The 5 Worst Jobs in the Imperium of Man in the Warhammer 40K Universe

Warhammer 40,000 is famous for many things: gigantic armies, galaxy-spanning wars, genetically engineered super-soldiers, horrifying aliens, and an absolutely unreasonable amount of skulls.

But behind every Space Marine dramatically shouting “For The Emperor”, there are billions of ordinary people doing the jobs that actually keep the Imperium of Man running.

And some of those jobs make working a double shift in customer service look like early retirement.Welcome to the grim darkness of the far future, where there is only war, and a terrible Job Market

So here are five of the worst jobs in the Imperium of Man in the Warhammer 40K universe.

5. Imperial Guardsman

Job Description: Very Few problems more bodies can’t solve.

Being an Imperial Guardsman—also known as the Astra Militarum—is technically an honour.

In the same way being selected as the first person to test whether a bridge is structurally sound is an honour.

The average Guardsman is sent into battle against:

• Eight-foot-tall genetically engineered Chaos Space Marines
• Tyranids that consider human flesh an appetiser
• Orks who genuinely enjoy being shot at
• Necrons who have been sleeping millions of years and wake up cranky
• Daemons from literal Space Hell

And what does the Imperial Guard give you?

A laser rifle… Sometimes… If the supply officer is having a good day.

The Guardsman is basically the Warhammer 40K equivalent of a retail employee being asked to handle a Black Friday crowd with a broken barcode scanner.

4. Servitor

Job Description: Congratulations! You are now Office Equipment

Imagine applying for a job as a warehouse worker. Imagine being told:

“Great news. You’re hired.”

Then imagine waking up after surgery with half your body replaced by machinery.

Congratulations: You are now a Servitor.

Servitors are cybernetic slaves used throughout the Imperium to perform repetitive tasks. Depending on your assignment, you could spend eternity: Loading ammunition, Repairing machinery, Carrying equipment, Performing calculations or standing around waiting for someone important to tell you  to press a button.

The Imperium loves efficiency, but apparently looked at the concept of automation and thought:

“What if the machine was also technically Steve?”

And somewhere, an Adeptus Mechanicus engineer is probably explaining that this is completely normal and efficient.