From cleaning old meth labs to changing glasses on wax figures — the weird jobs you probably didn’t know existed

EVER wondered who cleans old meth labs, pulls golf balls out of lakes or changes the glasses on wax figures? You could be one of them.

WE’VE all heard of nurses, teachers, lawyers and builders — but there are also a lot of jobs many have never considered.

Usually, a specific qualification does not exist or they are a very specialised branch of a broader occupation.

Almost always, however, they are something a worker falls into rather than pursues after high school.

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GOLF BALL DIVERS

Ever wondered what happens to the golf balls that are hit into a lake?

With a decent resale value, they aren’t usually just left there — and it’s a surprise clubs don’t start making bigger lakes to catch more of them.

Workers are hired to dive or snorkel around picking them up and one US man recently claimed to have made $15 million in his career.

In Australia, clubs either hire backpackers or have contracts with occupational diving companies.

Diving for golf balls in course lakes can be a lucrative, if unheard of, career. Picture: iStock.

METH LAB CLEANERS

Once a methamphetamine laboratory has been busted, it takes a very specialised cleaner to restore the property.

JD Restorations Training managing director Jenny Boymal says it’s a dangerous job that requires a full-face respirator.

“The chemicals produced during the cooking process get into everything, they get into the walls,” she says.

“The cleaning has to be very thorough and tedious.”

Boymal says there are not enough meth labs in Australia — thankfully — to warrant making this a full-time job but rather commercial cleaners might dabble in this specialty in between more general work.

While there are no compulsory qualifications to be employed in this field, most companies expect the worker has completed a two-day course on top of a general health and safety qualification.

Crime and trauma cleaners are in high demand. Picture: iStock.

CRIME AND TRAUMA CLEANERS

Boymal says this kind of work is in high demand.

“There are always people dying in properties (whether the result of crime or natural causes) and there is always some sort of remains,” she says.

“It’s blood and guts and bodily fluids and sometimes it branches into infection control … then there is insurance work.”

She says workers must be able to cope emotionally.

“It’s not for the faint-hearted,” she says.

“You’ve got to be compassionate but not so empathetic that you take it on (personally).

“There will always be one job that haunts you.”

JD Restoration Training offers a four-day crime and trauma cleaning course.

If you want the job as professional glasses changer you will need prior experience in styling or optical. Picture: John Appleyard

PROFESSIONAL GLASSES CHANGER

Madame Tussauds Sydney is currently hiring a professional glasses changer for its new Gok Wan wax figure.

The fashion designer, best known for his TV series How to Look Good Naked, is recognised by his bespectacled face so it’s important his glasses are kept sparkling clean and in fashion.

Madame Tussauds spokeswoman Selena Colavitti says the ideal candidate of the casual three-month contract will have one to two years of experience in a similar role and will be able to start immediately.

“They may have had experience in a previous optical space. Maybe they have designed glasses or helped in a styling capacity,” she says.

“Gok Wan is such a style icon that the professional glasses changer will need to be on top of fashion trends.

“Duties would include careful handling of his glasses, making sure they are kept clean at all times, and proactively predicting the latest optical trends.

“Most importantly it’s all about having fun so we need someone with enthusiasm and passion.”

Love to cuddle? You could turn it into a career. Picture: iStock

CUDDLE THERAPISTS

This role is exactly what it sounds like.

Cuddle therapists are paid to snuggle clients — in a strictly platonic way — as a form of relaxation or therapy.

Cuddle Therapy Australia says depression, anxiety and stress can be improved with therapeutic touch and workers are often found in hospitals, aged care facilities and maternal health wards as well as homes.

*Read more employment news in the CareerOne section of Saturday’s News Corp Australia metropolitan newspapers.

Originally published as From cleaning old meth labs to changing glasses on wax figures — the weird jobs you probably didn’t know existed