A

Jeff Haslam spends a lot of his time underground. He works in London’s sewers – the tunnels under the roads that carry away waste water … and other, much dirtier things! His job is to keep the sewers clear. ‘We work in teams of six,’ says Jeff. ‘It’s very dirty work. And of course we work in the dark.’ He has to wear special clothes, a mask and a helmet with a light. ‘The most difficult thing is clearing the fat and oil from the sewers under the Chinese and Indian restaurants,’ he says. ‘Last month we removed 1,000 tonnes of fat!’

B

Many people like to work outdoors, but few would like Charlie Radley’s job. Charlie lives in Alaska and works on a fishing boat. Each fishing trip lasts about a week. ‘It’s extremely cold and often stormy,’ says Charlie, ‘so we wear warm, waterproof clothes.’ Charlie can earn a lot of money if they catch a lot of fish, but if they don’t, he earns very little. ‘I’ll do this job for a year or two more,’ says Charlie, ‘then I’m going to look for another job – something warmer and drier!’

C

Sandy Smith is a lumberjack – somebody who cuts down trees. Sandy noticed an advertisement for lumberjacks on the internet. Lumberjacks work long hours and are not very well paid, but as Sandy likes to work outdoors, she decided to apply for the job. ‘It’s a very dangerous job,’ says Sandy. ‘We work with big, dangerous machines, and we’re always a long way from the nearest hospital – so I’m always very careful!’