9 unusual jobs and careers you never knew existed
Worried about getting stuck behind a desk making spreadsheets after you graduate? These unusual careers prove that the job market is a lot more interesting than you think.
Credit: sitthiphong (left), Gustavo Frazao (right) - Shutterstock
Who says a graduate career will always entail sitting behind a desk from nine to five, five days a week?
In reality, there are plenty of high-paying, interesting and unusual jobs that don't involve much office time at all. You just need to know where to find them.
Believe it or not, there are opportunities involving everything from being paid to eat chocolate to watching Netflix in your bed. The nine weird, wonderful and unusual careers below are just the (very eccentric) tip of the iceberg.
9 really unusual jobs
These are the most unusual jobs and careers:
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Netflix Tagger
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Ever wondered how Netflix manages to always know what to suggest you watch next?
That's because someone is paid to be a 'Netflix Tagger'. Essentially, they're paid to watch Netflix shows all day and tag them with suitable keywords that will match them up with viewers with particular tastes.
The position is described by Netflix as freelance, flexible, and suitable for working from home.
While the job will involve having to endure lots of rotten films from the 80s, you'll also be the first to see all the latest Netflix originals and get paid to watch TV in bed all day. Where do we sign up?
Netflix is (unsurprisingly) usually staffed up for Taggers, but keep an eye on their careers page in case another opportunity pops up.
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Food Stylist
How do they manage to make the food in adverts look even more edible than it looks when it's on the end of your fork? By employing someone to 'style' the starring cuisine like a model on a catwalk, that's how!
In fact, in the culinary world, the art of arranging food to make it seem even more delicious is far from an unusual job. It's actually a very well-respected career.
Some stylists will have a Culinary Arts degree, but many begin as professional photographers who develop a keen eye for making food look fantastic.
Techniques involve everything from spraying food with water and sugar to make it catch the light, to injecting it with water just to plump it up.
And FYI, a few Instagram shots of your super cute brunch doesn't qualify you as a Food Stylist.
Already a keen photographer? You could make some serious cash selling your pictures online. -
Chocolate Taster
Bet you never thought you could get paid to eat chocolate all day (apart from when you sneak some treats in the middle of your shift when nobody's looking). But it looks like this is one dream that might just come true.
A few years back, we covered the news that Mondelez, the company that owns Cadbury and Oreos, was looking for a part-time Chocolate Taster. This was a pretty ideal student job opportunity.
The only prerequisites for the job were to have a passion for confectionery and a 'good grasp of the English language', so it looks like most of us are qualified for the job.
While that vacancy has long since been filled, we do still have a guide to becoming a professional chocolate taster. This job is so good, we almost feel bad describing it as 'unusual'.
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Professional Bridesmaid
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Always the bridesmaid but never the bride? Quit feeling sorry for yourself and turn this quirk into a sweet little money-maker.
Professional Bridesmaids, as unusual a career as it may sound, are essentially glorified wedding planners.
But as the position entails being extremely involved in the whole process of arranging your wedding with you (even to the point of walking you down the aisle), they've earned themselves the 'bridesmaid' title.
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Seat Filler
Ever marvelled at the fact there are never any empty seats during televised awards ceremonies? Yeah, neither have we.
But empty seats on TV are a massive embarrassment to event organisers, prompting television companies to hire 'Seat Fillers' to hop onto vacant seats when celebrities need the loo.
Unfortunately, it's a voluntary position, so as far as unusual jobs go, it's not got the legs to become an unusual career. But just think about the celebs you'd get to brush shoulders with!
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Waterslide Tester
It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.
Back in 2013, the travel company First Choice employed the world's first-ever Waterslide Tester – and he was a 22-year-old student from the University of Leeds.
We're hoping that since then, other travel companies have seen the value in hiring someone to travel the world's water parks testing, rating and writing reviews on slides.
This one is so good we'd probably even pay them to let us do the job.
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Cool Hunter
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Let's be honest – most of us would like to think we're cut out for this role. But the sad truth is: we're not (sorry).
Also known as a 'Cool Spotter' or 'Trend Watcher', this unusual job entails being seriously in the know when it comes to trends in popular culture. You should be able to predict what the latest fad is going to be before it hits.
Your job is then to create reports on what the next big trends will be in relevant areas, and then sell them on to businesses.
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Professional Queuer
People always say that we Brits love to queue, but we're yet to meet someone who actually enjoys it.
It turns out that waiting your turn is such a devastating inconvenience in other countries that websites have started making money by punting out bodies to wait in line on your behalf.
They're not the only ones who'll be cashing in on your patience either – as a Professional Queuer you can earn up to £20 an hour! Check out sites like TaskRabbit and Fiverr to become a professional queuer at music festivals, restaurants and other events.
We're not quite sure what happens when they reach the front of the queue and you're still at home watching telly, though.
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Crisp Inspector
The job of a Crisp Inspector is (unsurprisingly) to make sure the crisps in your packet are up to scratch. This includes ensuring there are no misshapen, irregular or overcooked crisps in the bag.
Back in 2017, Walkers announced a vacancy for a part-time 'Super Tester' looking for a lucky crisp connoisseur to eat snacks and describe how they taste.
Sadly, it doesn't seem that part of the Crisp Inspector's job description is to make sure packets are more than a quarter full, too.
Decided you'd like a less-than-conventional career? Best start putting together a weird, wonderful and creative CV to get you off on the winning foot.
