Most people need to work for a living, but that doesn’t mean they have to take conventional jobs.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed job listing sites, online databases, and occupation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the weirdest job or job opening in every state.
In a few states, the strangest job titles are not surprising, but they are extremely rare and concentrated in the state as a result of the presence of a specific industry. For example, Kentucky has a high demand for mine shuttle car operators thanks to its large coal mining industry. In Nevada, due in large part to the casinos in Las Vegas, gaming service workers are many times more common than they are across the United States workforce as a whole.
Some of the other jobs on this list only have become unusual in recent history. For example, before the age of automation and outsourcing, telephone operators were much more common in the United States; today, they are quite rare, but a relatively high concentration of them exists in a few states. Those in unusual occupations can benefit from being the only qualified candidates, and so they can have high job security. Often, however, these jobs are rare because they are in low demand, and so they have risky job security. These are the jobs with the best and worst job security.
In most cases, the typical American will likely have never heard of these jobs and will be shocked that they exist. Titles like duck master, gum buster, and face feeler seem made up, but they are very much real. For those looking to eschew a traditional career, there might be openings for unconventional work in your state right now.
The U.S. economy has a highly diverse set of industries and niche interests. And where there are unusual needs, unusual job openings are available, requiring specific skills that only a tiny fraction of Americans possess. In the case of more common jobs that pay well, a college degree is usually a prerequisite, but this is not always the case. These are the highest paying jobs you can get without a college degree.
Click here to see the weirdest job in every state
Source: RichLegg / Getty Images
1. Alabama
> Weirdest job: Bounty hunter
As one of the most violent states in the country, professional bounty hunters are sometimes needed in Alabama to apprehend criminals.
See all stories featuring: Alabama
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