Quirky jobs most people wish they had

Did you know there are well-paid jobs that let you splurge, travel the world, eat to your heart’s content or drink the most exquisite liquors as part of your role?

Most of us, at some point in life have, for sure, imagined a job that makes us live our hobbies and passions. People dream of jobs that could offer them a beyond-the-normal role, flexibility and an opportunity to do the things that they really enjoy doing. While all jobs may not be able to provide this luxury and liberty, there are some that offer both—and also provide a competitive compensation! Here are a few sought-after quirky jobs:

Mystery shopper: Mystery shopping is how market research companies or watchdog organisations and even companies internally, try to measure the quality of products or services, or their compliance with regulations and gather specific information about them.

Mystery shoppers have to perform specific tasks, such as purchase a product, ask questions, register complaints or behave in a certain way, and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences. Their identity remains unknown to the establishment being evaluated. This  bunch of people, get to shop around and that too at the company’s expense.

Travel writer: Money may not come too easy in this as most publications prefer freelancers who can share first-hand accounts of the locations they’re visiting. Although full-time travel writing positions exist, most organisations rely on travel bloggers and freelance travel writers. It is a great career option for those who’ve got a knack for writing and love travelling and exploring new places, cultures and cuisines.

Beer sommelier: While wine tasting has been popular since a few decades, beer sommelier is a relatively new profession. A beer sommelier is a trained professional who works in the hospitality and alcoholic beverage industry specialising in the service and knowledge of beer. One may need to have a clear understanding of styles, brewing, ingredients, history of beer and brewing, glassware, beer service, draught systems, beer tasting and food pairings to be able to qualify for the profession.

Chocolate engineer: Did you think engineers are only those who deal with heavy machinery and tools? Hold on! There are companies that look for people who can work up some engineering in chocolate recipes, making and designing an assortment of chocolates. The job is certainly an eat, treat, repeat deal, but does require some fine skills.

Official barista: While other companies outsource their cafeterias to F&B vendors, Apple Inc. just posted a job opening for an official barista for the visitor centre at its Bay Area office in Santa Clara Valley, California. The job requirements for the same include – ability to prepare a “stellar” coffee “while maintaining speed, quality and consistency” and ability to bear with “environmental exposure to cold, heat and water”. The barista is required to be well groomed, and appear tidy and perfect at all times. The job also requires the barista to possess knowledge of latte art and an “interest in making guest’s espresso special” with latte art, irrespective of whether the customer is a top office personnel or a fresh intern.

Mattress tester: The online furniture seller, Urban Ladder, last year posted a one-of-its-kind job opening on LindkedIn, seeking a senior mattress tester. The job requirements mentioned that ‘On a typical day, you’ll need to sleep on various Urban Ladder mattresses to check for comfort and ease’. In addition, the required skills and experience listed under the job posting were also extraordinary. Here are some of the interesting ones:

• A love for sleeping that would put Kumbhakarna to shame
• A good understanding of the best practices in mattress design
• Demonstrated expertise in sleeping under varied conditions
• A complete lack of enthusiasm and drive

Soon after the job posting went viral on the professional networking site, reports of it being fake also appeared, and it turned out to be an April Fool’s Day gimmick by the company. Now whether this kind of a job role really exists elsewhere or not, it would certainly be a dream come true for many job seekers across the globe.