So what is an engagement manager

I was just looking at a listing of America's best jobs.

Table: The 10 best jobs in America

Job	Job openings	Median base salary	Career opportunity	Job score
1. Data scientist	1,736	$116,840	4.1	4.7
2. Tax manager	1,574	$108,000	3.9	4.7
3. Solutions architect	2,906	$119,500	3.5	4.6
4. Engagement manager	1,356	$125,000	3.8	4.6
5. Mobile developer	2,251	$90,000	3.8	4.6
6. HR manager	3,468	$85,000	3.7	4.6
7. Physician assistant	3,364	$97,000	3.5	4.6
8. Project manager	6,607	$106,680	3.3	4.5
9. Software engineer	49,270	$95,000	3.3	4.5
10. Audit manager	1,001	$95,000	3.9	4.5
Methodology: The Glassdoor Job Score is determined by weighting three factors equally: earning potential (median annual base salary), career opportunities rating, and number of job openings. Results represent job titles that rate highly among all three categories. The Glassdoor Job Score is based on a 5-point scale (5.0=best job, 1.0=bad job).

I can't figure out if these are really new careers or just hotsy totsy titles for traditional jobs. Sort of like old wine in new skin.  Nearest I can figure a project manager manages projects. I guess you could call a librarian a data scientist. Next time someone asks me what I do for a living I can say I'm a data scientist. Someone who wouldn't date a librarian might be willing to have a beer with a data scientist. 

Engagement manager I need to research. Is it like a wedding planner but someone who plans bachelor parties? A solutions architect? Someone who plans solutions? I could use one of these if he will shovel my car out this morning from the snow.

I looked up engagement manager. Apparently it is someone who nurses a deal between a vendor and a client. Sort of like if I was selling my car I'd enlist one of these people to mediate the sale and make sure all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Sounds like a good job to me. More fun than a ah counter anyway. 

Ah counters

As this recession drags on, many people are looking into other professions where there is hiring. According to the Occupational Outlook Survey, one of the fields with good prospects is that of the "ah" counter. This is a position where you sit at a table and whenever the speaker says "uh", "er", "like", or makes other useless interjections, the "ah" counter makes a little mark with a pencil. At the end of the speech, the "ah" counter tells the speaker how many times he said "ah". Fines or, in some cases, thrashings are then administered.

As a full time salary, an "ah" counter can be expected to clear over $80,000 a year. There has been a creeping towards piecework in the field, however, ie. payment for "ah"s. In this system the "ah" counter is paid a set amount for each "ah" he counts.


While I was an English major at college, I thought I might be a poet. I'd toss off a poem every week, make humongous amounts of money, and spend the rest of my time drinking beer with my friends. I was disappointed when the professor told the class that poets get virtually no payment for their work unless they are endowed by a major university. As good a deal as being an "ah" counter seems, it could turn out to be another fleeting position where the aesthetic rewards outstrip the monetary. Sort of like being a librarian.

Editor's note: Apologies to Toastmasters. "Ah counters" are volunteer positions.