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uca TOP TEN OFFBEAT JOBS

TOP TEN OFFBEAT JOBS 2011

10 OFFBEAT AND EXCITING CAREERS

I’ve been meaning to come up with a practical, handy list of

some of my favorite offbeat careers for some time now.

While these lists exist just about everywhere it seems, mine

has a special emphasis on avoidance of certain elements

like standard work hours, confinement to one location and

restriction to one function. Many of these careers are also

self-directive, meaning that you are mostly working for

yourself in the end.

There are a few categories I have included at the end of

each career, which I give a ranking from 1-5 stars (1 being

low, 5 being high, obviously.)

1. Calligrapher.

Do you have a steady hand, a creative disposition, a flair

with words, or all of the above? If so than consider a career

as a calligrapher. Much of this career is spent making

contacts, keeping your clients up-to-date as to your

availability, and refining your craft. Also, expect to spend a

TOP TEN OFFBEAT JOBS 2011

lot of time hunched over a desk working your magic with

the pens. The perks of this offbeat career are many: people

will appreciate your art, you can set your own hours, work

where you’d like, and set your own pay. You’ll be doing a

valuable service for weddings, parties, (especially

invitations) funerals, and many other social functions.

Calligraphers are also usually in demand. I should know. I

am a Calligrapher and have been doing it for over 10 years!

Pay – Self-employed Calligraphers’ earnings are directly

tied to the number and complexity of projects they take on.

It’s tough to earn a full-time living (but it can be done with a

lot of work.) Expect $15,000 to $40,000 per year working

full time and with solid contacts. It’s difficult to fathom a

calligrapher earning more than $50,000 to about $70,000

per year. Perhaps the best of the best make more than this,

but it’s extremely uncommon.

2. Social Dance Instructor

This is a career for those who love to move,don’t mind

getting close and personal with members of the opposite

sex and have great teaching abilities. It definitely takes a

fair amount of time to get good enough to become an

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instructor. While you don’t need to be a member of the

International DanceSport Federation, it helps to have at

least 2-4 years of dancing experience, preferably more.

There are plenty of styles to choose from, such as latin,

swing, ballroom or tango.

Believe it or not, I also teach swing dance to beginners and

have been dancing for 7 years!

Pay – Only the best of the best get paid well enough to “go

pro.” Most dancers who teach do so because they enjoy it.

It’s a good side project though. Highly-regarded dance

instructors command up to $150 per hour for a private

lesson. Usually an instructor will ask for a good deal less

than this, and most struggle to make rent if they do it full

time without another stream of income. It’s possible to

open a studio and turn it into a profitable business, but this

takes time.

3. Photographer

There are actually many levels and variations within this

profession. Some photographers work for a company or

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magazine (more than likely, more than a few) while others

are totally freelance, selling their works as art and

exhibiting their creations at various media fairs. You need

to have a lot of patience with this career. Don’t kid yourself,

it’s a difficult way to make a living, and it’s hard work. But

the rewards are worth it. You can pretty much work when

and how you’d like, and you get to spend time outdoors.

Also check out the world of microstock photography. Even

an amateur photographer can make a quick buck or two

through sites like featurepics and istockphoto. These sites

(and others like them) provide a way to upload your images

and make money when others download them.

Pay – This varies considerably for this profession. I’ve heard

a few stories of stock photographers earning a livable

income but they have thousands of photos online.

Professional photographers struggle from time to time

depending on the varying demand for their work. There is

potential to make quite a bit, especially if the photographer

is well established in a certain market (such as a wedding-

photographer in a mid-sized city.)

TOP TEN OFFBEAT JOBS 2011

4. Psychic

Before I launch into a description of this career, let me tell

you that 41% of those who responded to a 2005 gallup poll

believe in ESP, so there clearly is a market here. Doing

astrology charts for people isn’t just a fringe phenomenon!

If you are great at convincing people that you are speaking

with their dead relatives, predicting their future, or you can

at least understand Tarot cards, you have a shot at this

endeavor. Obviously many psychics are frauds, so you’ll

want to work on convincing people that you really can see

beyond the world in front of us and into the 8th dimension.

You need people skills, big time.

Pay – I have seen some successful psychics charge $45-$60

per session. Add this up to full-time and you are talking

$70,000-100,000 or more per year! That’s more than many

entry-level chemical engineers make. So much for science, I

guess.

