Outside Job
Updated: 2 days ago
working where the sun does shine
As societies urbanize, people’s occupations migrate from the outside world to the inside of factories, stores, and offices. Cornered by walls, work takes place in the workplace where the workforce feels forced to work. But nobody robbed us of our freedom—it was an inside job we signed up for. Outside jobs, by contrast, are not always a deliberate choice and oftentimes harder labor, but they come with a certain spatial freedom: outdoor laborers are space-billionaires amassing such a wealth of space that they can fit the world into their lives and make their living under the sun, amidst green, or at sea.
STREET SHOOTER · Cairo / Egypt · 2023 RICE FARMERESS · Mai Châu / Vietnam · 2023 ADRENALIN PAINTERS · La Paloma / Uruguay · 2024 ADRENALIN PAINTERS · La Paloma / Uruguay · 2024 GUARDIANS OF THE PAST · Ta Prohm Temple / Cambodia · 2015 CAVALRY · Ambato / Ecuador · 2025 ENTERTAINER · Paris / France · 2022 HISTORY'S JANITOR · Giza / Egypt · 2023 CHAUFFEURS · Ninh Binh / Vietnam · 2015 MOKORO DRIVER · Maun, Okavango Delta / Botswana · 2017 WHALE SHARK SPOTTER · Donsol, Luzon / Philippines · 2015 VIOLINIST · Nida / Lithuania · 2023 PROVIDER · Salasaka / Ecuador · 2025 C A R I S T A · Cairo / Egypt · 2023 WALKING AD · Belgrade / Serbia · 2026 FULL-ON FARMERS · Piribebuy / Paraguay · 2024
The manufactured opposite of a natural world where we used to hunt and gather, the workplace is a peculiar invention that liberates us from foraging but feels like a trap. It has the outside wrapped all around it, separated by just a few inches of wall, and yet completely out of reach for 8+ hours a day. And those working in it are always ready and eager to put their pay towards a vacation escape to the other side, while those working outside of it never dream the other way around, never fantasize about vacationing inside an office or store or factory.
JACK OF ALL TRADES · Piribebuy / Paraguay · 2024 PRO SURFER · Arugam Bay / Sri Lanka · 2015 SALESWOMAN · La Paz / Bolivia · 2024 CHEF · La Paz / Bolivia · 2024 PUPPET MASTER · Buenos Aires / Argentina · 2024 DELIVERY GUYS · Chennai / India · 2018 BALLOONIST · Jakarta / Indonesia · 2015 CARTON ROUTE · Jakarta / Indonesia · 2015 FISHERMAN · Tangalle / Sri Lanka · 2015 GAME GUIDE · Okavango Delta / Botswana · 2017 JUNGLE GUIDE · Cuyabeno / Ecuador · 2012 MOUNTAIN GUIDE · Chacaltaya / Bolivia · 2024 FLOATING VENDORS · Can Tho, Mekong Delta / Vietnam · 2015 JUMPING GARDENER · Manama / Bahrain · 2023 CAR GUARDS · Montevideo / Uruguay · 2024 MOTO DRIVER · Playa Blanca / Colombia · 2012 SULFUR MINER · Ijen, Java / Indonesia · 2015 BOOKKEEPER · Belgrade / Serbia · 2026
Outdoor jobs might not pay as well as indoor jobs, but they do offer benefits. You could earn all the money in the world, and you still couldn't buy sunshine, satisfaction, or other such little grand things that make (work)days worth living.
