The Next Not-So-Bad-things

Following up on the potential career trajectories of the last post:

Landscape Horticulture:
People talk a good talk about going back to the land and gardening is the
most popular hobby in the US but how many can grow a nice peach and make that orchard look right pretty too? The Princeton
Review defines Landscape Horticulture as a discipline that "involves
the design, implementation, management, and conservation of urban and rural landscapes". It's hard to combine all these things together but not
impossible. It requires a fair amount of study but no licenses are
required. Everyone wants their plants to grow and their yards to look
attractive but a surprising few of us have learned enough to go beyond
the nice lawn and well shaped shrubs and flower beds.

Why? It's a lot of effort to understand how nature works. There are
many set rules but most of us don't want to learn them let alone have
to conform to them. We want insta-lawns, flawless tomatoes and
perennial, ever-blooming flowers without maintenance. We want it easy.

This field (no pun intended) fits the 'lesser of two evils'
criteria fairly well. Low-entry threshold, high disinterest index for
understanding major principles combined with a certain freedom with which to pursue work. It would however require that I attend some hands on classes and necessity of dealing with anxious and subjective clients on a daily basis.


Copy Editing:
This used to be one of the most unsung jobs around until the book
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
hit the scene late last year. Grammar has oft been the province of the
curmudgeonly scholar, one who toils in obscurity but has steady work due
to the public's weak interest in using current grammatical standards or
style rules. Learning to ply this trade would require me to learn the
rules...but most are painstakingly documented by various manuals, websites,
and white papers (low-entry threshold).

Though I would be at a disadvantage due to the higher numbers who have
flocked to this career, the remaining resistance of the American public
to write and or speak correctly (high-disinterest index) still guarantees
work for the time being. There is also the problem of the vituperative
cadre of natives in this vocation who make it their mission to root out
low-level poseurs like me. Definitely an occupational hazard.

Astrology:
The draw of prognostication is without question. Who doesn't want to know
what's in store for them? Consequently, even though astrologers enjoy a
rather tarnished reputation as schisters, the public at large is fascinated
by the field. Since before Christ, those with an inclination for human insight
have read destinies in the stars so job security isn't an issue--a significant
portion of newspapers, magazines and tabloids include horoscopes not to
mention the huge raft of internet astrology sites.

Learning the in's and out's of astrology are governed by certain arcane rules
that can be learned, though very few take the time to learn the real
nuances necessary to be an able practitioner (Bingo! High disinterest
index and low-entry threshold).

Negatives include the low pay unless one has regular writing venues or
celebrity client gigs. There is also the issue of astrologers having to
deal with the fact that their predictions could be wrong, the consequences
of which could prove difficult, dangerous or perhaps even litigious.