A rather unusual job postingfor a ‘human paintball impact tester’ seems to have attracted far moreinterest, both domestically and globally than the company had originallyexpected, highlighting the lengths some people are willing to go to in order tosecure a top class salary. The British company who are attempting to fill theposition, UK Paintball, were staggered to receive over 10,000 applications,with would be applicants coming from as far afield as the United States, Canadaand India, besides people living in Britain. With an annual salary of around £40,000,perhaps they should have geared themselves up for the likely deluge.

Given that there can be only one lucky personwho gets the post, which essentially puts their body on the line by beingrequired to be shot at by a paintball bullet, the company will have a tough jobto sift through all of the would be employees. They will clearly need to nothave an aversion to pain, as some of the testing will be without the benefit ofprotective gear to soften the impact, prompting obvious considerationsregarding health and safety. The role requires the simulation of a variety ofpositions and activities that a paintballer could be hit while doing, such aswalking, running and even climbing.

Some of the applicationshave been received from ex- military personnel, including those used tohandling guns and other weaponry, besides one from a person who previouslyworked as an assistant to a magician where one of the tricks involved beingshot at.

The company already have over 60 sites across Britain, with expectationsthat the figure will grow in future and are the leading paintball company inthe UK. Demand for a paintballing experience has been increasing over recentyears, with more than one million players taking part each year in the UK alone.Many companies as well as groups of friends, can use paintballing as a teambuilding activity or just simply to get the frustration of their everyday livesout of their system, in a relatively safe (bruises aside) environment. Stag andhen parties have also been known to include paintballing as part of theircelebrations, with purpose made bunny suits, nun suits and prisoner outfitsavailable to hire. Given such demand, it is perhaps not that surprising thenthat the company wants to ensure that the experience their customers have hasbeen considered via strenuous testing of the product they offer. Given all ofthat though, the number of applications is still simply staggering.