Credits: Social Media
11 of the weirdest jobs that pay out surprisingly well
If you dont feel like youre suited to a traditional career, then you might find yourself drawn to working in one of the following wonderfully weird jobs.
Whether you want to ditch the typical office job to become a professional mermaid, golf ball diver, or even a bounty hunter, theres something out there for everyone.
Water slide tester
Estimated earnings: $28 per hour
First up on our list of weird jobs is water slide tester. Before a waterpark or swimming pool can open a new ride or water slide, its someones job to test it out to make sure that its not only fun but also safe.
Professional mermaid
Estimated earnings: $300 per hour
While mermaids dont actually exist, it is still possible to be hired as a professional mermaid. These entertainers can be found donning a mermaid tail and typically perform at pool-based parties and events.
As self-employed workers, mermaid performers can set their own hourly rates and one professional mermaid, Linden Wolbert, charges $6,000 per appearance.
Golf ball diver
Estimated earnings: $200 per day day
Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the golf balls that are inadvertently hit into the various water hazards around a course? Well, theyre eventually retrieved by divers so that they can be cleaned and used again as well as to stop the ponds and lakes around a course from getting clogged up with wayward golf balls.
Snake milker
Estimated earnings: $2,000 – $5,000 per month
Arguably the strangest of the weird jobs on our list is that of snake milker. Although as snakes arent mammals, they dont actually produce milk.
Instead, this life-saving job is far more perilous as it refers to collecting venom from the slithery reptiles so that antidotes may be developed.
Pet food tester
Estimated earnings: $45,000 per year
As our beloved animal friends cant speak to review the food they eat, its up to dedicated testers to evaluate their food.
While this job largely involves assessing the nutritional value of pet food to make sure its safe for our cats and dogs to eat, it may not be for everyone as in some cases, it can involve trying the food yourself. �
Fortune cookie writer
Estimated earnings: $40,000 – $55,000 per year
Its easy to forget that someone has to write the prophetic messages you find in fortune cookies. It can be quite a lucrative career too, with an average salary between $40,000 – $55,000.
Professional hacker
Estimated earnings: $107,000 – $131,369 per year
With the threat of cyberattacks more prominent than ever, ensuring a company or banks online security can be vital. This is a role carried out by professional hackers called penetration testers who will try to uncover vulnerabilities in computer security systems before cybercriminals do.
Bounty hunter
Estimated earnings: $44,000 per year
While bounty hunting may seem like a profession that disappeared with the Old West, it still exists. Now known as bail enforcement agents, modern-day bounty hunters will search for and attempt to capture people who have skipped bail or who may be wanted criminals with a reward on their heads.
Drying paint watcher
Estimated earnings: $27 per hour
While its often joked that watching paint dry is the most boring activity on Earth, it is actually someones job to do so. As you may be able to ascertain, the job involves painting a wall or other surface and examining what happens to the color and texture of the paint as it dries to ensure the results meet manufacturer standards.
Professional sleeper
Estimated earnings: $76,450 per year
We dont know about you, but this sounds like the perfect job. Professional sleepers can be hired for a range of reasons, whether thats to participate in a scientific study or to test out rooms at a hotel.
The salary for such a role is extremely varied. In 2013, NASA paid volunteers $18,000 to lie in bed for 70 days. In 2006, meanwhile, a budget hotel chain in the UK called Travelodge created a position called Director of Sleep whose job involved sleeping in every single one of the chains 17,000 hotel rooms across the country to evaluate elements such as noise, lighting, cleanliness and comfort.
Professional queuer
Estimated earnings: $25 per hour
And the last of the weird jobs on our list is that of the professional queuer. It’s a job thats fairly self-explanatory as it involves a person being paid to stand in line in place of someone else.
For example, if you want to attend an upcoming product launch or special event, you can hire someone to wait in line for you. Although we cant attest to how fellow queuers may react if they see you swapping places with someone at the last minute after waiting in line for hours.
