Still don’t know what you want to be when you grow up? You’ve got time to decide. Youve always got time to decide. After you check out this list of super-quirky, creative, and even glam jobs, you may want to explore a niche career that’s completely tailored to who you are. Just because you didn’t hear about it in college doesn’t mean it’s not a perfectly awesome career. Here are our 6 picks for unusual and fun jobs for unique souls.
Beer Sommelier (also known as a “Cicerone”)
Just like a wine sommelier, a beer sommelier specializes in the knowledge of beer. It’s not a well-known gig, but the need for it is on the rise. Beer Sommeliers make the beer list, run beer tasting events, and generally act as a consultant for restaurants. Check out the Prud’homme Beer Certification courses. Level one makes you a certified enthusiast, level 2 makes you a specialist, and level 3 gets you sommelier status.
Hotel Vibe Manager
Has anyone ever complimented the vibe in your apartment? You might make a good candidate for this strange but crucial position that requires you to keep a pulse on the feeling, atmosphere and energy at a hotel. More specifically, a vibe manager is in charge of all the music in the hotel, from the lobby to the spa to the gym, as well as offering guests luxury services – cigars, cocktails, etc. It’s all about the experience.
Mermaid
Here’s a job that seems right up there with being a Disney Princess. There are tons of tourist attractions around the word with underwater tanks (think Disney world, Las Vegas casinos), that require mermaids to swim around, wear seashells, and wave to guests. Make no mistake: being a professional mermaid doesn’t mean getting paid to sunbathe on a rock and show off your fins. Mermaids are required to swim – with a smile – for a really, really long time, and often do it in cold water. Respect to all the mermaids out there.
Greeting Card Writer
Master of witty one liners? (Here’s looking at you, witty Tweeters) Many greeting card companies out there are looking for eye catching prose with artwork submissions. Most of it, you can do from home, online. Check out this list of 16 greeting card markets to tap.
Reputation Manager
This new-ish PR gig requires you too boost the image of a company by helping tweak their online image – monitoring comments on their site, responding to complaints, scouring the web for incorrect info, and running the social media side of things. SEO knowledge is a must. Know more about it on Sirlinksalot.
Freelance Professional Shopper
Hey shopaholics: you really can get paid to make money while you shop. Here’s how the well known, seems-too-good-to-be-true gig works: you apply to a company like shopperscritique.com, they give you a list of things to evaluate on your shop (think cleanliness, speed of service, etc.), then you pose as an anonymous costumer and head out to investigate the quality of service in shopping outlets from retail to health care facilities. While most companies only offer contract gigs, you can set up your own business as a freelance shopper. Then you can pick and choose your assignments based on where you like to shop.
