Not every job out there is 9 to 5.
A lot of folks out there work jobs that some people don’t even know exist.
It’s always interesting to learn about the different vocations that people have and you’re about to hear about a bunch that you might not be familiar with.
Let’s dive into the responses from AskReddit users who opened up about how folks react to their unusual occupations.
1. Wow!
“I had a brief stint as a “junior cheese evaluator.”
People loved hearing about the cheese tasting part, but what is less known is the business analytics side of things — we have to know what good cheese is and what consumer tastes are like and how to influence those tastes to make room for company products that maximize profits for the cheesemaker and retailer.
There’s a whole national certification exam I was studying for before I decided to take a drastic career shift because the whole cheese thing wasn’t paying the bills and it was too much work holding down three jobs.”
2. That’s pretty cool.
“I produce subtitles, for TV and now for online learning at a university. It’s been amazing how many people have thought that either A, a computer does it or B, I’m a sign language interpreter.
I was also a teleprompter / Autocue operator for a while, when I first left uni, and it was one of the best jobs I’ve had. Though again, people thought a computer did it. And I’ve had likes of actors literally laugh in my face because they consider it beneath the lowest of the low apparently (until it breaks…)”
3. That’s interesting.
“Train Controller.
People ask me if I drive trains. I am in the habit now of just pre-empting people and saying “It is like air traffic control but for the rail network”.
In the U.S.A. I believe it is called Train Dispatch. People are generally sort of impressed and want to ask questions about the railway.”
4. Get out the mannequins!
“I work on a truck doing simulated emergencies with high fidelity mannequins . The mannequins have pulses they breathe, you can listen to lung sounds, and their eyes move back-and-forth.
We take the truck to fire departments and critical access hospital‘s in our state to provide emergency training at no cost to the fire departments and hospitals. There are only five states that I know of in the nation that do this training.”
5. Still around?
“Chimney sweep
Usual reaction: that’s still a thing?”
6. Could you do this?
“A friend of mine is a harbor pilot.
Brings huge ships in and out of harbors. Makes mid 6 figures. A lot of boredom with high stress in the middle.”
7. If you’ve got the guts…
“Once upon a time I worked at a boarstud. I got hired in the lab preserving semen for sale. Dull, morning headachy work staring at semen under a microscope.
Buuut the shed often needed help collecting semen and a fun, well paying, easy job. Go get the pig, get him to mount, grab a penis and then nap as they ejaculate for ten to fifteen minutes. Repeat.
I got paid $27 an hour to sit on a stool and hold a curly penis three days a week. I now work 6-7 days, collect blood samples, monitor surgery, take phones, do inventory and handle angry clients with a smile for $16 as a vet tech. Hmm.
If you’ve got the guts, consider pig wanker.”
8. Never heard of this.
“I was an enucleator.
When people passed and wanted to donate their corneas I would retrieve their eyes from their body and take them to the lab to process for transplant. When people found that out they were either completely grossed out or thought it was really interesting.”
9. Sounds…erotic.
“My boyfriend’s parents own their own erotica publishing house. They hire ghost writers to churn out the kind of smut you can get for $2 on kindle.
My boyfriend narrates the audiobooks.”
10. Make it look good.
“I was talking to a food stylist and there is one lady who does all of the sour cream commercials because she can make perfect dollops.
Apparently they call her “The Dollop Queen of Georgia”.”
11. Sounds like a big job.
“I’m a procurement officer for an airline, I order parts for planes.
No one seems to realise my job exists but everyone gets it when I tell them what I do.
Reaction is generally wow that’s so cool! In reality I raise purchase orders all day. But it’s pretty cool to wander out to the hangar when a plane is in.”
12. A lot of cash.
“I work for a pond and water garden company specializing in Japanese koi fish sales.
Nothing too crazy, but people always seem a little surprised when I tell them I sell imported koi fish for way too much money.”
13. This is a job.
“One of my best friends’ husbands job was to read Bill Gates’ mail with the intent to prevent crazy people from showing up at the Microsoft campus demanding to speak with him.”
14. Espionage.
“I was an industrial espionage specialist for a year. Basically companies would pay the company I worked for to gain intel on their competitors, their distribution chain, expansion plans, contracts etc.
My job was to gather intelligence, sometimes I would go undercover as a low level employee, sometimes I would go undercover as a headhunter & interview current employees, carefully using questions to elicit information, sometimes I would use a “discretionary fund” to “purchase” intel from employees, once I even went undercover as a reporter to interview a logistics manager.
Sometimes I would just spend hours reading information on the stock exchange, government planning departments etc.
It was a weird job, but I could usually piece together a good amount of info.”
Do you work an unusual job that most people don’t even know exists?
How do people react when you tell them about it?
Please share with us in the comments. We look forward to hearing from you!
