Ranked list · 48 careers
48 Weird Jobs That Actually Exist, Ranked by Median Pay (2026)
Congenital Heart Surgeon tops this list at $559,030 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with +2.0% projected employment change over 2025–2035. Below are 48 careers that meet the criteria, each with its real median wage, outlook and entry requirement.
- Careers on this list
- 48From 1,731 in the bank
- Median pay on the list
- $134,960BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Projected to grow
- 47 of 48BLS EP, 2025–2035
- Openings a year
- 666,900Combined, BLS EP
Method
How we built this list
Real careers most people have never heard of, from perfusionists and foley artists to farriers, ROV pilots and avalanche forecasters. Ranked by national median pay (BLS OEWS). Every career listed is a real job people hold and hire for in the United States.
- Real careers most people have never heard of, from perfusionists and foley artists to farriers, ROV pilots and avalanche forecasters. Ranked by national median pay (BLS OEWS). Every career listed is a real job people hold and hire for in the United States.
- Occupations with no BLS wage or projection data are excluded rather than estimated.
- The list is regenerated from source data on every bank refresh. It is not hand-picked and no editorial ranking is applied.
The list
The top 48 weird jobs that actually exist
100% of these careers already have a full profile page; the rest publish with the next tranche and show the same bank data here in the meantime.
- 1
1. Congenital Heart Surgeon
Specialty within pediatric surgeon
- Median pay
- $1,060,000typical, Society of Thoracic Surgeons Compensation Survey 2025 (reported by TCTMD)
- Growth
- +2.0%
- Openings / yr
- 0
- Education
- Doctorate
Heart surgeon who repairs heart defects present from birth, operating on newborns, children and adults with congenital heart disease.
- 2
2. Mohs Surgeon
Specialty within dermatologist
- Median pay
- $680,000typical, SalaryDr Mohs surgery compensation data; MGMA 2023 (as cited by Physicians Thrive)
- Growth
- +6.8%
- Openings / yr
- 400
- Education
- Doctorate
Dermatologist who removes skin cancers with Mohs surgery, examining every edge of the tissue under a microscope during the procedure, then repairs the wound.
- 3
3. Aerospace Medicine Physician
Specialty within preventive medicine physician
- Median pay
- $265,930median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +3.4%
- Openings / yr
- 9,400
- Education
- Doctorate
A physician who keeps pilots, aircrew, and astronauts healthy and fit to fly, and studies how flight and space affect the body.
- 4
4. Interventional Gastroenterologist
Specialty within general internal medicine physician
- Median pay
- $530,000typical, Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2026
- Growth
- +4.0%
- Openings / yr
- 1,900
- Education
- Doctorate
Gastroenterologist with advanced endoscopy training who treats bile duct, pancreas and digestive tract disease through scopes instead of open surgery.
- 5
5. Chief Restructuring Officer
Specialty within chief executive
- Median pay
- $213,990median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +3.2%
- Openings / yr
- 19,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
An interim executive brought into a struggling company to stabilize cash, restructure debt and lead it through or around bankruptcy.
- 6
6. Public Company Board Director
Specialty within chief executive
- Median pay
- $336,352typical, Spencer Stuart 2025 US Board Index
- Growth
- +3.2%
- Openings / yr
- 19,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
An independent member of a public company's board who oversees management, strategy, risk and executive pay on behalf of shareholders.
- 7
7. Forensic Odontologist
Specialty within dentist
- Median pay
- $170,950median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +5.7%
- Openings / yr
- 4,200
- Education
- Doctorate
A dentist who uses dental records and teeth to identify human remains, assess bite injuries and estimate age for medical examiners and courts.
- 8
8. Family Office Director
Specialty within financial manager
- Median pay
- $500,000typical, Heidrick & Struggles 2025 Family Offices Compensation Survey
- Growth
- +9.7%
- Openings / yr
- 65,600
- Education
- Bachelor's
Runs the private office that manages a wealthy family's investments, taxes, properties, philanthropy and personal financial affairs.
- 9
9. Public Pension Chief Investment Officer
Specialty within investment fund manager
- Median pay
- $331,000typical, National Association of State Retirement Administrators (via Chief Investment Officer magazine)
- Growth
- +9.7%
- Openings / yr
- 65,600
- Education
- Bachelor's
Leads the investment staff of a state or municipal retirement system, managing the assets that pay pensions for teachers, police and public workers.
