New Career Path: Piracy

American pop culture is on a pirate kick, and has been for a few years now. From the release of the Disney movies to the widely-observed ‘Talk like a Pirate Day’, America romanticizes a life of violence and thievery on the high seas. But no matter how much you might want to talk like a pirate, you wouldn’t consider actually becoming one, right?

Things might be different if you lived in Somalia. On May 6th, NPR.com released an article titled ‘In Somalia, Piracy Is An Attractive Career Option’.

In a country where poverty reigns and affordable career training is not readily available (and not necessarily worthwhile where it is available), choosing a profession at all is admirable. “For many Somalis, choosing a line of business is the most practical decision of all. What works is right, and what doesn’t work is wrong. That is why piracy has taken hold in the country: It’s a multimillion-dollar industry that works.”

In an earlier article, NPR reported that “a closer look at the ‘business model’ of piracy reveals that the plan makes economic sense.” In an era of text-messaging, network administration, and PayPal - piracy as a business is a fascinating concept – one that resorts to violence when necessary, but also operates on strict timesheets and faxes between pirate ships and ships held for ransom. Seriously.

Thankfully, no matter what situation our country is in economically or politically, you’ve got more options than that. In fact, here – piracy would be a decidedly bad career move. Trust me on that. If you’re in the market to switch jobs, we’ve got a bunch of career fields that can provide you with a better income, more stability and, you know … less time in jail. Check them out.