I'm in complete agreement with you about a job that gets you out and around, meeting people you would never come across any other way. I've had numerous jobs like this and it was so much fun!
One job was as a television research representative. I had to go talk to people who had refused to be a part of survey research and see if I could still get them to be part of the sample. I met an award-winning scientist and an artist whose works were in demand. I met many people who had managed to carve out a market niche of some type for themselves and were working from their homes. Often these surroundings were highly customized to their personalities and lifestyle.
Another job that got me out and around was as an investigator. I had to investigate the financial affairs of people who were applying for business loans, insurance policies and the like. I really learned a lot from that, like who makes how much, how people invest their money, etc.
Some of these people became lifelong friends. While I work mostly at home now and my current occupation doesn't put me in touch with a broad spectrum of the populace, I often long for those days when my job put me into contact with people at random. You learn things you wouldn't learn any other way.
Cher