These jobs offer big paydays, but they don't come without a little sacrifice. If you think you're ready to take on this kind of career, you need to know the pros and cons of working an extreme job.

Extreme jobs are so labor intensive and demanding that they push the limits of even the highest of the high-achievers. In fact, consultant Sylvia Ann Hewlett calls these jobs "the American dream ...

December 14, 2006 Featured Guest: Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy and coauthor of the HBR article Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek.

Like Agoglia, Carolyn Buck Luce has an extreme job. As a senior partner at Ernst & Young, she regularly flies to India and China and typically works 60-hour weeks and has four kids.

Still, he considers this method of job hunting to be a success. Conway documents his stunts at The Extreme Job Hunter. “I’ve done 17 stunts and landed 10 interviews because of them.

Carla Hall, Blacksmith If you don't think of blacksmithing as an extreme career, try standing in front of a 2,000-degree gas forge for a few hours while hammering a slab of glowing iron.

But now that 3.3 people are competing for every job in the United States (in December 2007 the ratio was 1.9 applicants per job opening), being noticed is tougher.

Even though she hasn't gotten a job yet, Greco says she has gotten a few calls so far - and lost about 5 pounds. Outcome: promising By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer NEXT: Magazine mark-up ...

Extreme jobs are so labor intensive and demanding that they push the limits of even the highest of the high-achievers. In fact, consultant Sylvia Ann Hewlett calls these jobs "the American dream ...