Irken Jobs

An Irken's job is determined by his/her DNA, his/her PAK's encoding, training, talent/abilities and most importantly, his/her height. An Irken's profession is predetermined by the Control Brains.

Military

The Military is the most important part of the Irken Empire, consisting of pilots, soldiers, elites, and special forces like the invaders. The military is more for attack than defense, like most current militaries on Earth. Most of Irk's history shows that the Irkens have depended on their military for eons.

Navigators

A Navigator aboard Zim's battle mech.

These specialists are responsible for navigation and communication for ships and other vehicles. A larger ship or vehicle is controlled by multiple pilots. Unlike Irkens in other jobs, they are capable of piloting complex machinery most Irkens may not understand.

Standard Gear

• Headphones
• Facemask
• Upper body armour with pink sleeves
• Black gauntlets
• Skirt-like lower body clothing
• Black boots

Examples

• Massive Navigators/ Pilot
• Battle Mech-4 Navigators/ Pilot

Soldiers and Slavedrivers

An Irken guard overseeing slave work.

These Irkens are the backbone of the Irken Army. Their duties vary from security guards aboard the Massive, enforcers stationed on planets conquered by the Irken Armada, slave masters (as seen in the episode Megadoomer), and frontline soldiers in invasions. They are often seen holding shock spears, which resemble pole weapons like the halberd and poleaxe. The soldiers are all noticeably taller than the Invaders despite the fact that they hold a presumably less prestigious position.

An Irken guard.

Standard Gear

• Headphones (optional)
• Loose facemask
• Upper body armour
• Gauntlets
• Utility belt
• Armoured boots
• Shock Spear

Invaders

Main article: Irken Invader

Invaders waiting to receive their SIR units. From left to right (excluding Zim): Zee, Flobee, Kim, Tim

These soldiers are the best of the best (except Zim). Only an Irken elite soldier can become an Invader. They are trained in every way the Irken Empire has to offer and more. They are experts in planetary infiltration and espionage. They also have the capability to conquer their assigned planet single handedly after enough information is gathered, thus eliminating any possible threat before the actual invasion begins. Even though they are elite soldiers, not many of them are tall, except Invader Sneakyonfoota and Invader Chin.

Standard Gear:

• A small single-pilot ship
• A tiny capsule that can unpack into a fully dynamic base of operations
• A SIR (Standard-issue Information Retrieval) unit

Invader Standard Procedures

1. Blend in with the indigenous life
2. Analyze their weaknesses
3. Prepare for the coming attack by the Irken Armada

Government

The Irken Empire is ruled by the Almighty Tallest, who rule in a manner akin to an emperor/empress. In Irken society, individuals are judged based on height alone; thus, only tall Irkens may have a hand in the government. While on Irk, the Almighty Tallest reside in an unnamed building that has been unofficially dubbed the "Tallest Tower."

Almighty Tallest

The Almighty Tallest addressing Zim during the Great Assigning.

The Tallest as they appear in the series intro.

They are the leaders of the Irken Empire and have the authority to do whatever they want, except for running the Empire itself or leaving their position. An Irken is chosen to become one when he/she is taller than every other Irken alive, regardless of his/her social status and abilities. They are thus similar to a traditional human dynastic monarch in that they are selected to rule based on their genetic traits, rather than their competence.

However, the Tallest serve more as figureheads than true leaders, as the Control Brains hold all the real power; their decisions ultimately override even the Tallest's.

Standard Gear

• A uniform which consists of:
  • A colour pattern that appears to be based on eye colour.
  • Spherical upper body armour complete with PAK and shoulderguards.
  • Rounded gauntlets with two holes for each finger except for the thumb (which is ceremoniously removed prior to taking the title of Tallest)
  • Segmented clothing that tightly compresses the wearer's abdomen, similar to an extreme form of corset.
  • A long, skirt-like robe that can come in virtually any design.
  • Hover belts for easy travel; unfortunately, this disables walking but as a bonus, seems to make the wearer appear even taller.

Civilians

Irken civilians are not well known in the show, and rarely make appearances.

Scientist

These Irkens are in charge of study and research. These scientists are also responsible for the Irken's advanced technology. Zim was a military scientist on Vort before he became an Invader.

Standard Gear

• lab coat with name tag
• other science equipment like protective goggles

Service Drone

Table-Headed Service Drone Bob, complaining about being forced into an incredibly unfair bet.

They have the most humiliating and often uncomfortable jobs. They do the menial but necessary tasks that no one else would otherwise opt to do.

Most service drones are very short due to their height-based society. Their jobs don't seem to pay much either, even for all their effort; only 5 Monies every two years (which would be twenty Earth years).

Standard Gear

• A serving table that is worn on top of the head with balancing poles attached to each leg. Only very short Irkens wear this.

Janitor

Tak as a janitor after her unintended failure.

Janitors are in charge of cleaning, whether it be on a small scale or large scale. A large scale cleaning operation requires an entire squad. Tak was placed in one of those squads on Planet Dirt by a Control Brain due to her becoming stuck inside her assessment room because of Zim.

Standard Gear

• Cleaning Equipment:
  • Mop
  • Bucket

Food Service Drone

Food service drones.

The food service drones mostly appear on Foodcourtia. Zim was a food service drone before he "quit" being banished.

Their duties involve cooking, cleaning, serving customers, taking orders, and various other jobs involved with food service. Like most of the menial jobs of Irk, it can be used as a punishment for a misbehaving Irken.

Standard Gear

• Round Goggles
• White Apron
• Food Service Badge

Trivia

In the episode "Career Day", in which Zim had to work at the fast-food restaurant MacMeaties, Zim asked questions about how to work in the restaurant. This is contradictory, as Zim would have known about working at a restaurant because of working at Sizz-Lorr's Schloogorgh's Flavor Monster restaurant on Foodcourtia.

Other Irken jobs

They are unknown because they were never mentioned in the show, but there must be many other Irken jobs in the Irken Empire, as it is so large, but mostly on Irk itself.

See also

• Irken Invaders
• List Of Irken Invaders