‘What is the most niche job in the UK?’ – 22 unusual careers you’ve probably never considered but definitely should
13.
‘I used to work in recruitment for energy from waste plants specifically the commissioning of them. My manager had this guy, no idea what his job was but he was a “laser alignment specialist” for some specific bit of equipment that these plants needed to start.
He used to charge £1500-£2000 a day and just go around the country aligning lasers. Apparently there was only 2/3 people in the country that could do it.’
–throwthrowthrow529
14.
‘I once knew someone who was a chicken sexer, their job was to glance at a chicken and tell what sex it is.’
–trouser_mouse
15.
‘I have a friend who is the creator of religious artefacts. He built and painted the Jesus statue for the Edinburgh Cathedral. It’s about 100kgs and 12ft high. That’s pretty niche.’
–Dazzling-Shower7907
16.
‘We have a guy we call to come in and retrieve items that have accidentally ended up in nuclear reactor assemblies during manufacture. He has lots of weird and wonderful contraptions, including a mini remote controlled robot with magnetised wheels.’
–thoughtlooper
17.
‘I was once in Durban harbour and there were huge container ships being sailed(?) out always accompanied by a helicopter.
It was explained to me that the helicopter was there to bring the ship’s temporary captain back to the harbour so that he could captain the next ship out. Apparently there are only two or three guys capable of captaining a ship out of Durban harbour and they have to do it for all of the boats.’
–Professional-Test239
18.
‘I was on a cruise from South America to Antarctica and a specialist Ice Captain had to join us when we got close to icebergs etc. He was from Surrey and gave us a very interesting talk about his work.’
–tjjwaddo
19.
‘I know someone who specialises in reclamation of animal semen for zoo breeding programs. Multiple species all over the country. Her motto used to be ‘have bucket will travel’.’
–Dont-settle-for-him
20.
‘A friend of my brother is an underwater repairman. He started doing swimming pool maintainance, worked on the 2012 Olympic pool during the games, and now he occasionally ships off to offshore oil rigs to do welding and other jobs that no one else can do – which pays big
He doesn’t have a central London house, but he does have a huge farm in Scotland and can pick and choose which jobs he wants to do. I think he still does swimming pools just for the convenience and regular pay cheque.’
–PangolinMandolin
21.
‘I make costumes for film/TV, mostly in film studios on the outskirts of London. Pretty niche! I don’t live in a huge London townhouse sadly. I’d say the pay is decent but the hours are horrific.’
–Ukeiok
22.
‘A long time ago I had a conversation with a guy on a train. He sold lighthouses. Well, actually he worked for Pilkington and sold the fresnel lenses; the lighthouse is implicit. Two of them worked the two hemispheres.
Spent time in London perusing Lloyds register and then travelled globally convincing governments that they needed lighthouses. It may have been BS but he was not boastful and had an impressively stamped passport.’
–Sea_Pomegranate8229