Unusual Jobs

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 5/11/06 at 5:01pm

Inspired by a mini-contest at work... what is the most unusual/oddest job you've held?

I was a dancing taco once, when I lived in DC. They were promoting the new food court at the Post Office Pavillion and paid several of us (I was with a dance company then) to perform at metro stations during rush hour.

[Dre2387]

Posted: 5/11/06 at 5:08pm

not really a job, but more of a character in a musical.

I was an Ishmaelite in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Except, I had to provide my own clothing because the way the director wanted the character to act was sketchy. So I bought the whole costume from Hot Topic. Long, black coat, tight black pants with bright green pieces of fabric attached everywhere on it. tight black shirt with writing that said "I'm sorry. I was practising my ignoring excersises when you were speaking to me", and my hair was teased and color sprayd into it. Also the makeup up was bright purple eyeshadow (with black) and bright pink lipstick. Weird enough?

Posted: 5/11/06 at 5:32pm

I recently got to hose dog S**T for ten hours a day four days a week. It's harder than it sounds.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 10:52am

I never had any of these jobs, but I was at a Borders in Boston and came across a book of pictures from unusual jobs. Included were:
- a condom factory worker
- a person who sniffed dog breath for a living
- page turner for musicians
- bugler at Kentucky Derby
- earthworm farmer
- tampon tester
- odor judge

You can view the complete index if you "Search Inside" the book on Amazon.

This is the book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580084575/sr=8-1/qid=1147445328/ref=sr_1_1/103-5026156-2055046?%5Fencoding=UTF8

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 10:54am

well, not me.......but the guy who "brought me out" was a dog breeder.......(DON'T EVEN GO THERE PEOPLE)

and watching someone breed dogs who do NOT like each other is something you never forget....ugh.

[liotte]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 11:39am

Most unusual job that I have ever had was working as a customer service rep for the IRS.

This might be normal for some people, but for me, it was very unusual and definitely not my kind of thing!

[Magdalene]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 12:25pm

I was a caddy for 10 years---the first female to last at it, and the only female for 3 years (of course, this was a while ago!)

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 12:27pm

I was a Beatle.

[KelRel]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 12:27pm

I was a program vendor at a ballpark. I would walk around yelling at the top of my lungs for hours trying to get people to buy these stupid programs that never changed and weren't worth the money. Its amazing how many people would buy one each time they came to the park. Season ticket holders would buy one for each game. It was nuts.

[Jon]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 1:52pm

Not a job I had - but the job with the best name:

"CHICK SEXER"

That's a person who examines baby chickens to determine their gender.

[Calvin]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 2:04pm

I once took a summer job at a chemical plant, and for three or four solid weeks, I did nothing but put about 60 boxes of documents through a paper shredder. This was personnel files, safety reports, etc. from up to 20 years before. And these boxes had been sitting in a trailer for God knows how long, so they were nasty. Full of silverfish and other crawlies. One even had a wasp's nest in it.

This was before the Enron scandal, so I wasn't that suspicious. I wish I'd paid more attention to the documents now, however. I could have been Sharron Watkins before Sharron Watkins was cool.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 2:23pm

I used to know a guy whose job it was to straighten the wafers as sugar wafer cookies were assembled at the Nabisco plant.

Oh, and for a couple of months I worked in a factory putting the same personal vibrators, sauna belts, and tool kits into boxes that reflected what store they were to be sold by. Same product; lots of different packaging.

I also worked in a sweater factory where I would change the size labels on the garments, if necessary, in order to be able to fill an order.

Updated On: 5/12/06 at 02:23 PM

[peach]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 2:47pm

I took a temp job while I was in college preparing human resources files for an INS audit for a company that had a very diverse workforce. Basically, we had to make sure everyone's documentation was current and...errm...legit.

Ironic, today.
Updated On: 5/12/06 at 02:47 PM

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 2:54pm

Very cool... I think 'chick sexer' is the best named odd job!

[peach]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 2:55pm

Chick Sexer - that's classic.

I also like "Oyster Shucker"

[The Grovers Corners Yenta]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 3:15pm

I worked in a VD clinic.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 4:48pm

oh God....I was yentas fluffer

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 4:49pm

AMD, heh heh, I typed that BEFORE I read her post.....

[The Grovers Corners Yenta]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 6:42pm

what's a fluffer?

[morosco]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 6:45pm

My Aunt Snookie styled dead people's hair.
Updated On: 5/12/06 at 06:45 PM

[harris007]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 9:00pm

i was a phone sex operator

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 10:10pm

Aunt Snookie.......I almost spit-up my lemonaide...PLEASE tell me no one called her snookums......

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 10:18pm

well, not me.......but the guy who "brought me out" was a dog breeder.......(DON'T EVEN GO THERE PEOPLE)

You must have been a bitch with potential.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 10:19pm

er...ah, I was.......pedigreed I'm sure......

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 5/12/06 at 10:26pm

I was hired to be Edwin Booth once. The Springer Opera House was doing a fundraiser for renovations, and they are fond of telling everyone that Edwin Booth haunts the theater. They put me in a Shakesperean costume, gave me a flashlight and keys to all the unrenovated parts of the building. I lurked around scaring people while they had a big cocktail party.

I don't get paid for that anymore...