A strange line of work - and for little

The Life: Looking for a new, quirky career? We take a look at professional line standers, seat-fillers and other interesting gigs that have popped up around the world.

Securing a spot for an individual in a queue has become a profession in the US.Spencer Platt / Getty Images / AFP

In the Emirates, people are used to waiting in lines to get things done, whether it is registering a car or exchanging currency.

But what if you could get paid for standing around?

Over the years, quirky careers have popped up in countries such as the United States, which has a profession for "line standers".

Many companies offer the service in markets such as Washington, where people often do not want to wait personally to secure seats at in-demand events such as congressional and judicial hearings.

Linestanding.com pitches itself as "your early bird concierge service" and boasts being a "leader in the Congressional line standing business since 1985". The company does not advertise the rates it pays aspiring "line standers", although the rival business Washington Express says it charges clients US$40 (Dh146.92) per hour - and $50 per hour when it comes to waiting at the Supreme Court.

So a line stander's wage is just a portion of that. Many other odd jobs can be found in this trying global economic climate.

After the 2009 recession, DailyFinance.com highlighted "10 weird jobs that pay really well". The site, which falls under the AOL.com umbrella, broke out salaries for professionals such as submarine cooks ($187,000 a year), junket operators in Macau ($5,000 per month) and the lucrative job of pearl diving in Australia - which earns more than $1,200 each day offshore.

Sometimes, though, employers may pay little to nothing for strange gigs. Outfits that run "seat-filling" opportunities often do not pay a fee. They merely depend on eager fans of Hollywood movies and TV shows to sit in the spots of celebrities who may need to wander off at the Oscars or the Emmy Awards.