Have you ever wondered what role you’d fill in a fantasy world, and what you’d do for a living? I’ve always imagined myself as a bookish innkeeper, welcoming bards to perform chill medieval tunes in my tavern while patrons read by candlelight and enjoy vittles and charcuterie.
I originally thought this sort of fantasy life wouldn’t make for a super entertaining story, but then Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes came along and showed me otherwise. And although I felt vindicated by the cozy fantasy, I started to think about other jobs from the SFF pantheon. Much to my chagrin, the typical jobs described in fantasy and sci-fi books tend to be much more harrowing than the peaceful, tavern-running life of my daydreams. Here are five exciting and action-packed jobs, many of which are equal parts cool and terrifying…
Witcher — The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
Strictly speaking, you can’t send in a résumé to Kaer Morhen and hope the Witchers call you for an interview. The job is potentially deadly before you even land it; the process of becoming a Witcher involves toxic substances and a transformation of body and mind. (For a visceral look at how it happens, check out Nightmare of the Wolf on Netflix, which details Vesemir’s origin story.)
For the few who survive the Witcher-ification process, the job is thankless and lethal. Almost everyone—save for the occasional plucky bard—is repelled or horrified by Witchers, though most seem to understand their utility and treat them as a necessary evil. When a Witcher comes to town, they seek to destroy whatever sick horrors haunt or terrorize the place. To do the job requires years of training and pain, deft use of magic, and the ability to shut away any lingering emotion you might feel.
If the monsters don’t kill you, the cruel world just might.
Wizard Detective — The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden has the gall to practice wizardry openly in ho-hum real-world Chicago. This earns him a hush-hush unwritten contract with the city’s law enforcement. He helps them solve supernatural crimes beyond their reckoning.
Dresden’s job comes with societal skepticism toward anything remotely magical or mystical. Whenever he meets a prospective client, he must also convince them he’s the real deal, muddling the job with social skills I get the impression he’d rather not deploy.
Dresden’s access to magic is undoubtedly cool, but with that coolness comes the terrifying realities of his situation. Werewolves, vampires, fae, and any number of other dangerous magical beings cross paths with Harry Dresden, continually putting his life in grave peril (this is especially true in the installment called Grave Peril).
Scythe — Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Neal Shusterman’s Scythe purports to give us a vision of a utopia in a sea of dystopian novels. In the world of the novel, nearly any wound can be healed, effectively eliminating death and disease. To curb the population, Scythes take people’s lives.
Scythes operate as a political sect, and each individual chooses how to go about doling out their death count. They are subject to rigorous internal review, but the organization governing Scythes is not what it seems.
To be a Scythe essentially means you’re a living, breathing grim reaper. Some choose to use statistics to inform their choices. Others look for the folks who seem tired of their nearly immortal lives. Personally? I’d pass. Deciding who lives and who dies is too god-adjacent to me, and the concept is terrifying even in theory. I have to hand it to Shusterman, though—the premise is fresh and interesting compared to its dystopian relatives.
Magician (but with real magic) — The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Let’s take a break from the scary stuff for a moment and revel in the wonder of Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. Like The Prestige before it, The Night Circus intertwines two magicians—real ones, with real magic—in a sick contest of bravado.
Unlike its similar predecessors, though, The Night Circus isn’t afraid to bask in the love and beauty of such magic. Celia and Marco work to outdo each other, creating gorgeous displays of magic for Le Cirque des Rêves. While they’re ostensibly competing with one another, their work takes on a different tone: one of connection and interest in each other.
What a job: use your magic to craft wonders, acts, and exhibits the likes of which the unassuming public has never seen. And, hey, if you meet the love of your life in the course of the work, consider it a bonus.
Ranger — Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan
As a young reader, few series captured my heart quite like John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice. It was one of the first series to show me fantasy wasn’t all heroes with swords doing the stuff typical heroes do. The books follow Will, an orphan recruited to be a ranger.
The term “Ranger” might remind Dungeons & Dragons players of the class of the same name, and it’s an apt comparison. The Rangers of Will’s world are incredible trackers. They serve the King of Araluen as spies, seeking out threats to the kingdom and mitigating danger in whatever way they can.
The Ranger’s Apprentice takes a tried-and-true fantasy character trope and gives it plenty of time in the spotlight. The result is a unique fantasy job built up with years of lore, but which still feels fresh.
Bonus: Bard!
I mean, I can’t do a post about fantasy jobs without bards making an appearance! The wily tavern-dwellers and storytellers deserve a shout-out—from Kvothe and Wit/Hoid to Jaskier and Pendry, bards always add something special to a story…
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Your turn! Where are you sending your résumé to apply for your SFF dream job? Let me know in the comments.
Cole Rush writes words. A lot of them. For the most part, you can find those words at The Quill To Live or on Twitter @ColeRush1. He voraciously reads epic fantasy and science-fiction, seeking out stories of gargantuan proportions and devouring them with a bookwormish fervor. His favorite books are: The Divine Cities Series by Robert Jackson Bennett, The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, and The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.
