In the latest addition to the category of “best job in the world”, National Rail has a vacancy for one lucky traveller who will be paid to vlog their way around Great Britain (we assume in this case you’re guaranteed a seat on your journey).
The role of chief adventure officer, or CAO, if you’re short of acronyms to put after your name, is open to anyone aged between 16 and 25 and mature students eligible for a 16-25 railcard.
As well as getting free travel to up to seven destinations of their choice, the CAO will be paid £10,000. As part-time jobs go, this isn’t too bad. Compared with previous PR-generating travel-fantasy jobs, however, National Rail’s offering is, perhaps, a little soft.
The original “best job in the world” campaign – dubbed “the world’s greatest PR stunt” – was advertised in 2009 when Tourism Queensland invited the world to apply for the job of “caretaker” on beautiful Hamilton Island, replete with white sandy beaches and palm trees. The salary? £73,000 a year.
Tourism Australia ran a similar campaign again in 2013, this time advertising six positions: chief funster, outback adventurer, park ranger, wildlife caretaker, lifestyle photographer and tastemaster – all with equally ridiculous pay cheques.
Others to follow suit in 2013 included Lastminute.com, which advertised for a “spontaneity champion” (salary £50,000), who would spend a year going on last-minute holidays (and preferably ’gram the results) and First Choice, which did a call-out for a “slide-tester” to spend six months messing around at its Splashworld resorts and earning £20,000 in the process.
Still, if the prospect of some domestic rail adventures sings to you, apply for the role on the 16-25 railcard site by posting a short video of yourself on a recent trip, or describing one you’ve recently returned from.
