Part-Time Bag-Tosser. Salary: $12,000 or less 

In between your job at the restaurant and the writing hobby that you're totally sure will one day make you rich, you work the busier season at the airport. This means every holiday break and summer vacation, you're working hard to make sure children get their gifts and souvenirs exactly when they're supposed to. You're not sure, but you think this is what being Santa Claus feels like.

Lav Duty Regular. Salary: $24,000 

You landed a permanent job with a well-paying and well-respected national airline, but you're stuck on the much less-respected lavatory duty. On your third day, you accidentally open the valve a smidge too much. Talk about "real poop." You're not sure, but you think this is what your high school janitor felt like.

Seasoned Luggage Professional. Salary: $36,000 

You have two weeks paid vacation available so you just hitched a free ride to Hawaii via standby. After you deplane on the Big Island, somebody greets you with a flower wreath, a coconut drink, and your own well-cared-for suitcase. You're not sure, but you think this is what people with lots of frequent flyer miles feel like.

Ramp Supervisor. Salary: $44,000 

You just identified and thwarted the biggest security risk your airport has ever seen. What was really inside the mysteriously ticking box on the cart you were supervising? Who knows and who cares? Everybody survived and your face is all over the evening news. You're not sure, but you think this is what being James Bond feels like.

Baggage Handler Handler. Salary: $60,000 

You're a crew supervisor with a pretty great gig at a major city airport. Most of your day is spent directing the baggage handlers to different gates, while making sure to avoid any unnecessary pile-ups. You're not sure, but you think this is what being an air traffic controller feels like. You don't tell them, of course—they'd just roll their eyes at you.