100 Bullshit Jobs...And How to Get Them (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: bullshit job, The Downside, The Dark Side, The Upside (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There's an element of bullshit in all jobs, including his own, but bestselling author Bing (Sun Tzu was a Sissy) has taken a wickedly satiric approach and ranked the BS quotient in jobs both common and obscure that require little effort but pay well. From aromatherapist to motivational speaker to velvet rope nazi to critic (touché), he dissects the skills necessary to excel in these jobs, as well as the upside, the downside and the "dark side." Using humor and insight, no job is off his radar, including high power corporate jobs like investment banker, rarified non-jobs like boulevardier (George Hamilton), and the crumber, who "removes detritus from dining in restaurants." Bing's central piece of advice is to hone your internal bullshit detector and find the right balance between fulfillment and fluff: "In the end, a life that is made up of nothing but bullshit is as untenable as one that is completely dedicated to content. It is your gift on this earth, your right as a living, sentient human being to fight for the right mix."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

The scholarly discipline of Bullshit Studies has blossomed in the last several years, fertilized by a number of critical works on the subject and the growing importance of the issue across a wide range of professions. Now, best-selling author and lifelong practitioner Stanley Bing enters the field with a comprehensive look at the many attractive jobs now available to those who are serious about their bullshit and prepared to dedicate their working life to it.

What, Bing inquires, do a feng shui consultant, new media executive, wine steward, department store greeter, and Vice President of the United States have in common? What, too, are the actual duties performed by a McKinsey consultant? Other than sitting around making people nervous? Could that possibly be his core function? Likewise, what does an aromatherapist actually do, per se? Sniff things and rub them on people, for big fragrant bucks? Is that all?

The answer in all cases is "Yes." They all have bullshit jobs.

These few, of course, are just the beginning. Across the length and breadth of this shrinking globe, skillful bullshit artists have secured pleasant, lucrative employment, and are enjoying themselves more than you are. In virtually every occupation, from Advertising to Yoga Franchising, lucky individuals who "work" in these coveted positions enjoy the best lives imaginable -- they are paid well, they rarely break a sweat, and their professions are highly respected, because nobody really knows what they do.

At once funny, useful, and tolerably philosophical, this groundbreaking work takes a close look at 100 bullshit jobs -- the money they bring with them, the actual tasks and activities involved (if any), and famous and successful examples of each position, who will provide the neophyte with inspiration. Most crucially, Bing goes on to offer what others so far have not--a clear, concise strategy to help job-seekers at every level reach for that brass ring, knowing full well that it may be attached to the nose of a bull.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060734809
• ISBN-13: 978-0060734800
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #380,376 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Borrow a friend's copy, July 2, 2006

By	R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: 100 Bullshit Jobs...And How to Get Them (Hardcover)

Good for a couple of laughs but essentially one funny idea stretched into a hardcover. Something to page through on a plane, in the bathroom , or while waiting for the dentist but not much substance. Better yet - pick it up at your local bookstore read it over a latte and return it to the shelf 20 minutes later and you'll have the idea.

46 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bing's a funny guy, but not as smart (or funny) as he'd like you to think..., May 20, 2006

By	Lemon Magic (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 100 Bullshit Jobs...And How to Get Them (Hardcover)

Since I work one of the so-called "BS" jobs listed in this book, let me make it clear that I can take a joke, and I don't mind being ribbed now and then about it. There is BS in my field just like in any other - including business journalism. But I've read Bing's columns in Esquire magazine over the years, and I can safely say that Bing is quite a BS artist himself, and many of his pieces haven't really deserved to see print in a national magazine. (Others have, of course). Bing's sneering dismissal of many 'alternative' career paths, while funny, tells the reader a lot more about the limits of Bing's worldview than it does about the jobs he derides.

This book is just another example of his habit of coming up with an extended magazine piece, wrapping a hardcover around it, and getting some publishing house to charge the reader $15.00-$20.00 for something no better (or funnier) than a typical mass-forwarded joke list on Usenet or a daily blog entry.

I wouldn't say "don't buy it", since Bing is still funnier and sharper than many writers who comment on commerce and business. I would say, buy it only if you have money to burn, and don't mind spending a large amount of money for a very small number of mild chuckles.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Short Laugh, November 4, 2006

By	L. Dunkelman "larrydunk" (White Plains, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: 100 Bullshit Jobs...And How to Get Them (Hardcover)

A perfectly funny bathroom book. Enjoy it in parts, in whole, or in any order. Some of the chaptes are downright hilarious, others cute.

After you put it down, you can ask yourself the following: "I paid for this?" You could have read it while standing in the aisle at Borders.

Please don't get me wrong. Stanley Bing is brilliant and his Fortune columns are must-reads, its just that you need to accept this book for what it is. Its cute and cuddly. A potato chip of a book, not a whole meal.