With so many diverse jobs available around the world, you can’t be expected to know about them all. Sometimes while we’re researching though we stumble across jobs that make us raise our eyebrows and then we have to do some digging to find out if they’re actually real.
13 Crazy Careers you won’t believe are real
No jokes this is a real job in Japan where the trains are so busy ‘Oshiyas’ are paid to literally push people onto trains until the doors close to squeeze in as many people as possible.
Professionals in this role are hired on movie sets to coordinate love scenes and make sure they look authentic to movie-goers and fit the script.
This role was reportedly created after the Titantic disaster. You’d be responsible for tracking the location of icebergs, creating safe shipping lanes around then and occasionally towing icebergs out of busier shipping routes.
Chicken Sexer
On the plus side of this job you’d get to spend all day holding cute little chicks, on the downside you’d be looking mainly at their nether regions to determine their sex.
Gross Stunt Tester
OK so that may not be their “official” title but this job is definitely real. You’d be working on TV sets, movie sets and anywhere else that gross things are made to happen to participants. Expect to be doing anything from eating grasshoppers and other revolting things, to be being covered in slime or slithery, wriggly creatures.
Rubbish Fishers
Around the world our waterways are unfortunately clogged with all kinds of litter. In this job you’d be cleaning up bodies of water by fishing out everything from shopping trolleys and bicycles to plastic bags.
If getting dressed up as a mermaid for the entertainment of others floats your boat then this could be a career for you. Working as an entertainer, party novelty, or teaching other people to swim like a mermaid could earn you a hefty $300 per hour in some places.
Fortune Cookie Writer
Do you have a great imagination and a way with words? Coming up with fortunes could be a fun way to earn a fairly decent wage ($40,000 per year).
Virtual Gold Farmer
You won’t be subjected to back breaking work or even have to go outside your own home to farm this gold. To make it in this job you’ll need to spend hours playing multiplayer games and finding gold which is then sold to other players who need the currency to make in-game purchases.
Note: Before you set your heart on this job it’s worth knowing that the conditions may not be great and you probably won’t get rich either.
Professional Egg Breaker
AKA Egg Sniffers. You’d get paid to break eggs, do a sniff-test to make sure they’re not rotten, then separate the yolks from the whites for use in the food industry.
If you love furry felines and believe you have what it takes to make them toe the line, this could be a (definitely) challenging and (possibly) rewarding career to consider.
Promise we’re not pulling your leg. Somewhere out there people are being paid to paint various materials with paints, record how long they take to dry and note any changes to colour and texture.
Unbelievable as it may be, you’d be teaching dogs and their owners how to surf and could earn $13 an hour. It could be a great side hustle if you love surfing and dogs in equal amounts.
Looking for more careers inspiration?
If you’d like to read about other unusual jobs, you could start with this blog or this one.
You can also check out other our careers and industries page or have a read of this week’s job spotlight for other ideas about things you might like to consider… or avoid.
