When in a battle shonen, it's often hard to think of anything to do other than prepare for the next fight. But sometimes the next fight isn't always right around the corner. Sometimes the Saiyans aren't only a year away from reaching Earth. And being honest--eventually, the Dragon Ball world will know peace because Goku and Vegeta will just be strong enough to easily beat anyone who shows up.
So if the Z Fighters aren't in the business of martial arts anymore, what careers could they go into? What could their natural skills plus their personalities lead them towards? What could they be doing with their time if they aren't just immediately choosing to be layabouts like during the time skip periods?
11 Yamcha Would Be A Professional Athlete
Yamcha realizes early on into Dragon Ball Z that he’s not built to be a martial artist, and so one of the things he does is find another career. He becomes a baseball player, but honestly, there’s no sport he couldn’t get involved in. Think Tom Brady and LeBron James are impressive? Imagine someone who can move faster than people can see, is capable of flight, and can blow up mountains with his strength. Even without his powers, the character is someone who's able to adapt to the fame and fortune--he's got a big personality, the kind people love in competitive sports.
10 Chiaotzu Would Be A Magician
Chiaotzu has been a weak link as far as fighting goes for quite some time. Yamcha would participate but get laid out, but Chiaotzu couldn’t go that far. Instead, it might be better for him to use his telekinetic abilities elsewhere. He looks like a mime and he has incredible abilities that could amuse people the world over. He could be a famous magician if the character ever applied himself to the goal.
9 Tien Would Be A Bodyguard
Tien at one point was an assassin, but he realized that wasn’t the path he wanted to walk. Instead, he decided to become someone who would live their life honorably.
Rather than suggest he would be a martial arts sensei, which is still about martial arts, let’s lean into what he’s often seen doing but no one gives him credit for. He’s all about protecting Chiaotzu and keeping him safe, so why not have him take the role of a protector in general? He’s got the height and muscle for it.
8 Goku Would Be A Farmer
Okay, so Goku’s not the greatest farmer, that’s for certain. But it’s pretty much the only thing he’s qualified for at this point. The show has shown him attempt to do other things, and he’s rarely ever good at them outside of combat. Spending so many years doing nothing but fighting has made him hyper-focused, but at least starting in Super, he was able to do that. Plus, considering his focus on living a simple life, this is a role that he’d be best suited to. It’d be fine so long as Chi-Chi kept him from eating all they grew.
7 Vegeta Would Be A Diplomat
People tend to think about diplomats in the sense of being diplomatic, or tactful, but that’s not necessarily the case. In another world, Vegeta was the Prince of an entire planet. Though that planet was a group of pirates, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t used to a lot of the finer things in life. Even after leaving Frieza’s employ, he started living at the Capsule Corp and fit right in. And he knew exactly how to behave when Beerus came around, recognizing the importance of someone from a more powerful house.
6 Gohan Would Be A Professor
This pretty much is Gohan’s career already. Gohan grew up spending more of his time in books than in martial arts training, and it’s been a problem for the Dragon Ball Z world more than a few times, as the character would have been more useful in fights if he prioritized training over his studies. But if he didn’t have to be a martial artist, he would be an even better student than he already is. Gohan’s love is learning, and presumably teaching things—meaning it'd be perfect for him to become a professor.
5 Krillin Would Be A Detective
Krillin has already found a job as a police officer. And without having to deal with people who can crack the planet in half by moving wrong, he does pretty well for himself.
But Krillin could take that a step further and make himself into a full-time detective if he wanted. There’s no case he couldn’t crack with the right amount of ingenuity and willingness to use his abilities.
4 Beerus Would Be A Food Rater
Beerus pretty much came to Planet Earth with the intention of destroying the planet. And the only thing that kept him from doing so at first was the promise of a Super Saiyan God. Then later, what kept him from doing so was the amount of delicacies that Earth had, providing him with some of the most high-class food in the galaxy. With that in mind, if he weren’t a fighter, he’d do a great job at being a professional food rater, rating the quality of food all across the galaxy.
3 Whis Would Be A Babysitter
Whis spends much of his time looking after Beerus, someone who spends all his time eating, complaining, and sleeping. There’s no reason to think he isn’t great with kids, and frankly, he’d make for an amazing nurse in general by virtue of being able to magically cause children to be born. This power plus his incredible patience means he’d be excellent with children all around. It might even be easier than looking after Beerus.
2 Master Roshi Would Be A Magazine Editor
When Master Roshi’s not around the rest of the Z Fighters, helping to save the world or training a student, his nose is in a book somewhere. The reality is, someone who spends that much time in books usually winds up working in the literary industry somewhere. Yes, he’d have to change the genre of books he takes an interest in, but Roshi’s experience in life and attention to detail as a sensei would make him a strong editor so long as he could stay focused.
1 Piccolo Would Be A Driving Instructor
In the end, Piccolo was pretty much the only person who actually stuck to his driving training. While Goku was so busy trying to avoid doing it, Piccolo actually eventually figured it out. He was a reckless driver at first, but over time he figured out what to do. Viewers have already seen he’s good at training people--it’s how Gohan learned how to fight. And with someone who looks like Piccolo as their teacher, they’d be certain to listen to everything he had to say.