LISTS V2

7 jobs that scream Seattle

Nov 21, 2014, 1:53 PM | Updated: 1:54 pm

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Positions for Seattle's fishiest job only open up once year. So if you want to be a Fishmonger at Pike Place Fish Market, get your throwing arm ready. Applicants don't have to be able to throw or catch a certain weight, although Chinook salmon weigh 30 lbs, on average. According to one of the managers, Justin, fishmongers don't even need an intimate knowledge of seafood. The men and women known for throwing fish to tourists just need be willing to work hard and be on stage at the same time. An elevator operator at the Space Needle doubles as a guide on one of the city's shortest tours - the ride from the ground floor to the top of Seattle's most famous landmark is only 41 seconds long. So if you're looking to be the tour guide, be prepared to talk fast and fit the following information into your trip:
When the Space Needle was built (1962)
Facts about the World's Fair in Seattle (It's where the microwave oven made its debut)
Total height of the building (605 feet) 
When it was built, the Space Needle was the second-tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Now it's only the 7th tallest in Seattle. If you're talking about oddest jobs in Seattle, you can't ignore Seattle's oddest novelty store: Archie McPhee. Sure, you're selling horse masks and numerous bacon-themed items - for starters, but according to the manager, it's about selling "joy, laughs, and good feelings." You'll need solid retail skills and be able to maintain focus. Apparently it's really easy to get distracted when new goodies come into the store each week.
When it comes to mascots, few stay busier than the Mariner Moose. Seattle's baseball team played 104 home games at Safeco Field in 2014 - and you can see the Moose dancing at every single one of them. The job, which doesn't have a high turnover, does come with some broad requirements, like the ability to entertain, dance, lead cheers, and ride an ATV. If you want to be the Moose, being able to handle those responsibilities mean you must be physically fit, too. As Seattle's most conspicuous tour guides, Ride the Duck captains have to have a little more under their belts than a disposition immune to the constantly-playing "Louie Louie." Once hired, you must obtain both a United States Coast Guard Master's license and a Washington State Commercial Driver's license. In addition to showing your boating experience, each tour guide needs to prove their salt as a stand-up comedian. For captains whose "yucks" don't come naturally, Ride the Duck in Seattle has a "full-time Tour Developer" who trains captains and arms them with funny hats, rain jokes ... and duck puns. You can do your fair share of boating in Seattle, but nothing is quite like being a boatwright - a teacher and boat builder at the Center for Wooden Boats. Forget the motor - these vessels harken back to Seattle's early days. If you nail down the full-time or boatwright-in-residence position at the Center for Wooden Boats, you'll spend your day building your next ride on the water. For one of these unique job opportunities, you should be a boating school graduate ready to teach visitors about historic boats by putting oars, paddles, sails and tools in their hands. You don't have to be in the Army to work for the Army Corps of Engineers at the H. Miriam Chittenden Locks in Ballard. What you do have to be able to do is field questions from tourists and do 30 to 40 "lockings" - raising and lowering water in order to get boats through the canal - on their busiest days. Once in a while, you might strike it rich. Each year, crews drain and clean the locks. They often find prizes that have gone overboard - rings, watches, lounge chairs and boat hooks - to name a few. But if it's really worth something, chances are its owner has already called ahead in hopes that they will be reunited.

Sure, you can work for Microsoft, Amazon or a tech start-up, but some jobs are just so uniquely Seattle that it’s hard to imagine you could do them anywhere else.

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