Prepare doses for crazed acolytes of the bean

$$: Pretty lousy, starts at $7.75 per hour. Baristas make less by the hour than the kids who construct Double-Doubles at the In-N-Out--which are absolutely superb, by the way--who start at more than ten bucks an hour!

The upside: Beautiful, rich, sensuous coffee; coffee in beans in juicy, wildly odiferous blends; coffee roasting, dripping; hot milk frothing; and other human beings reaching out to you for the very thing that you can give them, plus free lattes for all your friends.

The downside: Deal with agitated, needy customers on the verge of a jag half the time.

The dark side: Poverty.