A few months ago, I interviewed for a job with a company that makes plant tags--you know, like the 5,000 or so that you probably have stashed in a kitchen drawer or on a shelf somewhere, because "you might need them" for something. The ones that your significant other keeps threatening to throw away if they don't find a home. The ones that, one day, you are going to organize into a loose leaf notebook with all sorts of other useful information about that particular plant.
The job itself sounded interesting, but it involved quite a bit of overtime in the fall, which is their busy season, and for various reasons (like needing to expand my flower beds this fall) I didn't want to take a job that required such a huge time commitment right now, so I took my name out of consideration. I asked the owner of the company to keep me in mind if he needed some temporary help from time to time, and a couple of weeks ago, I got an email from him asking if I could do a little work for the next month or so.
To make a long story short, I am getting paid to look at photos of plants.
I'm serious.
There is actual work involved, of course, a lot of data entry and renaming computer files and such, but all day I get to look at plant pictures and read about plants. Today, we were looking for photos of a Cryptomeria "Black Dragon," and I mentioned that I had seen one just the other day.
"Would you mind going and getting a picture of it?" the boss asked.
Gee, leave work early to go take pictures of plants. If I tried that at most jobs, I'd be in trouble.
(Some employers who shall remain nameless might remark that they would hardly notice I was gone, but I'll let that slide since she and her husband treated all of the Wild Birds Unlimited employees to a delicious dinner tonight...)
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10 comments:
That is seriously a fun job, David. you'll have to keep finding plants in other places that you can go and photograph !
I sure wish I had a job like that! Just wanted to say-I finally organized all of my plant labels in a photo album-alphabetically by latin name! I have planted over 300different types of plants (lost a few tags along the way but that is a close estimate). I wish plant tags were more consistent and correct! Can the owner do something about that? For instance: Most Crepe Myrtle labels here in Tennessee say the plant grows to 6 ft by 6 ft-all varieties say this-even for Natchez!
Anyhow, nice blog. Very interesting. I agree with carolyn-fun job!
Isn't there a law that states "thou shalt not enjoy ones job." ???? It sounds too good to be true. Enjoy and Congrats...
It DOES sound too good to be true for you... Enjoy!
Sounds like the perfect job!! And I have hundreds of those plant tag's not in a drawer but in drawer's around the house..:)And my hubby is always after me to throw them away! Not a chance! :)
Cat
It sounds like an ideal job. I've thought of working part-time in a nursery--even volunteering--just to have access to plants, but that would be expensive because I would have to buy more.
Aiyana
Aiyana, I know exactly what you mean. I hate to think what I would spend if I worked at a garden center. I don't see how Carolyn Gail has any money!
We tried to figure out how to justify a "field trip" to Raleigh and Chapel Hill in the spring, Carolyn.
Tina, you're making me look bad. Check out my post "How Plant Tags Get Made" and you'll see how that could happen.
Thanks Lisa and Mary!
Cat, we both need to follow Tina's example (see above!)
Oh! It is so not fair that a job like that exists for people who actually like plants. There has got to be some rule somewhere that you have to have no plant knowledge to do that kind of job! Now who's going to put the wrong info on the tag?
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