- 10
10. Design Verification Engineer
Specialty within computer hardware engineer
- Median pay
- $161,740median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +9.1%
- Openings / yr
- 4,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Finds bugs in computer chip designs before they are manufactured, by building simulation testbenches that exercise every corner of the logic.
- 11
11. Litigation Finance Underwriter
Specialty within lawyer
- Median pay
- $159,670median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +4.7%
- Openings / yr
- 28,700
- Education
- Doctorate
Evaluates lawsuits as investments for litigation funders that pay legal costs in exchange for a share of any recovery.
- 12
12. Federal Judge
Specialty within judge
- Median pay
- $249,900typical, Administrative Office of the US Courts, judicial compensation table
- Growth
- +2.8%
- Openings / yr
- 800
- Education
- Doctorate
A judge appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to decide cases in the US district courts or courts of appeals.
- 13
13. State Supreme Court Justice
Specialty within judge
- Median pay
- $214,935typical, National Center for State Courts, Survey of Judicial Salaries (January 2025)
- Growth
- +2.8%
- Openings / yr
- 800
- Education
- Doctorate
A judge on a state's highest court who decides final appeals on state law and sets precedent for every court in the state.
- 14
14. Medical Dosimetrist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $147,470median a year
- Growth
- +5.0%
- Openings / yr
- 200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Generate radiation treatment plans, develop radiation dose calculations, communicate and supervise the treatment plan implementation, and consult with members of radiation oncology team.
- 15
15. Nuclear Pharmacist
Specialty within pharmacist
- Median pay
- $140,910median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +5.2%
- Openings / yr
- 12,500
- Education
- Doctorate
A pharmacist who prepares and dispenses radioactive drugs used in medical imaging scans and cancer treatments.
- 16
16. Veterinary Pharmacist
Specialty within pharmacist
- Median pay
- $140,910median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +5.2%
- Openings / yr
- 12,500
- Education
- Doctorate
A licensed pharmacist who specializes in animal medications, dosing drugs across species, compounding custom formulations and advising veterinarians at teaching hospitals and pharmacies.
- 17
17. AI Safety Researcher
Specialty within computer and information research scientist
- Median pay
- $140,300median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +21.8%
- Openings / yr
- 2,900
- Education
- Master's
Studies how to make advanced AI systems behave safely and as intended, through research on alignment, interpretability and dangerous capabilities.
- 18
18. Quantum Computing Researcher
Specialty within computer and information research scientist
- Median pay
- $140,300median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +21.8%
- Openings / yr
- 2,900
- Education
- Doctorate
Develops algorithms, software and error-correction methods for quantum computers, working at the frontier of physics and computer science.
- 19
19. GPU Kernel Engineer
Specialty within software developer
- Median pay
- $310,000typical, Levels.fyi (NVIDIA company pages)
- Growth
- +10.2%
- Openings / yr
- 95,300
- Education
- Bachelor's
Writes and tunes the low-level GPU code, called kernels, that makes AI training, inference and scientific computing run fast.
- 20
20. ML Compiler Engineer
Specialty within software developer
- Median pay
- $135,980median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +10.2%
- Openings / yr
- 95,300
- Education
- Bachelor's
Builds the compilers that translate AI models into efficient code for GPUs and custom AI chips.
- 21
21. ML Inference Engineer
Specialty within software developer
- Median pay
- $135,980median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +10.2%
- Openings / yr
- 95,300
- Education
- Bachelor's
Makes trained AI models answer requests quickly and cheaply in production, optimizing serving systems, memory use and hardware utilization.
- 22
22. Astrodynamics Engineer
Specialty within aerospace engineer
- Median pay
- $134,960median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +8.3%
- Openings / yr
- 3,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Calculates and plans spacecraft orbits and trajectories, determines where satellites are, and helps avoid collisions with debris and other objects.
- 23
23. Astronaut
Specialty within aerospace engineer
- Median pay
- $134,960median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +8.3%
- Openings / yr
- 3,800
- Education
- Master's
Trains for and flies on space missions, operating spacecraft, running experiments, performing spacewalks and supporting mission control on the ground.
