A well-grounded psychology major with a degree caught the attention of executives for some unusual skills she possessed (that aren’t mentioned in O*NET) and was offered a “huge opportunity,” she told the Hartford Courant. But why did the newspaper interview her? Her job is being a human cannonball for the circus!
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Gemma Kirby is a 25-year-old Millennial who always liked climbing trees and jumping off rocks. While in college, she also studied at the Circus Juventas in Minnesota to be a trapeze artist. Videos of her trapeze work got the attention of circus executives, who approached her about a job under the Big Top—as the human cannonball, which she told the paper is “one of the most dangerous and exciting acts.”
What skills are needed to be shot out of a cannon? Kirby says the jobholder must be strong and have a sense of body control that tells when to flip in the air, how to create rotation, and how to land properly! She says her background on the trapeze helped build “muscle memory” that is useful in her new job. She also says the help of some Baby Boomer circus mentors has helped her.
She said her parents were nervous about her career choice, but she assured them that safety was a priority and that she really wanted a job that got her “out of her comfort zone.” As a psychology major, she likes “stretching the imagination and challenging the expectations” of her audience.
While O*NET OnLine says that careers as “Entertainers and Performers” have slower than average growth, Kirby always has that degree to fall back on when she decides hang up her cape as “Gemma the Jet” and assume a more mundane occupation.
Wonder how the advancement opportunities are in that field. How do you move up the ladder, so to speak?