What "Jobs You've Never Heard Of" Can Teach You About a Better Way to Work

Sometimes a good roundup post is exactly what you need to give you a new perspective on work. That's what this compilation from the team at Pocket did for me as I read this fun list of "jobs you didn't know existed." Professional mermaids, mountain bike trailer builders and falconers all made the list - and there are plenty of others who could have been included too, like the professional pacer who sets the pace during marathons.

The interesting thing, aside from reading about unusual jobs, is thinking about the unique skill sets someone needs to have in order to excel at those jobs. If you're literally carving out a new mountain biking trail for people to follow, you need to be able to visualise the full experience as it unfolds even while you're just working on one part of it at a time. A professional mermaid has to be able to navigate in and around water without their legs. A pace setter has to be ok running in races they will never win.

Quirky jobs often require equally quirky skills to succeed in doing them. That seems more interesting to think about than the jobs themselves.