They're Paying Me for This?

This is not my dream job, but somehow I can't stop thinking about it. Silicon Valley companies are hiring hundreds of shuttle-bus drivers:

As Valley companies build out their private transportation system they're creating relatively cushy jobs for a decidedly low-tech group of employees: the drivers who operate the buses.

At Google's Mountain View headquarters, there is a special facility designed to keep workers happy and relaxed during their downtime, a Google spokesperson said. It's got a kitchen stocked with food, televisions, bunk beds for napping, exercise equipment and showers for washing up afterward. [snip]

Genentech drivers, uniformed in black fleece vests with the transportation program's logo, gRide, embroidered beneath the lapel, earn between $17 and $30 an hour, plus benefits, and quarterly bonuses of $250, [Genentech manager Daniel] McCoy said. In addition, employees often pool their money to provide holiday bonuses, McCoy said.

The downside is the split shift:

One Genentech driver starts her day at 5:30 a.m. By 8:30 a.m., she's dropped off her passengers at the company's headquarters, and waits until 4 p.m. to start shuttling employees home before she clocks out at 7 p.m. Drivers can sometimes pick up extra paid hours by washing or fueling the buses, McCoy said.

To empty-nesters or near empty-nesters, the split shift is a feature, not a bug. Driving a high-tech, air-conditioned shuttle bus in the morning, then having the choice of exercising, napping, or hanging out in the company lounge with free food and wi-fi, then taking the wheel again in the afternoon sounds like a great way to spend the day, even without being paid.

And to get the job we don't have to answer those tough interview questions...