New York City is looking to hire a top-notch exterminator with a passion for the Big Apple’s rat race.
The Adams administration posted a new job listing Wednesday for a Director of Rodent Migration, a position that pays between $120,000 and $170,000 — but also requires a college degree.
Officials were also hoping the ideal candidate possessed a “general aura of badassery,” according to the tongue in cheek job listing, that also called for a bachelor’s degree.
Applicants for the “dream job” should have a “virulent vehemence for vermin” and the “drive, determination and killer instinct needed to fight the real enemy – New York City’s relentless rat population,” the posting said.
“Cunning, voracious, and prolific, New York City’s rats are legendary for their survival skills, but they don’t run this city – we do,” it continued.
The city was looking to hire the new top rodent remover amid a push to clean up the city and address rising rat complaints, which had increased by 70% in the first eight months of 2022 compared to two years ago.
Homeowners who put trash on the curb before 8 p.m. will soon be fined under a new law. The current threshold to put garbage out is 4 p.m.
“I’ve made it clear I hate rats — and we’re gonna kill some rats,” Mayor Eric Adams said at last month’s bill-signing. “We’re putting a dent in our rodent problem.”
The new position came a week after City Hall directed agencies to cut some 4,700 vacant positions amid a budget shortfall.
The Sanitation Department had recently aimed to generate some funds amid the belt tightening by selling a $48 t-shirt featuring the slogan: “The rats don’t run this city. We do.”
A 2014 study by city officials found that rats outnumber New Yorkers by about two to one, meaning there would be approximately 18 million of the rodents burrowing around the boroughs today, if that ratio had remained intact.