Sadly, life isn’t always about “taking it easy.” Life is difficult. Life is busy. And, whether we want to or not, everyone has to make a living. Teenagers get part-time jobs in retail, in food stores, and as nannies, and many adults have full-time jobs that depend on their college degrees. However, there are some weird occupations that you won’t even believe exist. Here are the top nine weirdest occupations around the world.
Number Nine: Professional Line-Stander (The United States). “Professional Line-Stander” has to be one of the weirdest occupations in the United States. A line-stander, or line-sitter, gets paid to help individuals that do not have time or patience to wait in line. Some professional line-standers get paid 1,000 dollars a week. For those in New York City, Same Ole Line Dudes is a company that provides people with professional line-standers. All you have to do is call or text their number, and a line-stander will come and do the waiting for you.
Number Eight: Professional Bridesmaid (Worldwide). Weddings have become extremely popular on social media websites (especially Pinterest). Brides must document their whole wedding process so everyone can see it. But what happens when you’re missing a bridesmaid? After all, bridesmaids do have duties: providing support for the bride, helping with the bridal shower and bachelorette party, standing with her on the altar, etc. Well, some women get paid to act as stand-in bridesmaids and help brides organize their weddings. For one such company, Bridesmaid for Hire, professional bridesmaids get paid anywhere from 200 to 2,000 dollars for a wedding.
Number Seven: Bed Warmer (United Kingdom). This is definitely one of the weirdest occupations. In London, The Holiday Inn hires individuals to lie down in the hotel beds before guests arrive. Yes, they get paid to lay down in beds. Bed warmers warm the beds so when guests arrive after a long trip, they won’t have to experience the unpleasant feeling of a cold bed. This is especially popular during the cold England winters.
Number Six: Professional Sleeper (Finland). Normally, in order to work, you need to wake up early in the morning. However, Hotel Finn in Helsinki, Finland measures comfort levels in hotel rooms by hiring individuals to sleep. Professional sleepers get paid for taking naps. That’s one great, but weird occupation.
Number Five: Professional Elephant Dresser (Sri Lanka). In Sri Lanka, individuals are actually hired to dress elephants for ceremonies and parades. It seems like a difficult job, and I’m still wondering how long it takes, but the elephants are cute, at least. In Sri Lanka, tailors such as Kishinchand Chadiram Thadhani create costumes for the elephants. Elephant owners pay those in their village to dress and paint their elephants for the festival.
Number Four: Ostrich Babysitter (South Africa). A common first job for teenagers is a babysitter. Normally, teenagers babysit younger children in their neighborhood. However, in South Africa people get paid to babysit ostriches. Yes, ostriches. Ostrich farms such as Cango Ostrich Show Farm hire ostrich babysitters to make sure their ostriches behave properly. Now there’s one way to make a living.
Number Three: Professional Griever (originated in Asia but is now popular in The United Kingdom). For people who are good at crying and aren’t uncomfortable at funerals, there’s a job for you. These people, professional grievers, are hired to mourn at individuals’ funerals. They cry, they grieve, they don’t know anyone (including the deceased), and they get paid for it. Rent A Mourner is a company that hires individuals to attend funerals and wakes as a professional griever.
Number Two: Paint Drying Watcher (Worldwide). I can’t believe that this is actually a job. Some companies hire people to sit and watch paint dry. A paint drying watcher needs to report on how the paint is drying, so this job requires attention. A paint drying watcher sits, waiting, watching, and then gets paid once the paint is completely dry. Some international paint companies, such as Dulux, hire paint drying watchers.
Number One: Professional Cuddler (The United States). By far the weirdest (and perhaps cutest) way to make a living is by becoming a professional cuddler. People actually pay other people to cuddle with them (talk about getting close). Normally, you cuddle with someone you know, but those who hire a professional cuddler are cuddling with a stranger. There are various companies that offer this service, such as The Snuggle Buddies, The Snuggery, and Cuddle-U NYC. Professional cuddlers typically charge 80 dollars an hour. That’s one relaxing, but weird way to make a living.
