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As the first few graduation photos start to hit our social media feeds, full of grins and proud parents, it got me thinking - what next for these young adults, fresh out of uni? Do they head straight into the workplace? Many are desperate to leave home and head to the big smoke, but might they miss out on an opportunity to dabble in a fun career for a while? So here are four cool graduate jobs, that would make any CV stand out from the crowd.
Queue Sitter
According to recent research, the average person in the UK spends more than three months of their life queuing, but did you know it’s possible to make a living from standing in line? If you’re incredibly patient, happy to brave the elements and willing to sleep outside, you could earn up to £15 per hour providing a queuing service. You may find yourself filling in for people who want concert tickets, the latest hot gadget or access to the New Year sales but don’t have the time or inclination to line up themselves. Instead, they’ll pay you to queue!
Ash Portrait Artist
If you’re a skilled artist but you’re bored of using the traditional paints and pencils, how about crafting portraits using the ashes of cremated people? One artist has been doing it since 2008, using a scalpel to apply each particle of ash to a layer of beeswax, eventually creating a monochrome mosaic of the deceased person. Another artist grinds up ashes and brushes them over the top of pencil drawings of people and pets. Portraits start from around £200 and you’ll need to be a gifted portrait artist who’s not spooked out easily to consider this as a career!
Pet Food Taster
If you’ve ever enviously eyed up your cat’s breakfast, this could be the career for you! Much like when testing human grub, the Pet Food Taster is checking to make sure flavours are perfectly balanced and the texture is appealing. The tester will also check the food visually to make sure it’s enticing and sniff it to ensure it has an appealing aroma. In addition to wolfing down Fido’s dinner, the Pet Food Taster is also responsible for developing new recipes and flavours and keeping abreast of regulatory matters. With salaries ranging from £20,000 for an entry-level role up to £50,000 for an experienced taster, this could be a ‘paw-some’ job for the right candidate!
Snake Venom Collector
Known as ‘snake milkers’ these courageous people handle some of the most dangerous reptiles on the planet on a daily basis. Their role mainly involves extracting venom from poisonous snakes in order to create anti-venoms and other medicines, including treatments for high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. In order to extract the venom, ‘milkers’ have to encourage the snake to bite through a latex cover and inject venom into a jar, so it’s certainly a risky role. Collectors are also in charge of breeding snakes and ensuring they’re healthy, for which you’ll earn a ‘fang-tastic’ salary of around £30,000 per year.
Have you had an interesting job after college or University? Comment below - we'd love to hear what you've done in a previous career!