A UK paintball company is advertising for a “bullet impact tester” to evaluate, at first hand, the effects of new paintball bullets. The role, which has been described as “ideal” for students, involves being shot at in the name of health and safety.
The role is being advertised with a pro rata salary of £40,000.
The role of “human bullet impact tester” is apparently essential for UK Paintball to carry out health and safety checks successfully over the busy Christmas and New Year period.
The advertisement says the applicant must be willing to occasionally wear limited amounts of clothing whilst being shot at with the paint-filled pellets in order to test the effects of “worst case” scenarios.
The ad continues to say that, whilst all shots are carried out by dedicated professionals, there is a risk of minor of pain and bruising.
Other aspects of the job include being fired at whilst running, walking and climbing, and the job advert states that at times no protective clothing is allowed.
The founder of UK Paintball, Justin Toohig, said the competitive salary and short working days made the role ideal for physically robust students or young adults wanting to make easy money.
#Headlinechallenge: A paintball company advertises a £40k job for someone to act as a "bullet impact tester"...SPLAT'LL DO NICELY
— Peter Barron (@EchoPeterBarron) November 24, 2014
“With an extremely competitive pro-rata salary, the role is perfect for any students looking to make some extra cash, or perhaps a gap year student wanting to fund some international travel.”
“We want to hear from people with a high pain threshold and those to whom fear is a foreign concept,” he added.
Paintballs have been known to seriously injure members of the public. In April 2014, a group of men carried out attacks with paintball guns in Manchester.
In the worst attack a man was shot in the face with a paintball whilst walking through the city and had to be treated for severe swelling and bruising in his left eye. Officers said the man was lucky not to have been blinded.
Toohig further described the job as “unusual” but “important.”
“Whilst the recruitment of this role may seem somewhat unusual, it is important for our health and safety checks that before any new batches of paint balls are given to paying customers, we check for faults and monitor the damage they can do to the body if they hit an area not protected by safety gear or clothing.”