World's worst jobs: Whatever you think of yours it's probably not as bad as these

Fancy being an armpit sniffer, Mosquito bite victim, sewer diver or marine snot collector? No? We didn't think so

Talk about a boring job... Thomas Curwen watches paint dry for a living.

The Dulux scientist from Twyford, Berks, 34, checks how the colour of matt and emulsion changes over time on walls and under microscopes.

If you think that sounds a bit dry, just wait. We’ve found there a many worse ways to earn a living around the world...

Armpit sniffer

Getting a whiff of BO may sound like the pits, but it’s all in a day’s work for Peta Jones.

She works as a deodorant producer for Unilever in Australia, developing the Dove, Lynx and Impulse brands.

A big part of her job is sniffing strangers’ armpits to check her products’ work.

Peta said: “It was strange at first, but in a week it was fine.”

Getty

Hmmmmmm: Ace job

Crime-scene cleaners

CSI may be a morbid hit with TV viewers, but there is nothing entertaining about cleaning up a crime scene after a death.

Married couple Mike Nestved and Carmen Velazquez, above, clear up after bodies in Orlando, Florida – the worst being one in a hot caravan. Carmen said: “There are some things you can’t just Febreze.”

Getty

Happening scene: We'll pass thanks

Crocodile trainer

We’ve all worked with snappy colleagues, but putting your head in a crocodile’s mouth should attract danger money.

Yet trainers at Pattaya Crocodile Farm, Thailand, get just £4 per day for their work. Another stunt involves kissing a giant croc on its nose.

Ian Maclean, who filmed the show during a trip to the zoo, said: “One of the performers had his head crushed while locked in the jaws of a croc.”

Reuters

See you later alligator: We want nothing to do with this job

Mosquito bite victim

Helge Zieler has a job that really sucks – letting himself get bitten by mosquitoes. Working in the Brazilian rainforest, he offered himself as bait so he could study the bugs’ behaviour.

But despite once suffering a debilitating bout of malaria, he says: “The beauty of the rainforest far outweighs the thousands of mosquito bites.”

Getty

This job bites: Mosquitoes

Pet food taster

This is not just pet food – this is the ultimate in Marks & Spencer dog and cat cuisine.

Every dish in the store’s luxury range has been tested by Simon Allison, above.

He said: “I love my job – but draw the line at swallowing.”

Simon chews gum after sittings to stop, er, dog breath.

Glenn Copus

What a ruff job: Simon Allison tucks in

 

Sewer diver

We all think our job stinks from time to time, but it really does for Julio Cu Camara.

He swims through sewers in Mexico City to clear blockages and repair pipes by hand.

Julio, below, has notched up 1,400 dives in 30 years – each one lasting up to six hours in 7,500 miles of tunnels.

He has to wear a 6.4 stone helmet and suit to protect him from the human, chemical and animal waste – and its stench.

Julio has found horses, pigs, guns and “cigarette butts to car parts, furn­iture and fridges. You ask how it got there.”

But of one thing he is certain: “The worst thing of all to find is a human.”

BBC

Poo'd work in a place like this?

Watching grass grow

If watching paint dry sounds too exhilarating, you could take a leaf out of Helen Southall’s book.

The grass expert works at British Seed Houses in Lincoln, where her daily duties include counting out and planting 400 seed samples.

Later, she goes through them blade by blade to monitor growth.

Helen said: “People think that it’s strange when I tell them my job is to watch grass grow.

“But it’s fascinating. I wouldn’t do anything else. It’s so rewarding to see a stretch of perfect grass.”

Whale snot collector

“There she blows” may be the traditional cry for whale spotters but marine biologist Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse gives it a new meaning.

She flies a remote-controlled helicopter fitted with a culture dish through the billows of mucus whales eject from their blowhole, above, then analyses it for viruses and bacteria.

Karina, from the Zoological Society of London, says: “It can be quite dangerous.”

Whale of a time: We doubt it

And now for the best jobs...

• Andrew Smith, left, won a contest to become the “Chief Funster” for New South Wales in Australia. The Californian’s job is to have as much fun as possible to promote the region, which includes driving with Top Gear star The Stig.
• In March, luxury tour company VeryFirstTo advertised for a reviewer to spend a year visiting some of the world’s most expensive resorts on a trip worth more than £600,000. One of the destinations was Sir Richard Branson’s Caribbean retreat Necker Island.
• Five years ago, Ben Southall, right, from Petersfield, Hants, won “the best job in the world” as caretaker of Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef. This the role even came with a salary of £70,000 for six months.
• Internet TV network Netflix is looking for a “tagger” who will be paid to watch its best films and TV shows and help categorise them so that it can provide viewers with
  more accurate recommendations.