One of the more prestigious and cushy career paths of the ancient world would have to be the job of Vestal Virgin, in Ancient Rome.
A downside was that the job was probably a little dull. Your only duties were to be sure the holy flame of the goddess Vesta’s temple didn’t go out. Oh, and you weren’t allowed to have a boyfriend while you remained on the payroll. If you did, and were caught, you faced the deeply unpleasant prospect of being walled up with a day or so’s worth of food and water, a bed, and a lamp. (Your blood was sacred, and couldn’t be spilled, so entombment was the preferred mode of execution.)
But there were tremendous upsides. If you were lucky enough to be chosen (while still a very young girl, between about 3 and 10 years old), your parents would be thrilled. They’d have bragging rights modern-day Ivy League parents could only dream about. And you and five other vestals enjoyed privileges far exceeding those of any other women in ancient Rome. It was like winning the Golden Ticket. You lived in luxury at the public’s expense. You didn’t have to answer to your father. You could conduct business in your own name, and make your own will. You could ride through Rome in a wheeled carriage. Even the highest magistrates in the city had to make way for you. Should you happen to cross paths with a condemned criminal, his life would be spared. And seriously, in the scheme of things, considering some of the old toads your aristocratic parents might have signed you up for life with, purely out of business considerations, remaining free and unmarried must have seemed pretty appealing to a girl like you.
And you only had to serve for thirty years. After that, you were free to marry the person of your choosing, and it was considered extremely prestigious for a man to marry a former vestal, so you probably had your pick.