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5. Undercover Detective

If, instead of taking advantage of people’s trust, you wish to

gain their trust, consider this career. An obvious requisite

here is to have been either on the police force or worked for

the government. While it certainly is an exciting and

adventurous career, it’s also potentially dangerous.

Detectives often deal with criminals, drug lords and other

folks who skirt the law. These crime-fighters have to be able

to think on their feet and keep their cool. This page

describes an undercover detective’s life pretty well. This a

challenging career, but will certainly be exciting!

Pay – Seems to be in the $60,000-$90,000 range

depending on location. Obviously, the longer and more

established a detective will earn more than one that’s been

doing it for a few years.

6. Industrial/Organizational Consultant

This is a growing field that few people really seem to know

much about. Basically the role of an I/O Consultant (or I/O

Psychologist) is to get to the root of the problems of various

workplaces around the country (and sometimes the world

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They will usually sort through the issues that the HR

department is having trouble picking out and issue a report

to the owner of the company detailing where the problems

are and who (if anyone) should be fired and/or promoted.

Like a Psychologist, their clients choose their services and

the I/O consultant will try and fix the problem.

Pay – An I/O Consultant who opens a successful practice in

a great market can become a millionaire fairly quickly. This

is a profitable business, but, like anything that commands

high earnings, it requires hard work, a good amount of

education, and being in the right place at the right time.

7. Cartoonist

If you love to draw, have great sense of humor, and loved

to goof off in class back in high school, maybe you should

consider this interesting career. 

If you think about it, there are really very few “super-comic

strips” that made their authors immortal. “Peanuts”, “Calvin

and Hobbes”, “Garfield”, and “The Far Side” are some of

the big ones, but for each of those there are hundreds more

that spend a short time in syndication and are forgotten. It’s

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a tough career to break in to – many would be cartoonists

submit and submit endlessly to papers in magazines hoping

(often in vain) to be discovered. But if they make it, it’s a

very rewarding feeling to see others laughing at their

creations. Pay Level – Let’s be honest here: only

cartoonists who are published in quite a few papers and

have some degree of prominence on the market can make

a real living from doing this. (Though the advent of the self-

publishing online has created some sensations like xkcd.)

There is a large curve here, as the most successful

cartoonists can do very well. Bill Watterson, creator of

Calvin and Hobbes, actually refused to sell out and licence

his characters, something that could have earned him quite

a bit more. For him, his creation as a work of art was more

important.

8. Locksmith

This is a great career for someone who wants to open their

own business and help people in need. The long-term

career outlook for locksmiths is fantastic. As long as there

are places we don’t want others to go, and things we want

potential thieves to keep their grubby mitts from, we’ll have

need for locksmiths. It’s possible that with changing

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technology, there will be some crossover between a

locksmith and a computer hacker! (Ok, so that isn’t really a

career!) While becoming a locksmith requires some

training, it isn’t too difficult to break into this relatively

unknown field.

Pay – The average locksmith makes around $31,000 per

year. If you open your own practice, you will make more

and can have others undo the locks for you.

9. Professional Gambler

You won’t find this career in many books. It’s exciting, illicit,

and romantic as much as it is difficult, tedious and time-

consuming. Just like any other job you have to be willing to

learn, work hard, and (more than many other jobs) cut your

losses. 

It’s not easy to make it is a professional gambler either.

Many try, most fail. However, the ones who do succeed

spend many hours online or in often unhappy casinos

counting cards, counting earnings and trying hard not to go

on tilt (let losing get to them and make bad decisions.) You

have to be very emotionally strong and learn not to give

TOP TEN OFFBEAT JOBS 2011

anything away, especially with poker. Oh, and you also

have to track your earnings and pay taxes on everything

you make!

Pay – Varies enormously. If you win a major tournament

you can become a millionaire and retire. But this doesn’t

necessarily qualify you as a “professional gambler.” Usually

it’s difficult just to make ends meet and you can expect to

live a very menial existence while you learn the ropes.

10. Funeral Director

If there ever was a career that would frighten away all but

the most strong of heart, this might be it. One common

misconception is that any career involving the dead

requires that one actually physically handle the dead. In

reality, a funeral director may only deal with the planning of

funerals. Of course, the higher paying positions in this

career tend to involve embalming and preparation of the

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body. Anyone can clean out caskets and prepare a lobby for

guests. It is not a competitive career, but one thing is for

certain: unless the mortality rate dips below it’s current

standing at 100%, there will always be plenty of openings.

Pay – The average salary ranges a bit, but generally is in

the $50,000-$60,000 per year range. Not bad at all. Beats

most office jobs.