Sure, you could take an ordinary desk job, but where’s the fun in that? These days, people will pay you to do just about anything you can imagine. The most surprising part is that some of the jobs pay remarkably well.
Of course, you’re going to have to put up with quite a bit in order to make that money. That’s especially true if you want to become a…
1. Pet Food Eater
Well, okay, you’re technically a tester. You’ll make about $40,000 per year to try out dog food and tell manufacturers how it tastes.
Why do those companies hire humans for this? Well, they frequently receive complaints about the taste of their products…from pet owners. Also, pet food companies have trouble interviewing pets, since most of them can’t talk (we’ll make an exception for parrots).
Anyway, most pet food testers spit the food out before swallowing. The most famous testers—yes, you can actually establish fame in this industry—can pull six figures easily.
2. Professional Snuggler
This has nothing to do with prostitution; in a strange way, it’s even sadder. The “professional” simply snuggles with a stranger for about $40/hr. Ideal candidates “musts be female and at least 21 years old,” according to one site, and “must be accepting of both male and female clients,” although 99 percent of clients are male.
If you guessed that this is most common in Japan, well, you win a prize. The prize is crippling depression.
3. Undercover Bridesmaid
What’s a bride to do if she’s wildly unpopular with her friends? Hire a fake bridesmaid, of course. A company called Bridesmaid for Hire rents out professional bridesmaids for anywhere from $300-2,000 per wedding.
We don’t know how much the bridesmaid takes home, but we’re willing to bet that it’s not an easy job. In any case, Bridesmaid for Hire is fairly successful, and the company offers a book called “Always a Bridesmaid” as a resource for similarly enterprising women.
4. Food Stylist
Love working in upscale restaurants, but hate making food? You might be a great food stylist. These people don’t actually prepare anything, but they do make sure that the food is plated perfectly. They also prepare food for advertisements, although there are strict ethical guidelines to this sort of preparation.
In one case, stylists added marbles to a bowl of soup so that the vegetables wouldn’t sink to the bottom…and quickly faced a possible FTC violation for making the soup look like it had more vegetables than it actually did. Some can make upwards of $50,000, but most of the jobs are in major cities with high costs of living.
5. Mourner
If you’re depressed, you might want to become a professional mourner. There’s an English company called Rent A Mourner, and they send people out to strangers’ funerals. If you’re good at acting sad, you could excel.
The company charges about $70, so it’s not exactly lucrative, but you’ll probably end up with a few great stories. Of course, you’ll have to be discreet, so you might have to keep those stories to yourself.
6. Live Mannequin
If you’re really into that whole mannequin meme that’s sweeping the internet, it’s time to monetize it. Live mannequins can make up to $100 per hour. Obviously, you’ll need incredible discipline, but live mannequins are allowed to move. In fact, you’re expected to strike a few different poses.
7. Golf Ball Diver
If you’re really good, you can make $100,000 per year in this job by working a really popular golf course with multiple water features. However, you’ll have to deal with poisonous snakes, snapping turtles, alligators, chemicals, and various other dangers before you make it to the green.
One diver described the job as “diving for sunken treasure,” noting that the “thrill of the hunt” keeps most divers going.
