Believe it or not, it is possible to switch to a more fun job in the UK. In Great Britain, there are lots of unusual jobs and people who are able to do them, according to a study made by Unum.
For this kind of jobs, you won’t need special skills or qualifications like the ones you need to be eligible for other positions. Some of these strange positions are professional queuer and pet food taster, which means that the UK is full of weird occupations that don’t exist elsewhere.
Here’s a list of the best paid unusual jobs in the UK. Check it out.
- Professional queuer
- Bed warmer
- Pet food taster
- Waterslide tester
- The Ravenmaster
- Vibration consultant
- Eel ecologist
- Pet psychologist
- Cool hunter
- Golf ball diver
- Professional tea tester
- Beefeater
- London Dungeon actor
- Walk on water architects
- Sewer flusher
- The Queen’s piper
- Windows cleaner for the Gherkin
- Chief listening officer
- Daughter of Landlord
- Lollipop flinger
Professional queuer
Some people do this type of job that consists basically of waiting in line for somebody else. It is one of the best-paid jobs for doing nothing as the worker receives around 12 thousand pounds only for standing in line.
For example, a while ago, a woman from San Diego named Brianna Lempesis was in line to get the iPhone 6S for maybe, somebody who didn’t have the time to queue up.
Some people, then, decide to pay somebody to overnight for them in case of a new device launch like a Smartphone or the release of a new film. There are actually agencies from which you can hire a professional queuer for ‘only’ 20 pounds per hour.
Bed warmer
Being a professional queuer is not the strangest job in the UK. Bed warmer is weirder and better paid.
Some hotel owners are so concerned about comfort that they hire people to warm the beds before a room is booked. One of the latest trends in the hotel business, the bed warmers services, is offered by the Holiday Inn.
Human bed warmers act as if they were hot water bottles. Their Payment? 16 thousand pounds!
Pet food taster
Some premium pet food brands ensure that the products can also be consumed by humans. This is the main reason for the mere existence of this job: pet food taster.
Their job is to smell and taste the food. They usually get paid in the neighbourhood of 20,000 £. Not bad…
Waterslide tester
This is one of the jobs that are not only strange but extremely easy to perform as it doesn’t require special skills. The only thing you need to know is how to swim because you will always be sliding in water.
If everything turns out Ok, the waterslide tester rates the slide according to how much adrenaline he/she felt. They can earn up to 20,000 £ a month.
The Ravenmaster
Believe it or not, six ravens happily reside in the Tower of London. People have believed for centuries that if these birds leave one day, it will mean the total collapse of the entire England.
There’s a raven master who takes care of these blackbirds, making sure they keep healthy and well-nourished. This guy gets 21,000 pounds per month.
Vibration consultant
This job is about regulating the levels of noise and vibration when they are building. They usually team up with engineers and architects and are always in the construction zone. Payment? £22,000 so far.
Eel ecologist
They take charge of these animals, which are endangered in all UK. It’s a very tough job because they have to deal with eels that weigh no less than 2kgs. Their payment, however, is quite good: £22,000 for now.
Pet psychologist
The title may make you laugh, but the job is actually very serious. Pet psychologists analyze the behaviour of pets to find solutions for their owners.
Incredibly to say, to perform this job, you will need a PhD, and you also have to be an experienced vet. £23,000 is the minimum salary of these specialists.
Cool hunter
Cool hunters are always on track with things they think people would like.
This is a very important job for many companies in the UK since it permits them to know what is going on in the market to create and launch products that consumers will surely love and buy.
Golf ball diver
Have you ever wondered what happens to all those golf balls that hit into the ponds in the links?
Well, there are special divers that swim into them to “rescue” the golf balls. They can also fish them.
The payment is not bad either, as they can make up to 25,000 pounds.
Professional tea tester
This job is as glamorous as it sounds. Tea tasters travel all the time, tasting over 300 cups of the beverage daily in different restaurants and companies.
No special training is needed except for a good knowledge of tea and the willingness to travel around the world to taste hundreds of different tea beverages. You also have to be a bit of an experienced critic.
The average salary for a professional tea tester in the UK is £26.000 per annum (in the USA is $45 000).
Beefeater
These people, that earn around 25,000 pounds per month, are the guardians of the Tower of London. They can also act as tourist guides sometimes.
But what makes them famous is their distinctive red uniform. Yet, becoming a Beefeater is not easy, you will need to serve in the army for over 22 years.
London Dungeon actor
It’s not easy being an actor at London Dungeon! You have to wear uncomfortable costumes, pretend you’re someone else and scare people by jumping out from behind corners. But it pays well, around £30k.
You should be good with people and a good communicator. If the experience involves scaring people, then you’ll need good acting skills and good energy levels! You’ll also need to think on your feet and react quickly in emergency situations, such as if there’s a power cut that stops the special effects.
