In some sort of post apocalyptic scenario with an extant population-

I'd recommend prostitute.

Also, accountant, bully, drug dealer, gunrunner.

However if there is no society as such then the hardest basic arts aren't engineering related, farming/hunting is.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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Well if we're talking Gilligan's Island then we'd all be the professor right?

(See I may not have been born & raised in the US but I can make obvious pop culture references with the best of them.)

In any scenario I can think of, regardless of the planet or level of civilization, the basic needs are food an shelter. Water, of course. I would have to assume there will be plants and animals, or something along those lines. One would need to be able to identify characteristics of those things to determine if they're safe for consumption.

In this hypothetical scenario, I would prefer to be a pseudo-militant red-neck type with a degree in probably something like Zoology. Something like Bear Grylls or Survivorman... except minus the off-camera Hilton.

If I could carry one item with me in this, it would be the Army's wilderness survival guide.

Experience: accumulated knowledge over time.

Talent: the ability to use experience.

Which is more valuable?

I would be my teenage nephew.
He knows everything, and everyone over 25 are morons.
I would be sure to thrive and survive (at least until it turn 25 again).

Farmer of some sort. Basic human need is for food.

Butcher ? fisherman ? maybe an outdoorsman who can survive in the wild, build shelter, fire, catch game/fish, prepare them (with a nice hollandise sauce), necessary vegetables (vitamin C)

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

Ex-Army Ranger or Navy Seal, sort of 'Eagle Scouts' on steroids.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
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UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

"bear" grylls was who i had in mind (ex-SpecOps, SAS i think)

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

I would take the position of blacksmith, there or here.

Survival guide.

www.EngineeringMetallurgy.com

What does it matter? You would need to be a jack-of-all trades, and you would only have time for simple things.

On the other hand, primitive people typically only spend half of there day providing for themselves. What would you do with your other half days?

doctor

Deserted? Small group? Farmer, for sure. Or maybe naturalist/survival guide, depends what you have at your disposal.

Post-apocalyptic? Military special forces. People get brutal when they're hungry.

Priest

- Steve

Match.Com representative.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

Test tube baby tech.

Witch doctor, then I could use fear and charisma to get others to provide me with water, food, and shelter.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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Not marketing.

A 1950's-era small holding farmer comes to mind. I was reared around some of those guys. they could do a credible, if not pretty, job with just about anything on the property: Plumbing, carpentry, mechanical, electrical, veterinary and farming.

old field guy

A teacher with an engineering and medical background if there are some people. Or if there are only a handful of people left, fisherman/pro-runner.

B+W Engineering and Design
Los Angeles Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer
http://bwengr.com

rb1957 - didn't it turn out he greatly exaggerated his SAS involvement, from memory didn't he injured himself parachute training for the territorial (think National Guard) SAS. If it was initial parachute training not refresher as I think may be the case then he was never actually in the SAS.

If you want to be a survivalist type I'd vote for Ray Mears, who used to train the SAS amongst others. This guy didn't do all the dramatic stuff in his shows like Ray Mears etc. However, the level of relative comfort he attained was much higher - they guy showed how to craft a wooden spoon one time!

(Bush Tucker man gets an honorable mention too - just for the entertainment factor.)

MadMango - I think Sompting preempted you.

doctor , midwife, "priest" in the context that knowledge and rules would need to be formalized and mixed with "magical thinking" to be passed on the next generation of folks with truly low expectations.

"Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad "

And so begins the slow degeneration, leading to the next pilgrimage to the next deserted planet...

Experience: accumulated knowledge over time.

Talent: the ability to use experience.

Which is more valuable?

Shamen have more botanical knowledge than priests do, generally speaking.

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”
-Dalai Lama XIV

Quote:

what profession would you prefer to be if you magically found yourself on a "almost" deserted planet?

You don't give a cause or conditions for an 'almost deserted planet', so assuming that there were normal natural resources and atmosphere, and no wandering alien-zombie hordes or roaming punk-marauders, I'd like to change my profession to Retired Vacationer.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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Gunsmith?

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com

Real estate agent?

--
JHG

Sand eater

I am going with "Cult Leader"

Cave and well diggers could be most important for survivors.