diy projects to make our place nicer, listen to music and books, and podcasts, and hit the penjamin as much as I want.” —u/Glass_Block_3114

6. Physicist

“Yes.. I’m a theoretical physicist (mathematical biology). I enjoy solving hard problems and making progress to understand things that can be transitioned into new technologies.” —u/b101101b

7. Conservationist

“I work in the conservation world, most of our time and money is spent doing conservation on private land where it’s desperately needed, and it’s fun to see it get done. It’s frustrating at times, difficult, and landowners can be a challenge, but it’s fun to see things get done that matter. Most people don’t understand when I tell them I go to work to avoid the stress of home life.” —u/StochasticallyDefine

8. Movie trailer editor

“I edit movie trailers. Everything from the biggest tentpoles of the year to small streaming series. Every day, no. And I get super burnt out because we work tons of overtime/weekends, and my life balance is fucked. That all being said, I love what I’m actually being paid to do.” —u/skylinenick

9. Tour guide

“I work as a tour guide giving historical ghost tours. I hate leaving the house cause I love being home. But I always have fun on my tours, I get great tips, and I make 50-75 for every tour, and the tours are only an hour or two. I get booked regularly as well. So it’s really not bad, it’s just the leaving the house at night part that blows.” —u/Glittering-Relief402

10. Flight instructor

“I’m a flight instructor and love teaching! Nothing better than watching your students achieve their goals!” —u/justanoldvcr13

11. IT worker

“Highly paid, highly skilled IT worker. I [expletive] love my job. It’s a huge privilege to have my kind of life. I grew up poor and used to fantasize and daydream about having a life like the one I have now.” —u/alive1

12. Nurse

“I’m a labor and delivery nurse, and I can honestly say, I absolutely love going to work every day. Granted, not all days are sunshine and rainbows. But 14 yrs later….. I still love it.” —u/OB-nurseatyourcervix

“I love going to work. I’m an internal medicine nurse practitioner. I also love that I work 3 10´s a week and equally enjoy my days home with my kids.” —u/smarty_pants47

13. Barber

“I’m a barber. The more bookings I have, the more excited I am to get started, and the days pass so quickly. Quite a fun job altogether if you have the patience for it, but it’s also a constant grind between building clientele, improving your services, marketing yourself, etc.” —u/Choice-Quality-2134

14. Visual effects artists

“I’m a Freelance Visual Effects Artist. I get to sit at home and create animations for clients. I used to do it as a hobby, now I get paid and never get tired telling myself in the mirror how fortunate I am, and how much I appreciate my life.” —u/ThinkingTanking

15. Boat salesman

“I sell wake surf boats at a dealership! Absolutely love it. Been in the marine industry for almost 10 years now. I am constantly on the water and I work with a great team. Wouldn’t trade it for anything!” —u/Zealousideal_Pencil

16. Software engineer

“I work from home as a software engineer and have a massive sound system around my desk. I spin records and write code all day. It’s glorious!” —u/Prima13

17. Dog trainer

“Yeah. A dog trainer, rescue rehabber, and I oversee group play. Like any job it has its days and moments that are stressful, but the enjoyment and fulfillment are meaningful.” —u/Gloom_Pangolin