Don’t worry if you’ve never been an actor before because they will train you for each part of the role. If this sounds like your dream job, why not try taking an online training course?
There are good benefits, too! Flexible working is possible (for example, if your kids are ill or you have another part-time job).
Employees say that the staff are good at “encouraging each other and supporting each other”. They say that the London Dungeon is good for teamwork, good learning experiences and amazing opportunities. At Halloween, you have a good chance of getting some extra or “bonus” hours.
Walk on water architects
Due to overpopulation, architects have had to use their imagination to draft houses and build them in places that they never thought of. That’s why we have houses that can float on water in the capital city.
Baca architects are the original creators of the amphibious houses in the UK.
Sewer flusher
The payment is good, but it’s only for people with a stomach of steel. Either way, someone has to do it monthly for £27,900-£42,363.
The Queen’s piper
If you want to get paid 48,000 pounds, you only need to play the bagpipes every morning close to the Queen’s window house.
However, the Queen’s Piper’s position is ceremonial, and the Queen herself appoints the individual who holds the position.
The appointment is usually given to a serving member of the British Armed Forces who is a highly skilled bagpiper. The salary for the position is not publicly disclosed, but it is likely to be a small stipend in addition to their regular military salary.
The primary role of the Queen’s Piper is to play the bagpipes at official engagements and ceremonies, not to play outside the Queen’s residence for money.
Windows cleaner for the Gherkin
These people have an income of 50,000 pounds per year.
The job is risky and consists of keeping the Gherkin clean, one of the iconic buildings in the UK. It’s made of 7000 panes of glass and is 180 meters tall.
Thus, 9 cleaners are necessary to finish the job within 10 days.
The Gherkin is a skyscraper located in London (England), known for its unique shape resembling a pickled gherkin. The building is used for commercial office space and is one of London’s most iconic structures.
Cleaning the building’s windows is challenging due to its unique shape and design. The Gherkin has over 10,000 glass panels, and due to its shape, window cleaners have to use abseiling equipment to access and clean the exterior of the building.
The shape of the building makes it more difficult to access certain areas, so the window cleaners have to be highly skilled and experienced. The building’s glass panels are coated with a special material to reduce the amount of dirt and grime that sticks to them, which makes the cleaning process easier.
However, cleaning Gherkin’s windows is considered high-risk and requires a specialized team of window cleaners.
Chief listening officer
This job is to read reviews and comments from people about your brand or the company you are working for.
Chief listening officers are always using social media, Facebook, Twitter, and others for a monthly pay of £61,000, which is three times the minimum wage in the UK.
Daughter of Landlord
The Daughter of Landlord is a young female that will often be employed as the landlord’s personal assistant. She must be prepared to work long hours attending functions, banquets, feasts and balls with her employer. In return for this, she will be showered with gifts and, in most cases, an apartment located directly over the pub.
The Daughter of Landlord will usually begin her career at university in one of the city’s best bars. During her time there, she will be expected to demonstrate a high level of skill and intelligence and will generally spend most working hours ensconced in an obscure corner.
Landlords and their Daughters must be on hand to serve customers with a smile at all times. They should not engage in discussions, initiate contact, or indicate any kind of interest in others using the pub for socialising purposes. The Daughter’s job is to ensure that the landlord’s pub or bar always has a high occupancy rate.
The best Daughters of Landlord are able to be nice while at the same time underlining how terrible a pub patron’s life must be if they are spending time in the landlord’s venue. A good Daughter will make it clear that she is there as an act of charity for the poor customer. She is unlikely to enjoy any kind of social engagement while at work, as this would encourage customers to stay.
Lollipop flinger
A lollipop flinger is a street-crossing supervisor employed by the local government to guide and assist pedestrians within an intersection or busy street with crosswalks.
It has been estimated that more than one thousand of them are working in the United Kingdom. The annual average salary range for lollipop flingers: the bottom 10% earning under £16,000 and the top 10% earning over £30,000.
In addition to their annual salaries, lollipop flingers are entitled to a host of benefits, as shown below:
- 33 days holidays
- Sickness absence (7 days per year)
- Medical help and health insurance
- Life assurance
- Pension scheme (pays up to £10,000 per year)
Skills
The lollipop flinger is the key figure in any pedestrian crossing, and their work requires a number of skills. First and foremost, they must have exceptional customer service abilities as they will deal with the public, parents and children daily. They must also be extremely observant and able to assess situations quickly.
- Efficient verbal communications skills (speaking clearly and loudly)
- Fine motor skills (good hand-eye coordination)
- Physical strength or stamina— enough to carry lollipop sticks up to four times a day
- Problem-solving
The lollipop flinger will need to be well-versed in pedestrian rules and regulations. They should also have good knowledge of first-aid techniques, as accidents occur on the crossing. A background/knowledge of child care is useful but not essential.
