20 Of The Most Bizarre Jobs People Have Around The World

Hopefully you’ve worked some jobs that you’ve loved, and likely, you’ve worked some that had one positive — a paycheck. Whether you’ve had a job in retail, have been a barista or waiter, or even worked in telemarketing; these are some of the jobs that may have had you ripping at your hair. However, some of these jobs you’ll be glad you never had — you probably haven’t even heard of some, if not most, of them. And if you have been one of those unlucky people who have worked one of these jobs, be proud of yourself; not everyone is cut out for any of these.

Vomit Collector

Someone has to do it, but who knew it was an official job? It makes sense though; amusement parks are loaded with rides that scare the insides out of people, literally. So vomit collectors are paid to pick up your lunch after you hurl it on that terrifying rollercoaster.

Electro-shock Giver

Yes, there are actual electro-shock givers, called toques, who administer electrical shocks at $2-$4 each. Who wants to be violated in this way, you might wonder? Supposedly people believe that the shocks will either increase their buzz or help sober them up, so needless to say, toques are popular around the nightclub scene.

Portable Toilet Cleaners

The pay is not so bad, but your nose will surely take a beating to earn the money. Someone has to do it though — without Portable Toilet Cleaners, we’d have a different sanitation issue on our hands. Thankfully these guys don’t mind disinfecting the toilet seats, picking up stray toilet paper, wiping down walls and sucking up the waste!

Pushers (Japan)

You thought your rush hour was bad? During rush hour in Japan, there are paid pushers, called oshiya, whose job is to push people onto the train, making sure it’s packed to the gills. No worries on getting dirty; they all wear white gloves for the pushing. So much for having a coffee on your early morning commute.

Gender Equality Consultant

This one’s so fun, who knows where to begin. These gender quality consultants make sure that stereotypical gender norms are not enforced. One wonders what this work entails exactly.

Fortune Cookie Writer

Next time you finish your egg rolls and crack open that fortune cookie, remember that someone wrote those cute (and sometimes weird) messages that are on those little slips of paper inside. Being a fortune cookie writer sounds fun actually, but the pressure is on for these guys since they have to constantly come up with new material. And how many ways can you write the same messages over and over again?

Professional Ear Cleaner (India)

This job is as exciting as it sounds. Apparently if you’re walking down the street in India and suddenly remember that you forgot to swab the gunk out of your ears after you showered, fear not — professional ear cleaners to the rescue! These guys walk the streets of India with cotton and a needle, so they’ll be happy to take care of the earwax for you.

Bicycle Fisher (Amsterdam)

Amsterdam is full of canals (165 to be precise) and also bicycles, since people love to ride and commute on their bikes. Supposedly there are more bicycles than people, well, you get the idea… So what happens when you have all those canals and bikes? You get lots of bikes in canals. And yes, this calls for a bicycle fisher (also called a bike digger), a professional for Amsterdam’s Water Authority is paid to fish out the bicycles from canals.

Professional Snuggler

Yep, this is a “real” job today. Cuddle cafes first opened in Japan a few years ago and recently have appeared in some parts of America. In Japan, you can sleep next to a professional snuggler for about US$30 per hour. In America, it’ll cost you a buck a minute. Hey, sleeping can be hard work, especially when you aren’t the one picking your snuggle partner. But who can beat getting paid to sleep?

Official Elephant Dresser (India, Sri Lanka, China, South Korea)

Move over Hollywood actresses! There are some other leading ladies and gents in need of some styling — elephants. In countries where there are big religious ceremonies and festivals involving elephants, there are elephant dressers hired so these guys can be fashionable for their events. So, if you’re into fashion and not getting the work you need, consider moving to Asia. Only downside? They won’t exactly excuse themselves from your presence if they suddenly feel the urge to relieve themselves.

Worm Picker

Worm pickers get paid to collect the best worms and put them in cans. They do their job in the middle of the night, when it’s dark. Wearing protective clothing, they simply hunt for worm colonies. The cans of worms are then sold to fishermen around the world. Definitely not the worst job on our list, but you better have a tough stomach and enjoy the graveyard shift.

Sewer Cleaner

This job looks different depending on what country you’re in. Let’s just say more money = better infrastructure = better equipment = not as disgusting. But, we’re talking about an impoverished section of India in this case… Sewer cleaners are hired to jump into manholes (minus the hazmat suit), slosh through the sewage, find the blockage, then poke and prod until it’s loosened, and drain the muck into a bucket. The bucket is then lifted onto the street and the man (who’s now splattered in waste) is lifted out of the hole.

Car Plate Blocker (Iran)

Now this is clever, but no telling if it’s legal. In Tehran, car plates end in an odd or even number and it’s how you know which day you can drive on the road. If your plate ends in an odd number, you drive one day, even numbers drive the next. It helps control the traffic since there are too many cars on the road. To get around this, people will hire car plate blockers, people who are paid to walk or stand behind your car and block your plate when you drive on an “off” day.

Panda Fluffer (China)

This is a real, paying job. Pandas are cute, in that high-maintenance sorta way. Apparently, they are lazy by nature so panda handlers are hired to handle them — aka help them mate and tend to them. Not sure what all that entails, but let’s just say they need enough “looking after” to require a handler.

Professional Mourner (Africa, China, Middle East)

Need to plan a funeral for someone who wasn’t so loved? Look no further then! You can just hire a professional mourner to add some grief to the funeral. Yes, that’s right. This is a real job where a person is hired to grieve (loudly) and add to the sad atmosphere (or create one).

Pet Food Taster

Yes, it means what you think it does. There are people, pet food tasters are what they’re called, who are hired to try Fido’s food before Fido does, just to make sure everything is a-OK. This is pretty high up there on the gross meter. However, surely Fido wouldn’t mind returning the favor by trying out those yummy beef ribs you brought home last night. At least it’s a win-win for Fido!

Brazilian Mosquito Reseacher

Brazilian Mosquito Researchers use food to lure in the mosquitoes, then trap them. And sometimes these researchers get paid to let them chomp on their own flesh and blood so science can figure out the biting habits of the the ones with malaria. This doesn’t sound like the worst job, unless of course, you end up with malaria, which has happened by the way.

Ostrich Babysitter (South Africa)

Move over Pandas, the ostriches need some coddling too. This one is odd, but pretty cushy when you consider that there’s no diaper changing, no curfew to enforce, and no 20,000 questions to answer when the parents get home. You will have to deal with sibling quarrels though! The one reason for this job position is to make sure the ostriches don’t peck the heck out of each other.

Egg Smeller

There are people whose job is to sniff out bad eggs. They’re called egg smellers and although this seems like an easy — somewhat mundane — job, they are paid to sniff out the rotten eggs. You know that smell from high school, when some crazy kid (maybe you) brought a stink bomb to school and dropped it in the hall right before the bell sounded? It’s nasty and can clear out a room faster than you can drop an egg on the floor. Well that’s what real rotten eggs smell like, so hats off to the egg smellers! They endure so we can crack our eggs in peace.

Armpit Smeller

Next time you go to the drugstore to purchase deodorant, know that a lot more went into getting that product on the shelf than package design and clever names and scents. Someone had to test it and someone had to determine that it worked. That would be the armpit smeller, the brave being who gets paid to sniff armpits and ensure a quality product makes it to the shelves.