The strangest jobs you are ever likely to see

How about a career as a professional sniffer of armpits?

Yes, you read that right, the job really exists and is one of the stranger roles that has been on the books of Scantec, a multi-sector recruitment company based in Birkenhead. This is not the only unusual role Scantec has handled, with the company recently releasing a list of the 10 weirdest jobs it has filled or is currently recruiting for.

The role of the ‘sensory analyst’, as the job was advertised, was required by a deodorant manufacturer, with the main duty being to assess the effectiveness of deodorants on various human volunteers. Presumably a fully-functioning and well-honed olfactory system was a prerequisite.

Also on this list is the role of frogger. For those of us old enough to remember, this is sadly not a paid opportunity to play the vintage 1980s arcade game of the same name; instead, this role involved working in environments dangerous enough to require breathing apparatus and protective suits.

Some of the jobs Scantec deals with place candidates in the strangest of places. Its client relationship director, Paul Gibbens, explained that a role for a roofing specialist placed in the middle of nowhere – 1,200 miles from any town, on the border of Siberia – was filled.

Other roles on the list verge more on the intriguing than the weird and are all in the realms of science and engineering. If you have what it takes to be a plasma physicist, studying the way charged particles interact with magnetic and electrical fields, or to be a programmer of super-computers, there are, or recently have been, some openings just right for you.

You could be a vibration analyst, which is a vital role that helps manage equipment costs by taking vibration readings and analysing them using specialist computer software. Scantec has also advertised a role for an industrial hygienist, which focuses on factors that could affect the health and wellbeing of employees in the workplace.

To round off the list of strange jobs, Scantec has received openings for:

– A specialist for laser tracking alignment, making sure that new equipment is placed and aligned with precision tolerances of less than one millimetre.

– A technical author who can write engineering documents and machine operating manuals in Russian.

– A mammalian cell structure technician, whose main responsibilities include growing cell cultures in bioreactors, flasks and other laboratory environments.

Scantec is not the only recruitment company with weird and wonderful jobs on its books, with a report from BrightHR showing that it also seems to have its fair share – robot trainer, teleportation specialist, space tour guide and more. There is no excuse for monotony when there are roles such as these on offer.

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The British Institute of Recruiters is the Professional Body operating The Recruitment Certification Scheme

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