Scatter Brained

04
 Accidental Geniuses: 
People Who Changed the World with Th
 eir 
Second Careers
BENITO MUSSOLINI
Original Occupation:
 elementary schoolteacher
Second Career:
 fascist dictator
Reason for Switch:
 tough job market
How He Changed the World:
 Mussolini had to work his 
way up to dictator, of course, but that’s a lot easier than 
fi nding a teaching position that pays a living wage. Musso-
lini was certifi ed  as  an  elementary  schoolmaster  in  1901, 
but when he moved to Switzerland in search of work, he 
couldn’t fi nd any. It’s hard to know whether to be grateful. 
On the one hand, no one would wish Mussolini on unsus-
pecting young minds, but if he’d found fulfi llment in Swit-
zerland, he might not have returned to Italy and taken a job 
reporting and editing for a small newspaper. After serving 
in World War I, he returned to editing, but his increasing