大象传媒

In a north London warehouse you will find Bellerby & Co Globemakers, one of the few companies still hand-making globes today. Peter Bellerby, who used to run a bowling alley, describes the challenges of crafting a sphere, one of the “most impossible things to make in the world” in The World in Their Hands, which also features a globe conservator for all the old ones already in existence.

2. Underwater pizza delivery person

If cycling the streets to deliver pizzas doesn’t appeal, how about donning some scuba gear for the gig of underwater pizza delivery for a Floridian hotel? Guests at Jules’ Undersea Lodge, which is 21 feet below the surface of the sea at Key Largo, get pizza for dinner as part of their overnight stay. Don’t worry about soggy crusts: the pizza comes sealed in a plastic box. Warning: you will need to be sub-aqua qualified to apply for the role.

3. Pet food taster

Premium cat food is usually taste-tested by people

Have you ever wondered what you’re feeding your pets? Premium pet food companies need actual humans to check their recipes are up to scratch, evaluating odour, nutritional value and flavour.

4. Professional queuer

If you're not easily bored, why not consider applying to be a queue double for someone who wants the latest version of, say, a phone but can’t spare the time to camp outside the retailer ahead of the product’s release. There’s nothing a professional queuer won’t wait for: limited edition shoes, music gigs, new phones, even doctor’s appointments. No experience necessary, just plenty of patience.

5. Mermaid

Yes, mermaids really do exist and anyone can be one. Provided they are prepared to develop some serious upper arm muscles and spend a lifetime dotted in impossible-to-remove glitter. One Californian mermaid says she makes up to $6,000 for appearing at parties and aquariums. There is even an annual pageant to crown Miss Mermaid UK; the winner receives a one year contract with a company specialising in mermaid hire.

Another wet one is diving for all those millions of golf balls that get hit into lakes at courses around the world. The reward comes from selling secondhand balls. Some people claim to make up to $150,000 a year from selling on their white treasure.

7. Professional bed rester

Yes, really. NASA needs people to lie in bed for up to 70 days as part of the agency’s bed rest studies, which mimic how the body adapts to weightlessness. Volunteers must eat, exercise and even shower, in the prone position, with a six-degree head-down tilt, which causes their bodies to adapt as if they were in space.

8. Food stylist

Ever wondered how the food pictured in recipes looks quite so good? That’s because someone is employed to tweak each noodle into place and spritz sauces to keep them looking fresh. While advertising and product packaging styling can involve secret tricks - such as hairspray for extra shine - shots for editorial use tend to keep things a little more real. But remember, being a good cook is crucial.

9. Roof snow cleaner

To wander the streets of a city like Finland’s Helsinki in winter, is to hear sudden explosions as mounds of snow crash onto the pavements. Look up and you’ll see people on the rooftops clearing the piles of snow that can weigh up to 100kg per square metre, threatening the structural safety of large roofs on retail and sports facilities.

Ravenmaster: trainer of birds, protector of England

10. The Ravenmaster

This one sounds like a character from a fantasy series but is a coveted position at the Tower of London, looking after the six resident ravens that are said to protect the building as well as the Kingdom of England. The myth goes that the Tower will collapse if the ravens fly away.

11. Beefeater

You can’t have a Ravenmaster without Beefeaters. Traditionally guardians of the Tower, these days they are more like tourist guides. To wear the famous red uniform, you must have first served in the Armed Forces for at least 22 years.