When a recession hits, instead of sulking about the unemployment rate, some people get creative with their job searches. In fact, these individuals are so creative they are inventing new jobs or businesses that previously did not exist.
If you’re among the hundreds of thousands who are fervently job searching, you might want to take a look at some of these unusual jobs. Many of these positions will provide a comfortable income—the careers in commercial diving make upwards of $80,000 a year!
I am a little more than shocked that anyone would pay the hefty $15 fee David Rees of Artisanal Pencil Sharpening charges per professionally sharpened pencil. His service works by you either sending him your favorite pencil (if you actually have one) or he’ll take a brand new No. 2 pencil and carefully and lovingly sharpen it to perfection for you. But wait—he goes further. He’ll insert the perfect pencil into a pencil-sized plastic tube, then place that into a larger plastic tube. This is so that you can throw it against a wall and it won’t break. Just to make it weirder, Rees sends you back the pencil with a Certificate of Authenticity and the precious pencil shavings. It sounds like this guy has time traveled to the future by accident, bringing with him a service that might have been more useful in the 18th century.
This one is truly bizarre, and, I’m sure out of most people’s comfort zones. But fascinatingly enough, one 29-year old Jackie Samuel, a resident of Rochester, New York charges $60 an hour for ‘private snuggling session’ with I assume are mostly male clients. She does strictly set the rules beforehand: she will only snuggle in her house, and she is not to be touched anywhere ‘covered by underwear.’ Who would pay for such a service? Samuel says mostly war veterans and people between relationships. Check out her website at www.thesnuggery.org.
Hacking can be an honest profession and even a desk job. Companies hire hackers to find glitches in their computer systems, and the job pays well—up to $123,900 a year. You do need a bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology, however.
One New York City resident Jordana Serebrenik makes her living off of her business Catch Your Cat. The service she provides is exactly that—corralling your cat into and out of places in situations where the owner would prefer not to. Like, into a carrier to go to the vet for instance. Turns out the elderly, visually impaired, and emotionally attached pet owners are more than eager to pay her $80 fee.
Though I’m sure it’s a hard market to break into, voice-over work pays well if you land the right gig. From cartoons to radio commercials, a voice-over can earn $325 for just five minutes of audio work. Of course, that’s an experienced voice-over’s salary, like the deep-voiced dude we hear narrating movie trailers. But lesser-known folks can still make $50,000 to $80,000 per year, if you can find consist work. I’m guessing your voice needs to have that something special as well…
Fish out of water?
A great number of bizarre and dangerous, yet high-paying positions involve being underwater for a large part of the day. Bad swimmers, beware:
Someone’s got to get those balls. Golf ball divers work about four days a week, depending on how badly golfers are playing on a given day. The water on a golf course is usually gross, and the divers work until they’ve retrieved about 4,000 balls. On the bright side, divers can make up to $100,000 a year for their dirty work.
Submarine Cook
In Australia, a submarine cook with at least six years experience will make around $187,000 a year, which is the same salary as a junior admiral. The base pay is actually low, but there are tons of ‘bonuses’ that blow up the paycheck. Why? Because the position is considered ‘critical to the navy.’
This pays about $80K a year, though for a large part of the day you are underwater in dangerous circumstances, usually inspecting and installing rigs or welding pipes. This is a growing field, and divers will soon be more in demand.
Another job in Australia that pays very well, as dangerous as it is. Working offshore pays about $1,216 per day, while working overseas the daily rate is around $500.
Check out Odee.com for more weird and unconventional jobs.
Dr. Mike Malone and his team practice expert cosmetic dentistry in Lafayette, LA. Dr. Malone is the former president and current accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is also the official Cosmetic Dentist of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageants. Check out his website for more information.