• 3-minute read
• 30th April 2016

9 Weird Careers You Can Pursue in the USA

Maybe you picked your major to pursue a specific career, but most of us go into our college education with an “open mind” (i.e., not having thought it through).

As a result, we have a world of professional possibilities open to us.

And though you might eventually opt for something conventional, it’s worth at least considering some more unusual options. Take this list of ten weird careers, for instance…

1. Snake Milker

Snake milkers have the peculiar job of squeezing the faces of deadly snakes, thereby extracting the venom for use in antivenoms.

Although this is laudable, especially if you live in snake country, we can’t get past the fact that it involves putting your hands into the bitey bit of a venomous reptile. Not for the fainthearted.

2. Iceberg Wrangler

Speaking of bravery, how do you fancy going toe-to-toe with an iceberg?

That’s what the men and women of the International Ice Patrol do, patrolling the North Atlantic on the lookout for rogue chunks of ice!

3. Canine Surfboard Instructor

While the International Ice Patrol focuses on keeping our coastal waters free from icebergs, others are working hard to fill them with surfboarding canines. Do the dogs get any say in it, though?

4. Feeling Strangers’ Faces

If you’re the kind of tactile person who instantly hugs strangers, why not put these skills to use as a professional “face feeler”?

Otherwise known by the less-creepy term “sensory scientists,” face feelers run their highly-sensitive digits over people’s faces to test the effects of new cosmetic products.

5. Snuggling

And if face feeling doesn’t satisfy your need for intimacy with strangers, you could always become a professional snuggler (don’t worry: it’s strictly platonic).

6. Dog Food Tester

Maybe you think forcing dogs onto surfboards is cruel and want to do something to improve the lives of man’s best friend? How about testing their disgusting food? Yummy.

The real question, of course, is why dog food manufacturers need professional testers when they cater for an animal that will happily eat its own vomit.

7. Lip Reader (Sort Of)

Nope, not the useful kind that interprets speech from watching lip movements alone.

We’re talking about lipstick readers, who claim to tell your fortune based on the mark left by your lips. Like a palm reader, but with lips. We’re sure they’re completely legit. Ahem.

8. Baby Name Consultant

Picking a name for your child is a big decision, so why not get third-party advice? If you do follow this career path, please promise not to use your powers for evil by telling credulous parents-to-be that “Anusol” is a perfectly acceptable name for a girl.

9. Chicken Sexer

Not quite as horrific as it sounds, but it does involve checking the sex of thousands of hatchling chicks in quick succession to divide them into males and females. So definitely a specialist interest.