The Weird, Unknown Jobs That Actually Pay Really Well

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Nov 28, 2023 4:00 PM EST

Everybody's got a gig these days. Whether you're a full-time working stiff or a freewheeling freelancer, you've found a niche and you're filling it. Some niches are niche-er than others, though. Some jobs are obvious and straightforward. We know we need teachers, servers, doctors, and Memebase editors, but what about the jobs that are a little more under the radar? What about the people who make packing peanuts? Or name nail polish colors? Or decide what the cap on the end of your shoelace is called. (That was for all the Phineas and Ferb heads out there.) How do those folks find those jobs? And can you become a secret billionaire doing them?

Luckily, Reddit always has a wealth of information on all the strange pockets of the world. Some folks recently shared the weird, unknown jobs out there that also happen to be lucrative. You might not find these on LinkedIn. 

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  • 01
    r/AskReddit u/Rynoop 23h What are weird jobs nobody knows about but they pay well?
    via u/Rynoop
  • 02
    Granny_knows_best. 15h I had a boyfriend in Oklahoma who got state wages for going into back woods, and down dirt roads to find trash people dumped. His job was to report the trash for others to clean up, but most importantly, he had to sift through the trash to find anything that would identify who dumped the trash. I went with him a few times and I felt like a detective, it was quite fun.
    via u/Granny_knows_best
  • 03
    IndependenceNo2060 - 22h I once met a professional ice sculptor who made a killing at corporate events and weddings. It's a niche skill, but the pay is pretty impressive!
    via u/IndependenceNo2060
  • 04
    Loreo1964 17h ● My sister in law is "the nose" for yankee candle. When a vat of scented wax is ready, she sniffs it.
    via u/Loreo1964
  • 05
    totssecretotheracct. 21h I make teeth on a computer. I use a cadcam program to design crowns and bridges for dental laboratories. I work remotely and do pretty well.
    via u/totssecretotheracct
  • 06
    gofigure85 10h ● Me desperately reading through jobs to see if I qualify for any
    via u/gofigure85
  • 07
    Whoru87 19h ● My dad was a master flavorist. He made artificial flavors for candy, beverages and lots of other things. He made a LOT of money during his career.
    via u/Whoru87
  • 08
    BaconReceptacle. 19h When you work as a government employee or contractor with a top secret clearance, after you retire or get laid off, you can work as an escort within classified facilities called SCIFs. Escorts are needed when an uncleared person needs to work in the SCIF. For example, it might be a top secret data center that needs an air conditioner repair. All the escort has to do is watch the repairman and stay with them throughout the visit. They usually just drag a chair over and sit th
    via u/BaconReceptacle
  • 09
    Schwarzes Loch 23h ● An old neighbor of mine was a picture hanging specialist contracted by many museums. He made 75K a year at the time (about 150K adjusted for inflation).
    via u/Schwarzes__Loch
  • 10
    solarblack 18h ● My Aunt and her daughter both do seasonal work as Hand pollinators, harvesters Certain types of plants (saffron, vanilla orchids) have very small windows of time when you can pollinate or harvest from them (a couple of hours to a half day) so the growers need people who can work fast and delicately to hand pollinate or harvest whatever plant they are growing. Plus if the plant is small and they grow in the ground its a lot of bending to get down and do whatever has to be done, e
    via u/solarblack
  • 11
    MECHASCHMECK. 19h Cardiovascular Perfusionist. Can't have open heart surgery without us, but almost no one knows we exist!
    via u/MECHASCHMECK
  • 12
    1d0m1n4t3 18h ● I used to work for a landlord doing maintenance on his properties. I had free rent and made 3k a month, this was late 90s into the early 2000s. It was a good gig, I had a truck he gave me I would go around mowing lawns shoveling snow, light repairs. Any major repairs he sent to the contracting company he owned, id call them and a guy would be over a few hours problem out of my hands.
    via u/1d0m1n4t3
  • 13
    hecho2 • 19h I don't even know the name for this, but a friend takes care of rich people cars for living. Pick up the car for maintenance, takes de car from a to b, etc, he doesn't actually work on the cars, just works for rich people that don't have time to take care of the car. Is super well paid, is on first name basis with some of the richest people on the country. Apparently isn't easy to find trustworthy people to take care of your cars (plus access to your properties and so on).
    via u/hecho2
  • 14
    M swentech 21h You know how they have "repo men" to repossess cars of borrowers not keeping up with payments? Well they also have repo men for yachts and private jets. I talked to a older guy with a pilots license who was getting a lot of calls to join an outfit that does this but he said he wasn't crazy about finding out what kind of security a guy in possession of a 10 million dollar plane would have and what they would do to keep it.
    via u/swentech
  • 15
    Dizzy__Atmosphere. 18h I play trumpet for a touring broadway show. Not that weird but it's amazing how few people know there are real musicians playing live below the stage.
    via u/Dizzy__Atmosphere
  • 16
    Chronic Zombie86 • 21h I was once a pinecone harvester, a helicopter would cut off the tops of trees and bring them to us to pick off the pinecones, which would then go to treeplanters to germinate and plant. $35 to fill a 5 gallon bucket, experienced pickers would fill 2% an hour, but the sap getting all over your clothes, skin, and hair is very annoying and a big deterrent for most.
    via u/ChronicZombie86
  • 17
    dtfreakachu • 23h Pet food companies have a staff of human people to taste test the food. For obvious reasons, this pays pretty well, I hear.
    via u/dtfreakachu
  • 18
    Independent_Ad_5809 • 19h Not that weird but lesser known- I'm a focus group moderator which means I sit in a conference room with a group about 8 people and lead a discussion about whatever product or brand I'm working for. The groups are usually 90 min or 2 hours tops and for in person, I get paid $2K/group. Virtual groups are a little less but still excellent rates.
    via u/Independent_Ad_5809
  • 19
    Abbreviations Glad833 15h In New York City and probably only in New york City, you can be a professional wait in line person. You wait in line for a theater ticket or a seat at a famous restaurant. Lines that take hours. A tourist who doesn't want to wait and has a full itinerary will happily pay you to stand in for them so that they can see the show or eat at the famous restaurant later that day.
    via u/AbbreviationsGlad833
  • 20
    tiredtechie 17h ● Roadies. Aka the people that tour with concerts and set them up for a living. We can easily make 100k + a year.
    via u/tiredtechie

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