5. STUNTMANCoolness factors: Working with Hollywood stars; great compensation;awesome conversation starter at mixers (“I crash cars, dodge bullets, andbase jump. How about you?”).Lameness factors: Life flashes before your eyes on the regular; lots of timeaway from home; inconsistent work.More realistic option: Contestant on Fear Factor.

4. PRINCESSCoolness factors: Wearing pretty dresses and tiaras; riding pink ponies; living in a castle; everyone calls you “Your Highness.”Lameness factors: Being forced to marry your funky-looking cousin; working against everything that Susan B. Anthony fought for.More realistic option: Playing Princess Peach in Mario Kart.

3. VIDEO GAME TESTERCoolness factors: Your office is Mario’s Mushroom Kingdom; casual Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Also: gamers can earn more than $70,000/year.Lameness factors: Constant sore fingers and bleary eyes; altered perception that the realworld is a video game, resulting in multiple speeding tickets.More realistic option: Computer programmer/software engineer.

2. ASTRONAUTCoolness factors: Meeting aliens; being on a moonbounce 24/7.Lameness factors: Aliens may eat your brain; freeze-dried ice cream kind ofsucks; peeing is hard when you’re defying gravity. Plus, you really can’t live up toNeil Armstrong.More realistic option: Astrophysicist.

1. SPYCoolness factors: Driving a Ferrari; having various bionic gadgets built into yourbody (oh wait— that was Inspector Gadget). See also: Harriet the Spy, AustinPowers, James Bond.Lameness factors: You can’t reveal your true identity, forcing you to set at theweird kids’ table at lunch. See also: Watergate, North Korea.More realistic option: Foreign correspondent.