- 24
24. Spacecraft Flight Controller
Specialty within aerospace engineer
- Median pay
- $134,960median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +8.3%
- Openings / yr
- 3,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Monitors and commands crewed spacecraft or satellites from a mission control center, keeping each system healthy and responding when something fails.
- 25
25. Spacecraft Thermal Engineer
Specialty within aerospace engineer
- Median pay
- $134,960median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +8.3%
- Openings / yr
- 3,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Keeps spacecraft electronics, batteries, instruments and crews within safe temperatures in the extreme heat and cold of space.
- 26
26. Fusion Engineer
Specialty within nuclear engineer
- Median pay
- $133,970median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +0.4%
- Openings / yr
- 800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Designs and builds the magnets, plasma-facing parts and systems of experimental fusion machines that aim to generate power the way the sun does.
- 27
27. Nuclear Criticality Safety Engineer
Specialty within nuclear engineer
- Median pay
- $133,970median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +0.4%
- Openings / yr
- 800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Prevents accidental nuclear chain reactions at facilities that handle uranium and plutonium, such as fuel plants, labs and waste sites.
- 28
28. Nuclear Decommissioning Engineer
Specialty within nuclear engineer
- Median pay
- $133,970median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +0.4%
- Openings / yr
- 800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plans and manages the safe dismantling of retired nuclear power plants and research facilities and the cleanup of their sites.
- 29
29. Nuclear Fuel Engineer
Specialty within nuclear engineer
- Median pay
- $133,970median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +0.4%
- Openings / yr
- 800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Designs nuclear reactor fuel and plans how fuel assemblies are loaded and used in a reactor core over each operating cycle.
- 30
30. FPGA Engineer
Specialty within electronics engineer, except computer
- Median pay
- $130,220median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +3.7%
- Openings / yr
- 4,900
- Education
- Bachelor's
Designs digital circuits that run on reprogrammable chips called FPGAs, used in radar, telecom, trading systems, medical imaging and space hardware.
- 31
31. Satellite Communications Engineer
Specialty within electronics engineer, except computer
- Median pay
- $130,220median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +3.7%
- Openings / yr
- 4,900
- Education
- Bachelor's
Designs and operates the radio links, ground stations and payloads that let satellites carry internet, TV, navigation and military communications.
- 32
32. Laboratory Animal Veterinarian
Specialty within veterinarian
- Median pay
- $130,100median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +9.4%
- Openings / yr
- 3,100
- Education
- Doctorate
A veterinarian responsible for the health and welfare of animals used in biomedical research at universities, drug companies and government labs.
- 33
33. Veterinary Anesthesiologist
Specialty within veterinarian
- Median pay
- $130,100median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +9.4%
- Openings / yr
- 3,100
- Education
- Doctorate
A board-certified veterinarian who plans and manages anesthesia and pain control for high-risk animal patients, from cardiac surgery in dogs to procedures on horses and zoo animals.
- 34
34. Veterinary Behaviorist
Specialty within veterinarian
- Median pay
- $130,100median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +9.4%
- Openings / yr
- 3,100
- Education
- Doctorate
A board-certified veterinarian who diagnoses and treats behavior problems in animals, such as aggression, anxiety and compulsive disorders, using medicine and behavior modification.
- 35
35. Veterinary Dentist
Specialty within veterinarian
- Median pay
- $130,100median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +9.4%
- Openings / yr
- 3,100
- Education
- Doctorate
A board-certified veterinarian who performs advanced dental and oral surgery on animals, including root canals, orthodontics, jaw fracture repair and oral tumor removal.
- 36
36. Veterinary Ophthalmologist
Specialty within veterinarian
- Median pay
- $130,100median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +9.4%
- Openings / yr
- 3,100
- Education
- Doctorate
A board-certified veterinarian who diagnoses eye disease in animals and performs eye surgery such as cataract removal, from dogs and cats to horses and zoo animals.
- 37
37. Pension Actuary
Specialty within actuary
- Median pay
- $130,000median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +9.2%
- Openings / yr
- 1,500
- Education
- Bachelor's
Calculates how much employers must set aside to pay future pensions and certifies the funding of retirement plans.
