Time for an exciting career switch? Perhaps you might want to consider one of these jobs. From bed testing to coffee tasting, sandcastle building to vodka smelling, here are the most amazing things you can actually earn a living from. And many of them also pay pretty well too. Read our round-up of the best jobs in the world. All dollar amounts in US dollars.
Chocolate sales skyrocketed as people turned to the comfort of sweet treats during the coronavirus pandemic so one British chocolate maker, Seed & Bean, recruited some of the country’s finest cocoa bean consumers to test its newest products. The job could be done remotely and applicants needed 10-plus years of chocolate-eating experience to be in with a shot of landing the role. This chocolate taster position didn’t come with financial incentives but the successful candidate would receive a lifetime’s supply of chocolate to compensate for their hard work. But, typically, entry-level chocolate tasters earn about $14 (£10) an hour, according to Delish.
Not all chocolate-related opportunities are unpaid though. This lucky woman gets to spend months tasting delicious chocolate eggs. Holly Underwood (pictured) is a confectionery product developer for British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and tastes around 250 different eggs. It isn't known how much an Easter egg taster earns, but an expert chocolate taster can earn as much as $54,000 (£38.8k), while master chocolatiers – those doing the making rather than the eating – can expect a salary of around $33,000 (£23.9k), according to Salary.com.
Anyone with a Netflix obsession, take note. The global giant has an incredible job that allows you to binge on Netflix shows, provided that you enter certain key words for describing each show into the system once you've watched them, which is known as tagging. Sounds like a pretty good deal for a salary that is estimated to be "several hundred dollars a week" according to the LA Times.
Every child’s dream job is an actual reality for a select handful of adults who get to chomp gummy bears, sour fruits and gobstoppers for a living. In January, Ontario-based Candy Funhouse hired 10 people to test sweets on a part-time and full-time basis, paying $30 (£21.50) per hour for their efforts. The job entails tasting candies objectively and considering the taste, texture and quality of the sugary sample products. This is one career path your dentist might not be too happy about.
Wedding fairs are a melting pot of chiffon, lace, cake and champagne and last year online marketplace ExpoCart was recruiting people to attend around 20 different exhibitions so the company could stay up to date with the current trends. Each reviewer was paid $70 (£50) per hour and had to produce a 1,000-word report after each fair.
Gayan Munaweera (pictured) has every caffeine addict's dream job as a coffee taster for UCC Coffee. Regularly travelling the world to find the finest beans, he can taste up to 500 cups a week. But coffee tasting is a competitive business – Munaweera has taken part in and won several coffee-tasting competitions, showing his high level of skill. The average salary for such a role is around $22,480 (£16.1k), according to Comparably.
Professional travellers usually run a successful blog or some type of social media platform where they catalogue their adventures and review various attractions around the world. The amount of money made in this job can vary hugely depending on how large a following you have – Lia Garcia for example, who writes the blog Practical Wanderlust, made $22,000 (£15.8k) in her first year of professional travelling. The job also comes with plenty of perks, such as sponsorship and endorsement deals that generate income, and discounted stays and products.
Great for an adrenaline junkie – not so much if you've got a weak stomach. Water slide testers are responsible for travelling the world to test the speed and landings of slides as well as the standards of pools at resorts around the globe. A tester called Seb Smith revealed that he earned an annual salary of $34,000 (£24.4k).
LEGO offers a certified professional programme to artists and hobbyists who are particularly adept at building fantastic structures in LEGO. Master builders at Legoland Birmingham in England receive a salary of $38,000 (£27k) per year, which is consistent with the going rate for LEGO aficionados across the world.
Not only do cruise ship entertainers get to travel the world, but they also get to hone their craft – whether that’s singing, dancing or performing as the resident cocktail pianist – and have a good time while they’re at it. Cruise ship workers are provided with food and accommodation and salaries fall somewhere between $1,600-$4,000 (£1.1k-£2.9k) a month, according to JobMonkey.
While most jobs ban alcohol consumption during work hours, this job wouldn’t exist without it. Beer tasters get to sample a huge variety of beers every day to ensure the quality of the brew and usually bank on average $50,350 (£36.2k) annually, according to job site SimplyHired.
Getting paid to play the latest video games seems ludicrous, but it’s actually a reality for some professional gamers. They play games before they’re released to ensure there are no glitches and that it provides an enjoyable customer experience. Video game testers can earn anything between $18,000 and $55,000 (£12.9k-£39.5k) annually, depending on the company and their level of experience, according to Game Industry Career Guide.
The ultimate lazy, do-nothing job – it's actually possible to make a decent living from sleeping. Freelance sleepers hire out their services to sleep labs, research hospitals, mystery shopping companies that test hotel beds, and hotels conducting market research. Experts monitor the sleep quality and patterns of the tester while they trial different mattresses and testers are required to report back on their experience. UK-based company Olivia’s was seeking out what it called “comfort connoisseurs” in May last year, offering a rate of $84 (£60) per hour, while bed testers earn $57,370 (£41.2k) a year on average, according to ZipRecruiter.
This job requires a combination of artistic skills and unleashing your inner child. You’ll also need some pretty handy tools beyond a bucket and spade to construct the type of masterpieces that could earn you a decent living. Masters of sand crafting can charge huge sums for sandcastle building classes and commissioned works of art – Lucina Wierenga, who goes by the name of Sandy Feet, was charging more than $75 (£46) an hour for private classes and earns around $65,000 (£47k) in a year, according to an interview with The Atlantic.
If you’re hooked on all things celebrity, becoming a party planner to the stars might just be the job for you – if you can keep your cool, that is. It’s not all glamour, though, with party planners expected to work long hours and deal with multiple high-profile clients at once, as well as managing diva attitudes. Typically party planners can expect to be paid around $68,000 (£49k), according to Career Trend.
Hiring fancy accommodation for the week is often the priciest part of a holiday but one online luxury marketplace was hiring people to do just that last year – and pay them for the privilege. Hush Hush wanted successful candidates to visit between 10 and 15 properties a year and provide detailed reports on where they had been. Accommodation already listed on the site included a luxury chateau on the French Riviera and a 25-bedroom Spanish villa. Each tester would receive $2,800 (£2k) for every home they reviewed.
Disney theme parks hire a whole host of employees, known as “Imagineers”, to ensure the attractions are providing the best guest experience. Imagineers are required to go on the rides “constantly”, according to a recent interview with Business Insider, to gather intel on how to improve the rides and keep visitors happy. Disney Imagineer pay scales vary hugely as the title covers everybody from ride testers to the engineers building the attractions, but employees earn an average of $91,000 (£65.3k) a year, according to Payscale.
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