These may sound like dream jobs--or not--but they prove that in our 100 Best, there's a niche for every personality.

BICYCLE DESIGNER, REI
As head designer of the Novara line, Steve Gluckman, 39, is responsible for designing pavement, road, and touring bikes.

How did you get started? Gluckman broke out of his job in a bike shop, joining REI 13 years ago as a service manager, then moved up the ladder. "I've found my home here."

The best part: "Some people sing. Some people paint. I ride my bike. Like a ballet dancer, like a gymnast, like a skateboarder, I express myself in my job."

PRODUCT MANAGER, W.L. Gore
Bill Connors, 32, oversees the Elixir Strings guitar string business--which means doing research at a lot of music festivals.

How did you get started? He was in product development at Gore for about six years before he moved to Elixir. "I had been a product tester because I've played guitar since I was 15."

The best part: It's all about the fans. By applying a thin polymer coating, Elixir has extended the string's tone life four or five times--and Connors loves the feedback. "We get e-mails daily from people who say, 'Dude, you changed my life!'"

And the worst: "Going to trade shows and seeing all this gear I can't afford."
                                            
 

TEST MANAGER, Electronic Arts
Before a new EA video game is readied for distribution, it must pass inspection at the hands of professional game players--including Tim Attuquayefio, 32.

The best part: Attuquayefio says the testers' feedback is taken very seriously.

And the worst: "Essentially, hour after hour, day after day, month after month, you're playing a broken game."

If you weren't doing this ... "I'd probably be on a beach somewhere, tending bar or writing."

 

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE VP OF CO-WORKER SERVICES, CDW
She's a one-woman Department of Nice. Cathy Audu, 35, plans parties, books arrangements for employee recognition trips, and coordinates volunteer efforts and matching gifts for charities. She announces an average of four CDW babies a week, sending flowers to the mothers and teddy bears and Onesies to the babies.

The best part: "Being involved in making a co-worker smile after he's received his flowers."

And the worst: Outside vendors don't always understand the company's obsession with spontaneity, "but at the end of the day they succumb."

 

EXECUTIVE ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, SAS Institute
Besides doing graphic design and consulting, Holly Brewster Jones, 59, paints about 60 works a year for the software company.

How did you get started? During her days as an independent artist, Brewster Jones counted a co-founder of SAS among her patrons. "I wanted more security, and I applied for a graphic design job at SAS Institute, which I really wasn't qualified for. They called me about a week later for the artist-in-residence job."

Where do you go from here? "I'll paint until I retire, probably. And even then I'll still be an artist. That's the good thing about being an artist."

Any advice for someone who wants to be an artist-in-residence? "First
of all, find a company that has that need."                                       

COFFEE EDUCATION MANAGER, Starbucks
Aileen Carrell, 35, works with the coffee-buying team to teach other employees about coffee. "We're basically drinking coffee and talking about it," says Carrell.

How did you get started? "I was hired as temporary Christmas help in 1990, and I fell madly in love with the fact that coffees came from the most amazing places, like Sulawesi. So I was a store manager for about 5 1/2 years. Then I saw a job posting."

Where do you go from here? "I'd love to be the executive vice president of coffee, but some days I think it would be great to be a barista again."

Any advice for someone who wants to be a coffee education manager? "You absolutely have to like coffee, love coffee, and want to be around it and taste it every day."

 

SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST, a.k.a. CHIEF TOILET DOCTOR, S.C. Johnson & Son
Mike Klinkhammer, 50, travels the world to see how people clean their toilets and then develops appropriate products.

How did you get started? "I was the only one who volunteered."

The best part: Meeting with consumers in places like South Africa, Japan, and Australia. "No two people clean their toilet the same way."

And the worst: "If I actually have to clean somebody's toilet."

Any advice for someone who wants to be a toilet doctor? "You have to be open to different things; you have to be versatile; you have to not worry about getting dirty."                              

CHIEF DEMONSTRATIONS OFFICER, Cisco Systems
When CEO John Chambers gives a presentation of new tech products, Jim Grubb, 41, is his right-hand man. Grubb sets up the demo (like rewiring this microwave) and joins Chambers onstage for often humorous banter. "He jokes that if something goes wrong, I'm fired."

The best part: "Following John around the country is a lot like getting an MBA."

And the worst: When something does indeed go wrong. "It's just too embarrassing. Luckily, out of 200 events in the past four years, that's only happened twice."                                      

RECREATIONAL SITE MANAGER, Agilent
Pat Connors, 55, oversees Camp Akenac, a lakeside retreat operated by Agilent in the Pennsylvania Poconos; he manages staff and guest reservations, and maintains 26 buildings on 200 acres.

How did you get started? He was working on the manufacturing line for Hewlett-Packard (which spun off Agilent in 1999) when he heard about the job. "I'm a naturalist at heart. As my mother said, it was a round peg in a round hole."

And the worst: "Surviving the winter." The camp is open only in the summer, but he lives there all year.

Where do you go from here? "This is it. I enjoy what I do. I'm living a dream."
                                           
 

VICE PRESIDENT and PATHFINDS PROGRAM MANAGER, Republic Bancorp
Joanne Wrozek, 52, visited Ireland and attended The Lion King in fulfilling her duties as the leader of Pathfinders, a club for Republic Bancorp customers who are "50 and better."

The best part: "I could never work in a job where I didn't have customer contact. I have to have that contact."

Where do you go from here? "I'd probably like to be a mortgage originator. I've worked with customers and mortgages before, and that was my passion."

 

FASHION REPORTER, New York Times
Going to the Gucci show in Milan is just part of the daily grind for Ginia Bellafante, 37, fashion reporter for the New York Times. (She also attends the shows in Paris and New York.)

The best part: Learning about people--"from the bottom up and the top down"--by talking to them about clothes.

And the worst: Repetition. "There are wonderful innovators, but there's been a lot of pillaging from the past, and it can be a bit tiring season after season."

If you weren't doing this ... "I was almost a lawyer."

DIRECTOR OF WOW, Stew Leonard's
As the quirky supermarket chain's official pep rally cheerleader, Roy Snider, 46, inspires customers to say "Wow!" by dancing with them and singing "Happy Birthday." He's also responsible for boosting employee morale and building team spirit.

The best part: "Every day is showtime."

Any advice for someone who wants to be a director of Wow? "You need to have a positive attitude and the ability to love what you do. If you love it, it's not a job."