Florida seeks $25-per-hour crocodile wranglers: No exp neces

[HTRN]

$25 is essentially minimum wage in the Florida Keys.

Well, THAT'S a new perspective on the offered wage!!

$25 would be a good pay here, there's lots of people that aren't close to that. As a comparison, I looked up that a rookie police officer will get $17-per hour.
$25 is probably what a trained and experienced game warden/animal control officer would make here.

Living costs are high in the Florida Keys.

[tfbncc]

You would not necessarily be working in the keys. Gators cover the state as far north as Jacksonville and a nuisance gator can show up anywhere.

[Termite]

You would not necessarily be working in the keys. Gators cover the state as far north as Jacksonville and a nuisance gator can show up anywhere.

They're not gators, they're American crocodiles. They are generally limited to far south Florida, due to their intolerance of cold. They are also reported to be more aggressive than gators.

[tfbncc]

OK, now I know the difference. Thanks. Very interesting reading.

[Aglifter]

Does anyone else think this is a strange, "no-experience required" job?

I wouldn't want some city slicker to work cattle, let alone salt water crocodiles...

[308Mike]

Does anyone else think this is a strange, "no-experience required" job?

I wouldn't want some city slicker to work cattle, let alone salt water crocodiles...

Not really, they are providing the training to handle those eating machines.

[Aglifter]

OK... I had an image of "here's your rope, there are the crocs, see you at 5..."

I still think its a job for someone w. some "horse sense", (just general animal handling ability and awareness*, AFAIK - but I doubt complete yuppies would apply for such a job.)

*I've been around men who are very gifted w. animals for most of my life (employees, not family, for the most part) - none of them seem entirely at ease around people, and its a bit amazing at how good they can be w. a variety of animals, how terrible they can be with machinery, and they, often, seem to drink to excess on a regular basis.

Some of that might be cultural - I think the only men I've ever met more vain than a "cowboy", are the metro types - but the cowboys do certainly qualify as men. The drinking could start as a social expectation - not sure about the machine problem, though...

[blackeagle603]

Come onnnnnn Mike. You knowwwwww you want to do it!

[308Mike]

Come onnnnnn Mike. You knowwwwww you want to do it!

I DO, I DO!! I admit it, I think it would be great fun and to get paid for it would be even better!! But when I mentioned Catbird's comment to my wife (who's spent some time in Florida), she IMMEDIATELY agreed regarding the cost of living in the Keys, and with the cost of living being so high in that area, you'd almost need food stamps to get by even on that wage. Unless things have changed since she was there (doubtful).

I'm an adrenaline junkie and would LOVE to get paid for something like that, just like I'd love to get a job servicing and replacing anti-collision beacons on top of radio towers. The difference between a 900 foot rock face (using no safety equipment) and a 1700 foot tower isn't that much once you start falling. Actually, falling and flipping down the rock face would be more devastating than a straight drop down the antenna - either way, you're gonna die, multiple impacts down a sloping rock face would be far more painful (for the few seconds you have left).

If they were offering the same thing here in San Diego, I'd JUMP at it, and since we don't have crocs, they could offer the same thing for Western Diamondback rattlesnakes, which I would also be willing to catch. Off our coast, I've played SCUBA tag with some of our local sharks. Some sharks don't mind being pet by humans, BTDT, but I was always wearing gloves and glad I was doing so. Shark skin is NOT like dolphins, porpoises (both of which feel like slippery rubber), or large fish!! Shark skin is ROUGH!!

[esa5444]

not sure about the machine problem, though...

Are they drinking enough? A fifth a day does wonders for a person's mechanical aptitude.