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The Modern Job Most Similar To The Classic Adventurer
Helping people, exploring, and thinking on your feet
The trope of the fantasy adventurer is one of the most persistent in literature. A solo hero, or a band of friends, sets out on a journey that brings them in contact with a variety of challenges, people, and places with the intention of doing good or achieving some kind of overarching goal. It is a romantic and alluring image that continues to capture the minds of people even today. But adventurers are not a realistic profession. People who set out on their own in the modern world are dubbed vagabonds, mercenaries, or vigilantes. You can’t take the law into your own hands, and it doesn't pay well to help people out of the goodness of your heart.
So what is the modern day job that most closely resembles that of a classic adventurer?
The modern job that is most similar to that of the classic adventurer trope is a long term foreign missionary, aid worker or charity worker. There are still those who willingly leave behind the comforts and safety of home to set out into the unknown with the goal of helping others. They exist, and there are opportunities around the globe for this kind of work.
Long term charity workers and missionaries come in all sorts of flavors, but they all face the same sorts…