Ever wondered about the weirdest jobs people around you have had? Or maybe thought about the odd jobs you’ve done? What makes a job ‘weird’… it is how rare it is, or the unusual skills it takes? Here are two people who share their experiences with some pretty unique jobs.
Dr. Britton says his weirdest job was working as a Farrier. A Farrier is a craftsman who works on horse hooves –trimming them, balancing them, and putting shoes on them. Some skills that are required with this occupation are veterinary knowledge and blacksmithing. Dr. Britton says that working as a farrier isn’t really a job; you are self-employed with many ‘bosses’. “I worked full-time for slightly less than a year, but it took me 3 years of training before I considered myself skilled enough to do the work on my own.” Dr. Britton’s schedule, prices, and services he provides were all up to him. “It was a great feeling to have that much control over what I did each day.” Dr. Britton left as a full-time farrier to work another full-time job that took advantage of his education. Dr. Britton’s experience shows how self-employment can change your perspective on work. Mrs. Stockton, on the other hand, had a different but still pretty unique job.
Mrs. Stockton believes that her most “odd” job was working as an Optometric Technician(OT). An OT is a more hands-on role for patient care. As an Optometric Technician, Mrs. Stockton did a lot more than just help patients. She ran tests on their eyes, helped fit them with contact lenses, and made sure everything in the clinic was running smoothly, all while keeping the patients calm. “I put contact lenses in patients’ eyes and taught them now to remove the lenses, put them in, and keep them sterilized.” Mrs. Stockton worked at this job for 3 years. She loved working in a doctor’s office, so she loved working as an Optometric Technician. Mrs. Stockton was working this job while being in college. After she graduated from college, she moved on to her teaching career.
Even though Dr. Britton and Mrs. Stockton had totally different jobs, their stories show that sometimes even the weirdest jobs can teach you the most and might even open the doors to something new.
