15 People Share the Weirdest Jobs Someone They Know Works
Most people know someone who works in an office, teaches kids, or spends their days dealing with customers. Then there are the people whose jobs require a much longer explanation. Someone has to make wigs for opera singers, jump out of planes to fight wildfires, and create fake injuries for medical training. Those jobs might sound like something a writer made up, but they’re perfectly real professions. When Reddit users started sharing the strangest careers held by people they know, the answers covered everything from entertainment to science and some surprisingly specific hobbies. Here are 15 unusual jobs that might make your own nine-to-five sound pretty normal.
Someone Has to Make the Opera Wigs
One Reddit user knows someone who works with wigs for an opera company, while another has a friend who heads the wig department for major West End productions.
His Office Is a Burning Forest
One commenter’s friend’s husband is a smokejumper in Canada, parachuting into remote wilderness areas to help fight forest fires.
Paintings Made Just for Television
Someone recalled knowing a person whose job was painting artwork specifically for television shows, creating pieces that viewers might only see briefly on screen.
The Ancient Coin Expert
One person mentioned going to school with someone who now manages and studies a huge collection of ancient coins, a job they say only a handful of people in Britain do.
Elvis Is Still Booking Gigs
Another person’s old friend has spent about a decade performing as an Elvis Presley tribute act and can also impersonate Shakin’ Stevens with a quick costume change.
The Hospital Night Shift Sounds Terrifying
One commenter spent a summer guarding an abandoned hospital scheduled for demolition, completely alone overnight, occasionally exploring its empty corridors with a flashlight.
Playing Nintendo Is Literally His Job
After studying video game production in college, one person’s former classmate ended up testing games for Nintendo.
Christmas Decorations Pay the Bills
One professional Christmas decorator handles businesses and shopping malls, with enough seasonal supplies to fill multiple storage containers, according to someone who knows them.
Some People Make a Living With Their Feet
A commenter casually listed the careers of several friends, including a foot model, alongside a chimney sweep, yacht builder, and sign language interpreter for the United Nations.
Her Makeup Kit Is for Medical Emergencies
One user works as a makeup artist creating realistic simulated injuries for medical and emergency training, helping professionals practice responding to different scenarios.
The Job Comes With a Superyacht
Someone described a former schoolmate who started out teaching extreme sports, earned sailing qualifications, and eventually became the captain of a superyacht.
Someone Studies Dinosaur Hands
A PhD student is researching dinosaur hands, according to a friend who mentioned the unusually specific subject of their academic work.
The Shopping Mall Needs a Race Car
Driving competition cars to shopping malls is apparently a real job, according to someone whose friend gets paid to deliver the vehicles.
The Concert Lights Have Their Own Expert
One commenter has a longtime friend who designs lighting for live concerts and has traveled to major venues around the world for performances.
The Ocean Floor Is His Workplace
One man’s former coworker spent extended periods living in pressurized chambers before heading underwater to repair equipment on the ocean floor.