Tell Us Now: 20 Obscure Jobs We Didn't Know Existed

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Tell Us Now: 20 Obscure Jobs We Didn't Know Existed

We asked Cracked readers on Facebook, “What's a job you've worked that most people don't even realize exists?” And, wow, we learned a lot about the world through your occupations. A lot of you have had obscure jobs that are fascinating to learn about. Maybe one of the most interesting is the person who worked transcribing music – after all, it’s a valuable skill for a musician to have, and doing it for years surely had their skills honed in doing so. The person who literally had to watch paint dry might be the funniest. Or the actual pooper scooper. Obviously, they’re not gloriously fun jobs, but… we guess someone had to be doing them?

If you’re watching paint dry, do you get to do anything while you’re waiting? Like read a book and look up every few minutes? Or are you literally just sitting in front of the wall staring intensely, looking for, uh, whatever it is you look for? Streaks or something?

TELL US NOW. ROCK MUSIC TRANSCRIBER David S. shares, For fifteen years, I listened to commercially successful rock music and wrote out all the guitar parts so they could be published in songbooks and magazines for people to learn to play them. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. SPORTS DAYCARE WORKER Brooke M. enlightens US, I was a nanny for the Texas Rangers. They had an underground daycare center where the players would bring their children during the game. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. FISHERY SLIMER Greg S. says, I was a 'slimer' in Alaskan fisheries and canneries. You're issued a spoon and as headless and mostly gutless salmon reach you on the conveyor belt, you carefully scoop out any remaining entrails and blood clots the gutting machine missed. 12-hour shifts are grueling, and your mind goes some pretty crazy places. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. SAFE DEPOSIT GUARD Spencer D. shares, Sat in the safe deposit vault in the bank to let people in. There where times where I could go days without seeing anyone. Then I saw people with some really odd stuff and doing some really odd things as well. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. ZOO REGISTRAR Faith B. shares, I manage animal husbandry records, animal permits, and animal transactions. I know which animals are pregnant and when animals are coming to the ZOO or leaving to go to another zoo. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. PARACHUTE PACKER Jenafer H. says, I packed parachutes for skydivers for about 6 months. Only the reserve 'chute has to be packed by a certified rigger; the main parachute can be packed by anyone with very little training. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. PAINT DRY WATCHER Zebadiah A. bemoans, I literally had to watch paint dry, to check for finish and color. About as exciting as it sounds. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. MUSHROOM MINER Kristi T. shares, I worked in the packing department of a mushroom mine. Workers would bring up freshly picked mushrooms from the mine and we would wash, sort, and package the mushrooms for sale. Most people have never thought about where their store-bought mushrooms come from! CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. LUGGAGE RECOVERY DELIVERY Lizzy L. tells US, I delivered luggage that the airport had lost and then found to its owners and worked for a private company (a.k.a. not hired by the airport or any airlines in specific) adding, It sucked. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. LOVE LETTER GHOSTWRITER Ben J. shares, I used to ghostwrite raunchy love letters as a side gig. As weird as it was funny. Give me some details, a couple bucks via Paypal, and two days time, and I'll get her (or him) swooning and blushing with 95% guarantee. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. FLAVOR LAB TECHNICIAN Kate G. used to work as a lab technician for a flavor company. My job was to taste and smell every batch of every flavor they made to make sure it was right. Hundreds of flavors a day. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. HOT SINGLES IN YOUR AREA Holly W. tells US, I've been a hot single chat operator. You reply to one message at a time on random. No conversation is continuous and the 'patrons' receive a reply from a different person almost every single message. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. GRAVE STONE REFURBISHER Dan B. worked in 1700-1800 historically significant New England grave stone refurbishment. Essentially digging up 300-year-old graves and putting them back together. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. DUST MANIPULATOR Stephen F. worked at an old Tudor house, close to where I grew up, that is open to the public. They wanted it to feel old and of its time, but needed to keep it clean so it didn't smell or look too dirty. So once a fortnight, I would come in and add/remove dust within the roped off areas. This gave the illusion that it hadn't been touched in centuries and was preserved as it had last been used. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. DEATH ROW APPEALS ATTORNEY Bryan M. tells US, Most people aren't aware that every case where someone is sentenced to death is automatically appealed. Most people on death row cannot afford an attorney, so the state and federal systems have public defenders specifically to do those appeals. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. FECES REMOVER Dan D. shares, Washed the COW sh!t out of cattle trailers. I don't recommend it. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. TISSUE RECOVERER Caitlin A. shares, I recovered donor ocular tissue from recently deceased individuals for use in cornea transplants. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. CLOSED CAPTIONER aMC Heather W. tells US, I write closed captioning. Yes, it's still done by humans. If you turn on captions and they make any degree of sense, humans were involved. If it's pure gibberish, that's AI. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. BILLBOARD AUDITOR Selfie streets con iPhone X Chuck B. shares, I've traveled around New York state auditing billboards: making sure the correct ad is posted in the location they are paying for, ensuring that the lights are working, that the board is visible and unobstructed, and that it is in good condition. Been doing this as a side gig for almost 25 years. CRACKED.COM

TELL US NOW. BAG REPAIRER Denelle B. shares, I repaired bags for shipping industrial corn starch, so they could be reused instead of going straight into a landfill. CRACKED.COM
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