Unusual Jobs that Pay a Lot

Necessity is the mother of invention, and genius is the father. When forced by circumstances to cope with a difficult situation, with something like the “great recession,” creative people fare well by being – creative. Such people might be interested in finding a nontraditional way to make a career, and might consider a book by Abigail Gehring entitled Odd Jobs. Some unlikely jobs can earn a surprising amount of money. Being a hot dog vendor, for instance, carrying around a cart and serving hot dogs in busy city venues such as New York, can make as much as $100,000 a year, or maybe $30-$80,000 in a smaller city.

Gehring’s own father was a hot dog vendor, and managed to put four kids through college on it.

“Odd jobs can definitely bring in a good income, but often it requires a great deal of creativity, diligence, and a willingness to take risks,” said Gehring. “Certainly there are high costs to pay for the education and training required to become a doctor or a lawyer, but if you’re a bright and hardworking person, either one is a pretty straightforward path to success. There are more unknowns in the odd job road to success, and so a lot of people don’t consider it.”

Forbes made a list of unusual jobs, looking over the 24 in this book, that pay surprisingly well,  including embalmer, which makes $43,680; hot dog vendor, $30,000 to $100,000; personal shopper, $25,000 to $100,000; and live mannequin or human statue, up to $100.

These sorts of lists can inspire us not to just line up and be, say, a “body part model” making up to $1,000 an afternoon, but to explore the possibilities of a saturated job market on jobs that others might not have considered. A clever man need never starve. So if you have a sense of adventure, consider an alternative career: it could pay surprisingly well.