59 People With Unusual Careers Explain What They Do For A Living

I make the clothes dirty for TV shows. I also do the ripping, dyeing, painting, airbrushing, etc.

I had a very sewing-heavy education in theatre costuming but found I'm a lot better at destroying clothes than making them.

I‘m a forensic pathologist - I do postmortem examinations.

I honestly don’t have a long, inspirational story about wanting to become a doctor to save mankind, or a pathologist to fight crime.

I idolized Dana Scully and here we are.

I am a biologist at an aquarium! I work with penguins, and it's definitely weird. My friends at 9-5 jobs wear heels and nice clothes, but I come home with poop on my clothes, feathers in my hair, and fish scales stuck to my arms. I ALWAYS smell like fish and can't go anywhere directly after work unless I go home and shower first. My boyfriend likes to play the game "human or animal?" when I talk about work, because Nick, Jack and Diane could be penguins or they could be coworkers I went out to lunch with, it's a fun guessing game haha.

I inspect/service lifeboats and their launching appliances. Yes the little orange boats on the side of cruise ships, oil rigs, tanker ships etc. I travel the world jumping ship.

Maybe it's not weird, but I don't think people think about it often...I clean and sterilize operating room instruments. There's like 100 steps in between using an instrument in surgery and it ending up sterile again.


I needed a job after moving back to the area and my degree isn't particularly helpful with that. It pays 7-8 dollars more an hour than I was making doing something with my degree.

I teach stained glass, glass blowing, and mosaics to teens and adults. I love it! I didn’t love doing it full time, so I went and got myself a “day” job and do this as well.

I'm an independent illustrator and shop owner. Basically I draw whatever want, when I want, turn those illustrations into products, and sell them online. I don't do freelance or commissions either which is liberating AF.

I previously worked as a product packaging designer in an office setting, but ended up rage quitting. After a few interviews I realized that I was going to be miserable as long as I had a boss, so I started working for myself.

I decorate gourmet dog biscuits for a company that ships to pet stores all over Canada and the U.S. We have a ton of designs so every time I work (I’m only part time because I’m in school for nursing) I’m usually doing something different and most are pretty intricate so I have fun with them. I got into it because I was a cake/cookie decorator for 8ish years and saw the ad for the job on Indeed and figured I’d be good at it and here I am 7 months later.

I do pond and lake management. I got an advanced degree in marine biology but then moved to a place nowhere near an ocean. I still love it though. I have a lot of freedom and work outdoors most of the time.

I'm an informal educator at a children's museum and Seaworld.
I wanted a change from the monotony of formal education and when I moved looked into jobs at SW for just something fun and realized they had an education department. Also learned that most museums and aza aquariums/zoos have education departments.
Not necessarily weird, but it is out of the normal.

I work as a Dragon Trainer in a fantasy theme park. I also make a lot of the props, help write the story, and manage the actors. I've been acting for most of my life so when I saw the audition call I thought it might be a nice day job. It's turned into much more.

I'm a mortician. Took a class on Funeral Directing on a whim and just loved it, so here I am.

During the holiday season I work on a reindeer farm.

I make people unconscious and/or blunt their physiological response to pain so others can implant, remove, or fix things in their bodies. I am an anesthesia provider. Love my job most days. Cesarean sections are my favorite cases- never gets old helping a new life come into this world and witnessing the families meet their newborn for the very first time.

I am a cheese buyer for a regional grocery store. I pick out which fancy cheeses, olives, crackers and other accompaniments for all of our stores. I go to food shows, meet with vendors and sales reps to find new and trending items.
I got the job because I have been with the company for a while, can merchandise product, can give a sales rep a firm no and love to travel.
The suck part is trying to get people excited about new products. The team usually just wants to sell what they have always sold because it’s easy. The customers want to see different and exciting products while keeping their old standbys.

In rural areas its not that strange but I am a beekeeper. I started out working for a bee farmer in the area then I started taking care of my own bees. Career is kindve on hold for now though as I became a mom for the first time in April. I will pick it back up again when my child is a little older.

My story is that I was in college and I needed a summer job. My dad got in touch with a beekeeper and asked if I was interested in that and I said sure, why not. I had no idea I would fall in love with it the way that I did.

I am the nonfiction print selector for a bunch of public libraries. Basically I buy books all day for different systems. I’m not sure if it’s really that weird but people don’t seem to think about where the books (and other items) in their library actually come from.

My mom actually sent me their ad from Indeed when the company was looking to hire in a different department. I have my Library Tech diploma and was promoted to the current position after the original person quit.

Not weird, per se, but definitely unique. I create custom architectural glass for people's homes. All of our work is custom moulded in design and can have ornate scenes (often ocean-themed) impressed within the glass. It's a lost art and something I'm really proud to be able to create.


It was a case of having the right combination of timing, being connected, and having the skill set that allowed me to transition into this as a career. I don't take it for granted for a single second.

I'm a sergeant in a small urban law enforcement agency and I run the mounted unit (9 officers, 6 horses). I've been riding and caring for horses all my life and had a vague interest in law enforcement and this opportunity came around 23 years ago and I took it. Mostly I care for and manage the three stables where we keep our horses and teach and train new officers. Much of it is purchasing paperwork and the like and only occasionally do I find myself performing actual law enforcement duties. Suits me to a T!

My great aunt was a "Honey Pot" for the FBI. She dated mob members and their associates, got them drunk and gathered information. She had to stop when she got married.