Have you ever wondered about who does all those weird jobs we forget about? Who actually designs fidget spinners? Who tests shampoo? Who cleans up all the blood after a murder?
You’d be surprised just how many super weird jobs are out there. And a lot of these jobs pay pretty well and don’t require a lot of higher education.
Here are a few interesting occupations to whet your appetite for the bizarre and get your imagination rolling.
1. Professional bridesmaid
You may have heard that you can hire someone to bring with you to a wedding. Escort, date, rent-a-friend; whatever you want to call it. But did you know there are women who can be hired as bridesmaids?
As with any wedding gig, prices vary, but Business Insider reported that professional bridesmaids can make anywhere from $300 to $2,000 per wedding. Open bars and dressing up for money? That sounds like a pretty fun job to me.
Perfect for actors who can’t find work, perhaps?
2. Professional line-standers
So maybe the crazy lines outside of Best Buy or the Apple store when a new iPhone is released aren’t real, after all. Who knows? What we do know is there are people who stand in line and get paid for it.
It sounds like a tedious job, but bring a book or podcast with you, and you can earn around $1,000 a week.
3. Facebook Fan
As Balance Careers points out, many tech-savvy people out there are trying to make money off of Facebook actions. People actually market themselves to like a post, create a fake account, or increase the likes on a business page.
While it doesn’t sound like the most engaging work per se, it does let you, uh, creep on random Facebook profiles....
4. Furniture tester
Yes, you can get paid to sit on furniture for 8 hours a day. While it won’t make you rich, it sounds like one of the most stress-free jobs out there.
But Career Addict notes that these jobs aren’t going to be listed as “Furniture Tester” for obvious good reason. They’ll be under the name “Quality Assurance Technician” or something along those lines.
If you’re looking for a job where you can kick up your feet, literally all day, try looking for jobs in the industry where you can test the safety and comfort of new cushy products.
5. Crime scene cleaner
It may sound like a major bummer, but there is actually a huge market for freelance/independent crime scene cleaners, as the Chicago Tribune and other outlets have reported in recent years.
The strange job does require that you be on call most of the time, since crime scenes can’t really be predicted or planned, but if working inconsistent hours and making big bucks for one-off jobs is your thing, why not?
A Tonic article earlier this year indicated that one day of work can earn a crime scene business about $12,000. Not bad!
If you’re tired of the normal nine-to-five job in an office, the good news is that there are many many more totally weird jobs out there, just waiting for you to test them out. Do research into what’s unique about your area, and there are guaranteed to be strange jobs related to it, whether you’re in a big city, rural community, or somewhere in between.
You can also consider jobs like these for an interesting profitable side gig to pay off debts or save up for the future. Every time you don a new bridesmaid dress for a stranger’s wedding or a hazmat suit, mop in hand, you can think,‘Student loan payments, here I come!’
At InHerSight , we provide career-focused women a place to leave company reviews, take advantage of our job-matching service, ask fellow working women their burning questions, or gain insight into current trends in the workplace.
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By Meredith Boe
Meredith Boe is a freelance writer and editor living in Chicago. Aside from contributing to InHerSight with insights about women in the workplace, she regularly writes literary criticism, nature articles, poetry, and creative prose.
