Although this poll is not really the point of the other discussion, I will repeat what I said before: it's not the JOB that matters, its what the job says about the CHARACTER. ASM and all the characters in it are works of fiction (except Pres. Obama!). As fictional characters, they are archetypes for certain sorts of people. Even in real life, our "dream jobs" tell us a lot about the sort of people we are dealing with. When one person says "my dream is to be a rock star because I want money, fame, and chicks" we think differently about that person from one who says "I want to go into medical research so I can devote my life to saving people." The job reveals something about that person's nature. We make judgements (rightly or wrongly) about the individual.
In creative fiction, what one chooses as a "dream job" is even more important because its a device writers use to reveal something about that character. It's shorthand for what that person is like "inside." MJ started off life as a foil for Gwen-MJ was a party girl, a devil-may-care irresponsible sort who dug Harry for his money and who wanted to be a model/actress. Writers characterized her in this way, in part (I suspect), because that set her off in juxtaposition from Gwen, who started out life as a feisty sort of girl, but who was later transformed into an "angel" of sorts--the perfect girl for Pete. A girl who was a fellow science student, who wanted to help people, become a teacher, etc. MJ's desire to become a model revealed something about her as a character because it plays on the stereotypes we have about "model/actresses" the same way Gwen's work in science was designed to reveal something about her character. So it's not the "job" per se, it's what that job means in the larger context of the character and what that character represents.
It was weird to think that Pete, the nerdy dude, would marry a supermodel. Just the lifestyle they had for a good while (swanky apartment, plenty o' cash) deviated considerably from what the initial conception of Pete was. Pete was never an "everyman," really. He was a nerdy loser (so not your average bloke) who happened to be a scientific genius (again, not an average guy). That's no "everyman." Ditko, in fact, has said that Pete was never meant to be an "everyman," he was meant to be extraordinary, a hero. Someone we ought to aspire to be like. He was, however, supposed to be beset with the same sorts of problems that we all deal with--they every day problems of being a teen-magnified, in fact, because he struggled to fit in with others. Yet, even WITH all those normal problems that all people face, Pete STILL managed to be a hero more often than not.
Thats actually why I never loved USM. Pete was a cool web designer with hot women hanging off each arm. I was like "huh?" He was unrecognizable from the Pete that existed in ASM & AF 15.
As for Pete's job, thats tough. It goes back to this whole "how do we age and ageless character?" In truth, someone who developed web fluid would be a billionaire. Ok, so, Marvel didn't want to go that direction, we already have Reed & Tony. JMS's run "aged" Pete because he chose to make Pete a high school teacher. Well, if your goal is to help teenage guys identify with the character, the LAST thing you want is for Pete to be a teacher. Sure, it's "growth", but not the sort of growth Marvel marketing wanted. Post JMS, about the only reference you get to Pete as a teacher was the Chameleon finding his NY teaching certificate. I'd lay pretty good odds that we'll NEVER see "Peter Parker, High School Teacher," again. Once again, we bump into that "do we age Pete or not" problem Marvel struggles with.
I always wondered why they just didn't send him back to grad school at ESU. I've had friends who made grad school--getting a PhD--a life time "career" of sorts. But I always liked it when they focused on his scientific acumen.