- 38
38. AI Red Teamer
Specialty within information security analyst
- Median pay
- $129,180median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +21.0%
- Openings / yr
- 14,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Attacks AI models and AI-powered products on purpose, using jailbreaks, prompt injection and misuse scenarios, to find safety and security failures before real attackers do.
- 39
39. Turnaround Manager
Specialty within industrial production manager
- Median pay
- $126,060median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +2.6%
- Openings / yr
- 17,000
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plans and runs the scheduled shutdowns of refineries and chemical plants when units are taken offline for inspection, repair and upgrades.
- 40
40. Developer Advocate
Specialty within sales engineer
- Median pay
- $124,900median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +2.8%
- Openings / yr
- 3,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Helps software developers succeed with a company's tools and APIs through tutorials, talks, sample code and community work, and brings their feedback back.
- 41
41. eVTOL Pilot
Specialty within commercial pilot
- Median pay
- $123,220median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +5.2%
- Openings / yr
- 5,200
- Education
- Certificate
Flies electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, the battery-powered air taxis now being certified to carry passengers on short city hops.
- 42
42. Flight Inspection Pilot
Specialty within commercial pilot
- Median pay
- $123,220median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +5.2%
- Openings / yr
- 5,200
- Education
- Certificate
Flies specially equipped aircraft to check that airport landing systems, navigation beacons and instrument approach procedures work within tolerance.
- 43
43. Fractional Jet Pilot
Specialty within commercial pilot
- Median pay
- $288,000typical, NetJets, as reported by AVweb and Forbes
- Growth
- +5.2%
- Openings / yr
- 5,200
- Education
- Certificate
Flies business jets for a fractional ownership company, carrying the owners of aircraft shares to destinations on short notice.
- 44
44. Test Pilot
Specialty within commercial pilot
- Median pay
- $123,220median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +5.2%
- Openings / yr
- 5,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Flies new, modified or newly built aircraft through planned test points to prove how they perform and handle before they are certified or delivered.
- 45
45. Lithography Engineer
Specialty within photonics engineer
- Median pay
- $122,930median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +3.7%
- Openings / yr
- 8,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Runs and improves the photolithography step in chipmaking, using scanners that print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers with light.
- 46
46. Nanosystems Engineer
Architecture and Engineering
- Median pay
- $122,930median a year
- Growth
- +3.7%
- Openings / yr
- 8,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Design, develop, or supervise the production of materials, devices, or systems of unique molecular or macromolecular composition, applying principles of nanoscale physics and electrical, chemical, or biological engine…
- 47
47. Senior Reactor Operator
Specialty within nuclear power reactor operator
- Median pay
- $122,890median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- −5.9%
- Openings / yr
- 400
- Education
- High school
Holds an NRC senior operator license to direct reactor operations and supervise the control room crew at a nuclear power plant.
- 48
48. Grid Interconnection Engineer
Specialty within electrical engineer
- Median pay
- $120,630median (parent occupation)
- Growth
- +9.9%
- Openings / yr
- 11,400
- Education
- Bachelor's
Studies how new solar, wind and battery projects will affect the power grid and designs the upgrades needed to connect them.
Questions
Weird Jobs That Actually Exist: FAQ
What is the top career on the weird jobs that actually exist list?
Congenital Heart Surgeon leads the list with a median wage of $559,030 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025) and projected employment change of +2.0% over 2025–2035. Typical entry-level education is doctorate.
How was this list put together?
Real careers most people have never heard of, from perfusionists and foley artists to farriers, ROV pilots and avalanche forecasters. Ranked by national median pay (BLS OEWS). Every career listed is a real job people hold and hire for in the United States. Real careers most people have never heard of, from perfusionists and foley artists to farriers, ROV pilots and avalanche forecasters. Ranked by national median pay (BLS OEWS). Every career listed is a real job people hold and hire for in the United States. Every figure comes from BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2025–2035 and O*NET 31.0 Database.
How much do weird jobs that actually exist pay?
Across the 48 careers on this list the middle occupation pays $134,960 a year, from $120,630 at the bottom to $1,060,000 at the top (BLS OEWS May 2025 and the industry compensation sources cited on each career page). The median across all US occupations is $50,980.
How many of these careers can you enter without a degree?
4 of the 48 careers on this list have a typical entry requirement below an associate's degree: a high school diploma, a postsecondary certificate, or no formal credential (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035).